World's Best Bartenders Host Glamourous Martini Masterclass

Launch of the Tanqueray Guild Sees the Top Ten Mixologists From Around the World Create Cocktail Perfection

It's a worldwide symbol of sophistication - the martini cocktail. And, any true connoisseur will tell you it needs to be made with gin to be authentic. So, Tanqueray created its No. TEN gin especially to make the perfect martini and then toured the world to find the best bartenders to make it.

Now, they're all in London for a two-day festival of glamour to show how each of them interprets one of the world's most famous drinks. They're also building an elite network of artists of taste - the Tanqueray Guild - which will span the globe to promote the principles of luxury.

There was a year-long search for the 10 best bartenders from 10 of the world's most glamourous cities (London, Athens, Barcelona, Milan, Paris, New York, Miami, Mexico City, Shanghai and Tokyo). These experts now form the nucleus of the Tanqueray Guild, which launched on Monday 9th June with a dinner hosted at private members' club, Home House in central London.

These leaders in their field have all created their own version of the classic gin martini, and will demonstrate them during the two days. Following which, they head back to their home cities to found their own chapters of the Tanqueray Guild.

Martinis have been associated with some of the world's greatest figures in all walks of life - from British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (said to favour an ultra-dry version in which he poured gin into a glass and "looked at the bottle of vermouth across the room") through US General George S. Patton, who suggested merely pointing the vermouth bottle in the direction of Italy.

The whole extravaganza will be topped off by a spectacular party in London's buzzing Covent Garden. This dramatic event will see the No 1 Piazza turned into a cool, contemporary cocktail bar, where 200 VIP guests will dance to music provided by gin martini aficionado and couture fashion designer, Giles Deacon.

Produced for Tanqueray