Meet Your 2025 World Class Central National Finalists

SC Baker

SC Baker is a hospitality professional in Louisville, KY specializing in cocktail and program development, spirits and bar education with emphasis on community engagement, and traveling curated popups and events. Baker is the bar lead at Epiphany, a farm-to-glass cocktail concept that champions local growers and makers with lively and innovative drinks. She is also the Vice President of the Kentucky chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Ron Zacapa No.23 

Trey Fincher

Trey Fincher, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based bartender, is opening Sidecar Cocktail Lounge, a neighborhood bar drawing inspiration from his vinyl record collection. Sidecar will be a funky, local, artistic, and vibey lounge serving world-class drinks. Fincher's background in hospitality management and music guides his approach to crafting creative cocktails, which are inspired by music and travel. His experiences, from studying in Boulder, Colorado, to working in Maui, Hawaii, influence every aspect of his work behind the bar.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Ron Zacapa No.23  and Pierde Almas Mezcal

Mikey Holt

Mikey Holt is a bartender of 15 years, currently working at Cobra in Columbus Ohio. His bartending philosophy is simple: “Spirits raised in Columbus, Ohio. Keeping my side of the bar clean.”

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Tanqueray No.TEN

Sanwar Mal Khokar

Sanwar Mal Khokar is currently working as a mixologist at SANJH, an Indian specialty restaurant in Irving, Texas. He enjoys using a fusion of flavors to create unique cocktails by infusing different flavors that tell stories of tradition.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Tanqueray No. TEN

Donnie Massingale

Donnie Massingale has been a bartender for over three years and loves how it gives him the chance to connect with people everyday. Based in Cincinnati, OH, he finds inspiration in food and travel. When not behind the bar, he is likely exploring new restaurants or planning his next trip. He believes crafting drinks is about creating fun, memorable experiences – sharing a bit of inspiration in every glass.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Johnnie Walker

Emma Randall

Emma Randall lives and works in Detroit. She began working in hospitality at 17 and hasn’t looked back. When she’s not behind the bar you can find her in the garden with a fistful of chard and her pitbull trotting along beside.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Tanqueray No. TEN

Elliott Reibert

Elliott Reibert is a bartender in Ann Arbor, MI. Outside of work, Elliot is a saxophonist, coffee drinker, and reader!

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Tanqueray No. TEN

Jarod Schiebout

Jarod Schiebout is a bartender at Spoon & Stable and sake brewer at moto-i based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he isn't crafting cocktails or sake, he enjoys spending time drumming, catching a show at a local venue, and spending time with his partner and their cats.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Don Julio Reposado

Weston Simons

Weston Simons is a bartender from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is passionate about bar education, improvising new cocktail recipes on-the-fly behind the bar, and the ways in which bartending brings him closer to his community. Previously ranked Top 10, he is grateful to be back in this competition, and to see all of the creative drinks that the nation's best bartenders have come up with!

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Ron Zacapa No.23

Jessie Yoskin

Jessie Yoskin has run bar programs in Seattle, Hawaii, and Illinois. She pulls inspiration from the varied culture and local ingredients, and loves creating new and unexpected flavor profiles.

Favorite DIAGEO spirit to work with? Ron Zacapa No.23