Hennessy MyWay is a global cocktail-making competition that celebrates creativity, innovation, and the art of mixology. The platform challenges bartenders to push the boundaries of cocktail creation, showcasing their technical skills, originality, and ability to bring the Hennessy brand to life through unique serves and storytelling.
Beyond the competition itself, MyWay provides a platform for emerging mixological talent to gain international recognition, connect with a global community of bartenders, and showcase their craft on a world stage.
Representing South Africa at the Hennessy MyWay Global Finals in Cognac, France, was Roxanne Read who showcased the country's bartending creativity and expertise. Her participation presented an opportunity to spotlight South African talent within the global mixology landscape while highlighting the growing influence of African creativity and innovation in cocktail culture. Here, she opens up about her African heritage, inspiring journey, and vision for the future of mixology.
GLAMOUR: What has your journey to becoming a Hennessy MyWay finalist looked like, and what has this experience taught you about yourself as a bartender and creative?
Roxanne: My journey with Hennessy MyWay started, as most competitions do for me, with a healthy dose of competitiveness and the excitement of a brief to get my teeth into. I love being given a spirit and the freedom to ask, “Okay, but what would I do with this?” Because cocktail creation has never just been about making something delicious for me. It's craft, its art, its performance, it's storytelling. It's a way of saying, “This is how I see the world.”
When I won the first round, I realised this could be something much bigger. I was being given a platform to express my ideas, backed by the most prestigious Maison in the world. I did a deep dive into Hennessy's history and discovered a brand with a long-standing relationship with artists and creative expression. As someone who grew up performing on stage and has since turned the bar into my own stage, it felt like a match made in heaven.
Every round has peeled back another layer of me. The Africa round, in particular, knocked me sideways in the best possible way. I underestimated the incredible talent and creativity across our continent, and meeting competitors who were just as determined to share their stories reminded me of the power of this platform. We came from different places, but we shared the same desire: to put something deeply personal into our work and let the world experience it.
But the biggest surprise has been what this journey has done to my relationship with my own culture. Representing South Africa on the global stage had me asking, “What does it really mean to be South African?” And suddenly, the answers were everywhere—in our music, our food, our humour, our traditions, our resilience, and the way we gather and tell stories. I thought I was proudly South African before, but this journey has made me realise just how deeply that identity runs through me.This competition is taught me that inspiration is everywhere, and that when you partner with the right platform, you have the freedom and support to turn the stories, experiences, and culture that make you who you are into something the world can experience through your craft.
GLAMOUR: What does being named one of “Africa’s next mixology icons” mean to you, particularly at this stage of your career?
Roxanne: I’m nearly 20 years into an industry that has historically been dominated by men, and for the first half of my career, I thought I had to be harder, stronger, faster, and better than the men around me to earn my place. I fought to prove I belonged. Somewhere along the way, I realised that earning my place was only the beginning.Being named one of Africa’s next mixology icons feels like a powerful reminder that I have the experience, the voice, and the craft to stand behind that responsibility. I’m not here just to talk about what needs to change. I can put my shakers where my mouth is. I can create, compete, push boundaries, and show the world what our craft is, especially from the female perspective, which I am proud to be talking about in my upcoming round. But I'll keep my lips sealed on that for now!And perhaps the most beautiful part is the timing. For the first time in my career, I feel I have the self-awareness, the maturity, and the grounding to understand the weight of that role. I spent years fighting to prove I deserved a place. Now, I want to help create a space where the women coming after me don’t have to fight quite so hard to find theirs, and a title like this gives me the backing to say, “Hey, here we are, and look, I’ve proved we deserve to be here.”
GLAMOUR: Was there a particular moment during the competition when you realised that your approach to bartending had evolved?
Roxanne: The moment that really shifted something for me was when the judges asked, “Why Hennessy? Why not another cognac?” And I remember thinking, “They're right. Why?” I could make a beautiful cocktail with any number of incredible cognacs, so what made this one different? What made these two stories belong together? That question sent me down a rabbit hole of discovering Hennessy's history, its relationship with artists, and its philosophy of transformation, forcing me to look just as deeply at my own story. Until then, I'd always made a great drink and built a story around it. Suddenly, the story mattered so much that I found myself thinking, “I hope this cocktail is good enough to stand alongside what I'm trying to say.” And that was the shift. I stopped asking, “How do I make an impressive drink?” and started asking, “What do I have to say, and how can this spirit help me say it?” Because if the story doesn't mean something, the cocktail is just a cocktail. But when the two have a reason to exist together? That's when the craft becomes something much bigger than what's in the glass.
GLAMOUR: How does your African identity influence the way you approach cocktail-making? Are there particular flavours, ingredients, traditions or stories that you find yourself returning to?
Roxanne: My South African identity has always been a huge influence on my cocktail-making, even when I'm not creating for an international stage. We often describe South Africa as a melting pot of cultures, but the older I get, the more I think of it as a very big table with room for everybody. We're a country of extraordinary cultural differences, contradictions, and complexities, yet we still find ways to come together. Despite everything life throws at us, there's something beautifully South African about being able to turn to a stranger and ask, “Howzit, bro, how's your day going?” and actually stop to listen to the answer. That instinct to connect is something I find myself returning to in my work. For me, nothing captures that quite like a braai. It's not just about the food or the fire; it's about what happens around it. Friends become family, strangers become friends, stories get told, and everybody has a place. You can arrive knowing nobody and leave having made a connection. That familiar, unmistakable, nostalgic smell of braai smoke is something I return to often in my cocktails, because it represents something much bigger than flavour, it represents belonging.
I also think there are certain ingredients you can find all over the world, but they just hit differently in South Africa. Pineapple and Llychee, for example, are flavours I keep coming back to. They might be familiar elsewhere, but the way I experience them here, the memories they carry, and the way they connect to our sense of place make them something different. And then, of course, there's biltong. I genuinely feel that if I don't offer someone biltong, I'm at risk of losing my South African stripes! For me, it's the ultimate olive branch. You pass a bowl around a braai, and suddenly everyone's reaching in, sharing, chatting, and connecting.
GLAMOUR: When you create a cocktail inspired by Africa, how do you balance celebrating where you come from while still pushing the boundaries of what people expect from African cocktail culture?
Roxanne: For me, pushing boundaries isn't about keeping up with international trends or proving we can execute the fanciest techniques. It's about remembering that, at the heart of African culture, there are people. Different people, different stories, different ways of expressing ourselves, and an incredible instinct to find reasons to celebrate, even when life gives us plenty of reasons not to. Our cocktails should reflect that. They should say something, make people feel something, and bring people together.
GLAMOUR: African cocktail culture is gaining increasing global attention. From your perspective, what is driving this shift, and where do you think the scene is heading next?
Roxanne: I think we're reaching an exciting point in African cocktail culture. We're starting to recognise just how much we have to work with: extraordinary raw ingredients, incredible local products, and a ridiculous amount of creativity. More people are realising that hospitality, distilling and cocktail creation aren't just passions; they can be serious crafts, careers and businesses. We're looking at what's around us and realising just how many colours we have to paint with.
Technology and access to global techniques are helping us sharpen our skills and compete on an international level. But learning from the world doesn't mean we need to copy it. We can embrace the techniques without losing our identity. We've got our own ingredients, stories, soul and personality, and that's where the magic happens.
And we need platforms that give that creativity a stage. Competitions like Hennessy MyWay create space for African bartenders to share more than a great drink; we get to share who we are and where we come from.
GLAMOUR: What makes African bartenders and mixologists distinctive on the global stage?
Roxanne: I think our resourcefulness is a huge part of what makes us distinctive. We haven't always had access to the opportunities, equipment, funding, or technical knowledge available in some international markets. So, we've learnt to make things happen with what we have. And now, as more doors open, there's this energy of, “Look what I can do with what I've got. Now imagine what I can do with the opportunities you've had all along.” But beyond that, I think it's our personality. Our humour. Our ability to find a way through a mountain of red tape, crack a joke when things are dark, and hold space for each other when life gets hard.
GLAMOUR: What does the Hennessy MyWay platform let you express that you might not be able to through traditional bartending?
Roxanne: For me, MyWay allowed me to bring my whole self to the platform: the performer, the storyteller, the South African, the educator, and the slightly dramatic woman who believes a cocktail can be so much more than something delicious in a glass! Each round challenged me to connect the drink to something bigger: my culture, my values, my experiences, and the stories I want to tell. There's room for sustainability, ritual, theatre, and emotion, all while celebrating the craft itself. Traditional bartending asks me to create an experience for the guest; MyWay challenged me to create an experience that says something about who I am.
GLAMOUR: When you were preparating to represent your country and Africa at the Global Finals, what part of your home, culture or personal story did you want to bring with you the most?
Roxanne: I wanted to bring the South African gees, our resilience, our humour, and our ability to find light in the darkest places. But above all, I wanted to bring our generosity. To me, true hospitality is making space for people, sharing what you have, and making strangers feel like family.
GLAMOUR: Any message for any upcoming bartenders/mixologists from your country?
Roxanne: My biggest message is that hospitality is about seeing people, hearing them and understanding them. It's not just an after-school job; it's a craft that asks for your heart, your soul and a willingness to keep learning. It will exhaust you, challenge you and push you into places that scare you. But if you embrace it, it builds a kind of resilience that stays with you for life. Do your time, ask questions, stay curious and understand that there's something to learn at every stage. But please, don't become so caught up in watching international bartenders and chasing overseas trends that you forget who you are. We are not America. We are not the UK. We have our own people, products, terroirs, stories and an almost endless amount of inspiration right here at home. Travel in any direction in South Africa, and there's something new waiting to be discovered. Keep your hands open, your eyes wide, and your ego small enough to say, “I don't know, but I want to learn.”
The world is starting to look at us. So, what are we going to say? Don't let someone else's version of success dictate your voice. Find your own, stay grounded in where you come from, and make sure that whatever you put into the glass comes from somewhere authentic.
GLAMOUR: Is there a cocktail recipe she would recommend to GLAM dolls who will be hosting this festive season?
Roxanne: For me, a truly South African festive season means sunny braais, good company, dressing up a little and, of course, something fabulous in your glass. My festive season sip recommendations for this year are about refreshing, light, playful, easy to make, and are packing a lot of SA nostalgia with elegance.
Meet 'The Sesi Summer Cup'
Inspired by the warmth of honeybush tea and the sweet, citrusy goodness of freshly squeezed naartjies, this cocktail is a celebration of local flavour with a little French sophistication. Finished with a splash of lemonade and South African Méthode Cap Classique, it's light, bubbly, beautifully refreshing, and the best part? You don't need a cocktail shaker or a professional bar setup to make it. Just a few ingredients, a wine glass and some good company.
What you'll need:
25 ml Hennessy VS
15 ml homemade honeybush syrup
25 ml freshly squeezed naartjie juice
5–10 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml lemonade
60 ml Graham Beck Brut MCC (or enough to top)
Plenty of ice
Let's make some magic
Fill a large white wine glass with ice.
Add your Hennessy VS, honeybush syrup, naartjie juice, and lemon juice.
Give everything a gentle stir.
Add your lemonade.
Finish with a generous pour of chilled Graham Beck Brut MCC.
Give it one gentle stir to bring everything together.
The finishing touch: Garnish with a fresh naartjie wheel, a little sprig of rosemary, or a beautiful citrus twist.
A little homemade magic: Honeybush syrup
Brew 2 honeybush tea bags in 200 ml of hot water for around 8–10 minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir in 200 g of sugar until completely dissolved. Allow to cool and refrigerate in a sealed bottle.
Top tip from me: Use freshly squeezed naartjie juice and a dry MCC. The natural sweetness of the fruit and honeybush will do the heavy lifting, while the bubbles keep everything light and refreshing.
Here's to golden afternoons, beautiful people, and a little sparkle in your glass. Happy festive season!
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