Does the perfect cocktail even exist? Yes, and you can thank Orlando Marzo for not one, but seven perfectly balanced and sophisticated creations. The newly-crowned World Class Global Bartender of the Year, hailing from Melbourne’s acclaimed Lûmé restaurant wowed a potentially demanding panel of judges — including Diageo’s Global Cocktailian Lauren Mote, no less — to beat 10,000 other bartenders from all over the world to take home the coveted title.
It wasn’t a walk in the park for the Italian native either. Challenges such as the ‘Cocktail Clash’ finale proved to be a true battle of wits and nerves, but Marzo’s calm demeanour helped him pull through.

Here, Marzo has graciously shared the recipes to his winning cocktails, each looking extremely inviting for long balmy evenings. Tailored specifically with the challenges at the Diageo World Class Berlin 2018 in mind — which includes working with Ketel One, Tanqueray No. Ten, Johnnie Walker Black Label, and Ron Zacapa — these cocktails embody the best of their spirits with cleverly thought-out flavour pairings and refreshing techniques.
Here’s how you can recreate them.
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1 /7
40ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
20ml Homemade Granny Smith Apple (Clarified apple juice & adjusted with malic & citric acid)
15ml Anise Myrtle Verjus
110ml Orchard Wine Soda*
Garnish: Anise Myrtle-Laced Pear
2 /7
40ml Zacapa 23
35ml Banana and long pepper cordial
10ml spiced Madeira
Garnish: Golden Crust Brush (pistachios, long pepper, salt, sugar)
3 /7
40ml Tanqueray No. TEN
10ml Cocchi Americano
20ml Cardamom Syrup
15ml Strawberry Vinegar*
100ml Fever-Tree Lemonade
Garnish: Lemon Spiral, Strawberry
(*Strawberry vinegar: strawberries compressed/macerated into apple vinegar for 12 hours, then strained through V60 filter)
4 /7
45ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
15ml Wattleseed-laced Apricot Liqueur
10ml Macademia Distillate
Wattleseed
Macadamia
Oranges
Wattleseed and Orange Aroma
No garnish
5 /7
40ml Tanqueray No. TEN
100ml CO2 charged Lemongrass Laced Belsazar White Vermouth
10ml Black Pepper Aroma
Garnish: Lemon spiral
(*Improved grapefruit juice: peel grapefruit and make a saccharum by adding 3% apple vinegar to it, rest for 24 hours. Clarify grapefruit juice)
6 /7
40ml Tanqueray No. TEN
20ml Cold Vacuum Distilled Grapefruit Belsazar Rosso
20ml Grapefruit Stock
Plum-laced Fino sherry
Garnish: Plum disk