The competition has been fierce, the scores are in, and the 2026 Australian Bartender of the Year has been narrowed down to its final three.
Proudly sponsored by Spirits Academy, this year’s competition saw bartenders put their knowledge, palate and ability under pressure to the test across a written exam, sensory round and a series of challenges designed to find Australia’s best bartender.
Following the opening rounds, eight competitors emerged at the top of the field:
2026 Australian Bartender of the Year Top Eight
Keeley Mcalinden
Callum Marra
Harry Saggers
Jonothan Carr
Matthew Cappetta
Damien Lefebure
Gavin Shi
Shevaughn Bambrough
From there, the top eight faced their next challenge, with just three spots in the final up for grabs.
Making it through to the 2026 Australian Bartender of the Year Top Three are:
Callum Marra
Gavin Shi
Matthew Cappetta
Matthew Cappetta – The Baxters Inn
For Cappetta, making the top three came as a genuine surprise.
“It’s very exciting and, frankly, unexpected,” Cappetta said. “A lot of hard work over the last few years has started to pay off, and it’s a really exciting time for me in my career.”
So unexpected, in fact, that Cappetta had made no plans for the final and was originally meant to be working that night.
“I have to go get my shift covered because I’m meant to be working tonight,” he said.
With little time to prepare, Cappetta said he would be leaning into the knowledge and storytelling that has become one of his strengths behind the bar.
“I’m going to come up with one real fast. I really didn’t expect to make it this far, so I didn’t actually put anything into it,” he said.
“There’s going to be something with Highland Park in it, there’s going to be something with Cointreau in it, and they’re both going to be delicious because that’s what I do.
“I’m going to be drawing on some classic cocktails. One of my specialties is knowing the history of these brands and teaching my team the history and storytelling behind them, so I think I’m going to draw on that.”
Gavin Shi – Razz Room
Shi was equally surprised to hear his name called, admitting he had not expected to make the top eight, let alone the final three.
“If you were to rewind and look at all the CCTV footage, you would have seen the absolute shock and horror and almost elation out of nowhere,” Shi said.
“It was complete controlled chaos, or utter chaos, and this whole dichotomy of emotions running through me.”
Shi said the sensory round had left him particularly unsure of where he stood in the competition.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be top eight to begin with because I felt like I completely flunked the sensory round,” he said.
“I didn’t even answer one of them. I was just enjoying deducting what the first one was and then suddenly they were already at the third.”
Despite competing on home turf and having a few ingredients on hand, Shi said there had been no grand strategy prepared for a place in the final.
“No, not at all,” he said. “It’s almost just that feeling of being happy to be here.”
Callum Marra – Old Loves
For Marra, a return to the pointy end of Bartender of the Year has come with a little more experience under his belt, but no greater expectation of making it through.
“I truly didn’t think I was in,” Marra said.
“I felt okay about the exam. I think having the experience of doing it before helped me keep my head a little bit, but there was no sensory round last year, so that was completely new as well and I wasn’t sure how I had gone.”
Making the top eight was already a result Marra was happy with, before another pressure-filled challenge pushed him into the final three.
“Talking to the judges afterwards, they said keeping my head, talking through it and working through the challenge helped,” he said.
“And then, by the miracle of all miracles, I landed on PX Sherry in the right ratio, in the right glass, on the right rock, with the right garnish. I just missed the chocolate bitters.”
When it comes to the final, Marra will return to the same approach that served him well in last year’s competition.
“The approach I had last year that really worked for me was just turning up with no expectations, doing the preparation that you can and then just having a crack,” he said.
“What happens is what happens. You’ll get as far as you get, and you just have a run. You never know what’s going to happen.”
With Marra, Shi and Cappetta now the last three standing, the stage is set for the final round of the 2026 Australian Bartender of the Year, where one will walk away with the title.
Tonight is the night where our final three battle it out in front of Australia’s elite, at the 2026 Bi-Annual Most Influential Party – with doors opening at 6pm and the Bartender of the Year winner to be announced tomorrow night at the 2026 Bar Awards.