Zioux to play host to world’s top mixologists

On October 20-22 the award-winning Zioux in partnership with American Express and The World’s 50 Best Bars will present a collaborative evening which will see head barman Mthabisi Ndlovu slinging drinks with two of the world’s best mixologists.

The evenings will bring Ndlovu together with Maura Milia from London’s acclaimed Connaught Bar and Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni from Buenos Aires’s Florería Atlántico. The three mixologists will take patrons on a journey through a fusion of classics together with some of the most innovative drinks in the world.

The Connaught Bar, based within the Mayfair Hotel of its namesake, clinched the top spot of The World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2021, while taking the eighth position this year. The bar is known for its merging of classic with contemporary and tradition and innovation when it comes to creating their seasonal menus. Milia, together with Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani, are renowned for their attention to detail and delivering consistent excellence through every part of the Connaught Bar experience.

Hidden beneath a flower shop in Buenos Aires is where you’ll find Florería Atlántico, the iconic basement bar of Tato Giovannoni, a mixologist and ginmaker who has a hyper focus on sustainability and the use of indigenous ingredients, which he uses to tells myriad of tales through his menus. The current menu pays tribute to indigenous and rural Argentinian communities. The bar was named fifth in the world and the best bar in South America on the 2021 World’s Best Bars list, this year moving to the 18th spot.

Ndlovu and Zioux will need no introduction to a local audience, with the prestigious cocktail bar having remained one of the hottest bars in Johannesburg since opening last year and having recently won an award for its slick and sexy interiors at The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2022. The menu is a mix of classics and signatures, which sees the bar team embrace the same Latin American flavours woven through the food offering.

On the evenings, a selection of cocktails prepared by each of the bartenders will be available for ordering. Maura will be serving up Connaught signatures, the Faraway Collins and the Connaught Martini, while Tato will present his Saint Marthe with a Twist, and a Capitan Castillo Coctel – with flavours of pineapple, cacao and coconut. Last but not least, Mthabisi will be pouring Zioux signatures, the Nitro Pink Panther and the Apothica.