Canton Man to Compete to Be 'World's Best Bartender'

Canton resident Andy Hool will be among the 10 finalists vying for the title of "World's Best Bartender" at TGI Fridays annual World Bartender Championship (WBC) being held at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas on March 6, according to a press release.

Hool took home top honors for the east divisional competition in the fall and will now showcase his skills for a panel of judges who will crown the champion based on knowledge of the bar, flavor of the drinks, and 'flairtending' skills.

The WBC started as a one-off challenge between two bartenders, and is now one of the toughest international bartending competitions. Today, the WBC welcomes more than 8,000 bartenders from around the world.

"The World Bartender Championship may be a global competition, but every bartender started their quest by instilling that corner bar experience at his or her local TGI Fridays," said Matt Durbin, Vice President of Beverage and Bar for Carlson Restaurants, parent company to Fridays.

Hool has been with Fridays for six years and has been a bartender for four years. You can learn more about him by watching the video, above.

He says the one word that best describes his bartending skills is "intense."

"I was here in 2010, but this time I'm going to go get it," he says in the video.

Last year David Kringlund from Stureplan, Sweden, was crowned the 2011 World's Greatest Bartender. He claimed the title from the 2010 WBC champion Attila Farmas, from Budapest, Hungary, and battled out thousands of others around the globe during the 21st anniversary of Fridays World Bartender Championship.

The 10 WBC finalists are as follows:

• Aaron Hardy, Orlando, FL
• Andy Hool, Canton, MI
• Chantry Coffman, Dallas, TX
• Hiroyuki "Mark" Yamada, Tokyo, Japan
• Jessica Myers, Vestal, NY
• Joachim "Jack" Reichel, Oslo, Norway
• Kristian Mihalin, Las Vegas, NV
• Paul Gil, Santiago, Dominican Republic
• Russell Ward, Sheffield, UK
• Scott Christian, Beavercreek, OH