Bartending as a career has really taken off, and competitions such as Protégé and World Class are providing platforms for talent to shine and helping to launch people like Julian Short, owner of Sin + Tax, into the limelight they so deserve. Julian’s highlight for the year is being able to support not one, but two salaried professional barmen at his establishment. His eyes light up when he says, “A few years back there was no way you’d have been able to make a career out of bartending in the South African bar industry as a mixologist.” Innovation is the key to Julian’s success, coupled with the growing range of seriously mixable, premium brands becoming available in South Africa. Reinventing the kitsch cocktails of the seventies and eighties using fresh ingredients that subtly enhance the handcrafted base spirits is resulting in a cocktail revolution in South African bars and restaurants.…
