To mark the launch, Ketel One’s Global Brand Ambassador, London-based master mixologist and fine spirit expert, Justin Smyth, hosted a series of Bloody Mary workshops to talk about and present Ketel One to media, celebrities and fine cocktail connoisseurs at the White Room of popular brasserie Dear Me in the city centre.

“Ketel One Vodka is an exceptional, distinctive modern vodka, which stems from 300 years of tradition and craftsmanship. The Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, Holland, still stands where it opened in 1691 and is still run by the Nolet family – now in its 11th generation. I can’t wait to share this remarkable story, and vodka, with the people of South Africa,” says Justin.

While this was the first time that South Africans at large experienced the spirit, it will have already been introduced to the country’s top bartenders, who attended a Master Class on the spirit, led by Smyth, master distiller Bob Nolet and the Nolet Distillery’s Ambassador, Dennis Tamse, during the March WORLD CLASS regional rounds in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

WORLD CLASS is the world’s most prestigious bar-tending programme & competition, the global finals of which will be held from 28 August to 5 September in South Africa later this year.