A new international initiative aims to give exceptional bartenders the immersive, structured career experience long established in the culinary world.
Hennessy and The Pinnacle Guide have announced the launch of the Hennessy MyWay Global Residency Program, a multi-week international initiative designed to embed exceptional bartenders from the Hennessy MyWay Challenge within some of the world’s leading cocktail bars.
The programme offers a new model for bartender development, centred on deep immersion, structured mentorship and meaningful knowledge exchange across the global on-trade.
Host venues will be selected from The Pinnacle Guide’s international network of PINNED bars: establishments independently recognised for excellence across cocktail programmes, hospitality, team culture and contribution to their communities.
For decades, the culinary world has embraced the stage — derived from the French word stagiaire, meaning trainee — as a defining part of professional development. These immersive placements can last weeks or months, giving chefs the opportunity to work within renowned kitchens, learn new systems and techniques, and build relationships that can shape the course of their careers.
Bartending has its own equivalent in the guest shift, but it is typically limited to a single evening.
The Hennessy MyWay Global Residency Program aims to expand that model. Rather than making a brief appearance behind another bar, selected residents will spend an extended period working as part of their host venue’s team. They will gain insight into a different market, absorb the bar’s operational philosophy and hospitality culture, develop their craft, and contribute their own knowledge and perspective in return.
“The culinary world has known for generations that a proper stage can be a genuinely career-defining experience. We believe the same is entirely possible for bartenders. The Hennessy MyWay Global Residency Program is our commitment to making that a reality.” – Dan Dove, Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne, Co-Founders, The Pinnacle Guide
Positioned as more than a competition prize, the residency is a fully funded and formally structured programme, with both partners committing significant resources to its delivery.
Hennessy will cover accommodation throughout each residency, compensate residents for their time, and meet relocation and travel costs. The support is intended to remove financial barriers that have historically made extended international placements inaccessible to many hospitality professionals.
The Pinnacle Guide will develop the framework for each placement, support both the resident and host venue throughout the process, and ensure that every residency meets a consistent educational and professional standard.
The ambition is for each experience to benefit everyone involved: the resident, the host team and the wider bar community.
“The Hennessy MyWay Program has always been about identifying and nurturing outstanding talent. This partnership gives those individuals something exceptional to aim for, and a genuinely transformative experience when they get there.” – Jordan Bushell, Manager of Trade Advocacy & Global Ambassador, Hennessy
A platform built on partnership
The Hennessy MyWay Global Residency Program is The Pinnacle Guide’s first structured partnership of this kind, signalling the organisation’s broader ambition to support the long-term development of the global bar industry.
The Pinnacle Guide was founded on the belief that the industry is strongest when knowledge is shared, excellence is recognised rigorously, and those at the top of their profession actively invest in the people coming through.
Hennessy was a natural first partner. Through the Hennessy MyWay Challenge, the brand has built mentorship and talent development into its programme, while continuing to support initiatives that promote craftsmanship, intercultural exchange and professional growth within the spirits industry.
Sustainability is also central to the partnership. As a founding pillar of The Pinnacle Guide and a core strand of the Hennessy MyWay Challenge, it reflects a shared commitment to creating a more resilient, progressive and connected future for the global bar community.
