Kateryna Kryvystska Became the Hennessy MyWay Ireland Champion

Kateryna Kryvystska, a bartender working at Kinara Group in Dublin, won the Hennessy MyWay 2026 Ireland final with her cocktail named “Bee Connected.” Following the final held on August 11 at The Sugar Club in Dublin, Kryvystska earned the right to represent Ireland in the global final planned to be held in the Cognac region and Paris in October. According to Drinks International, 10 bartenders from different regions of the country competed in the final.

Equally noteworthy is the criteria that made the winning cocktail stand out. The official competition format of Hennessy MyWay incorporates evaluating sustainable practices, service ritual, creativity, and the story built around the cocktail alongside the recipe. Bartenders participating in the competition are required to prepare an original cocktail using Hennessy V.S or V.S.O.P, explain their sustainability approach, and demonstrate the service ritual. The official competition page of Hennessy MyWay clearly outlines these elements in the 2026 program.

“Bee Connected” Combines Local Ingredients and Personal Story

Kryvystska’s cocktail “Bee Connected” is prepared using Hennessy V.S, acidic citric solution, honey syrup, and rhubarb foam. The concept is based on the bartender's experience of moving from Ukraine to Dublin and centers around the idea of connecting with the community in a new environment.

Before the final, CHAR Food Guide reported that the ingredients used in the cocktail were sourced from approximately a 7-kilometer radius, and this distance is a reference to the range of a bee from its hive. The source also confirms that the drink consists of Hennessy V.S, acidic solution, honey syrup, and rhubarb composition.

This approach aligns with the competition's sustainability criteria. Hennessy MyWay encourages participants not to consider sustainability as a single universal formula; instead, they are asked to develop solutions suitable to their own conditions, such as using local materials, re-evaluating waste, reducing resource consumption, or addressing inefficiencies in bar operations.

Taste Alone is Not Enough in the Jury's Evaluation

The jury panel, which included Drinks International editor Shay Waterworth, previous MyWay winner Millie Tang, former Ireland regional winner Felipe Sanchez, and brand ambassador Thierry Sales, highlighted Kryvystska's brand knowledge, service ritual, sustainability approach, and the taste of the cocktail.

This evaluation provides an important indicator of what professional bartender competitions seek in practice. While producing a well-balanced drink remains a fundamental requirement, the repeatability of the recipe, the rationale for the materials used, product knowledge, and how the drink transforms into an experience at the time of service also become part of the competition performance. Even in Hennessy MyWay's own application system, it is required to clearly write down recipe measurements, describe methods for homemade components, and demonstrate the service ritual via video.

What Skills Do Competitions Highlight in a Bartender's Career?

In the case of Hennessy MyWay, the bartender's preparation does not start at the shaker or mixing glass. The competitor is expected to first master product and brand knowledge, then explain the environmental approach of their recipe, standardize measurements, and create a service scenario.

This structure is also noteworthy for bar managers. Employees preparing for competitions can develop skills such as research, recipe standardization, presentation, sustainable purchasing, and product storytelling, which can also be reflected in daily operations outside of competitions. However, it should not be assumed that the complex techniques developed for a competition can be directly transferred to high-volume service operations. A competition cocktail should also be evaluated in terms of speed, cost, mise en place needs, and staff training.

The 2026 structure of Hennessy MyWay includes a digital round followed by market or national finals and then a global final. Competitors advancing to the global stage are expected to develop a new cocktail. Kryvystska's success in the Ireland final is therefore not just the conclusion of a single recipe but a stage in a more comprehensive competition process that will continue in France in October.

Stafflink's Opinion

The professional value of bartender competitions should not be evaluated solely through trophies or visibility. A well-structured competition can challenge a bartender to think about costs as much as recipe development, justify ingredients, standardize, and communicate their work clearly.

In the case of Hennessy MyWay, the explicit inclusion of sustainability and service ritual in the evaluation system is particularly noteworthy. However, it is crucial that the claim of sustainability does not remain just a presentation in the competition. For an application to be meaningful in real bar operations, it needs to be evaluated alongside supply continuity, labor, preparation time, waste, and service volume.

There are lessons to be drawn here for bartenders preparing for competitions in Turkey: a strong signature cocktail is no longer just the sum of creative ingredients. Technical accuracy, the relationship between the story and the recipe, applicability, and the ability to defend the presentation are increasingly becoming parts of the same work package.