Diageo Wants to Send a Bartender to Mix Drinks in Your Home

When most people thirst for an alcoholic libation at home, they have no problem popping a beer or uncorking a bottle of wine. But when it comes to making their own fancy mixed drinks—anything that requires pulling out the cocktail shaker, strainer, or recipe book—many consumers take a pass. So Diageo, the world’s largest distiller with brands such as Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, is trying a new way to put the cocktail back in home cocktail parties: shipping liquor and bartenders directly to clients’ living rooms.

For £2,000 (about $3,300), Diageo in the U.K. will deploy a bartender to make tiki-style cocktails such as mai tais and zombies for clients in their own house and with 19 of their friends. Its mixologists can also stir up vintage cocktails, including the hipster favorites Negronis and Vespers. “At home, people are confident enough to make a gin and tonic, but the cocktail scene is still new,” says Kenji Jesse, who trains bartenders for the program. So far, he’s trained 10 mixologists, all of whom were past participants in Diageo’s World Class Bartender of the Year competitions.