When Tran Minh Nhut describes his hometown, his eyes light up. “Can Tho is fresh and fruity!” he decides. It’s an excitable declaration, but it carries weight. The Can Tho native just claimed a coveted Top 8 position at World Class Vietnam — the country’s most demanding bartending competition, with cocktails infused with southern spirit. And what makes his achievement even more remarkable is he was the only finalist among the elite eight to represent a city outside Vietnam’s cocktail capitals of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
When Tran Minh Nhut describes his hometown, his eyes light up. “Can Tho is fresh and fruity!” he decides. It’s an excitable declaration, but it carries weight. The Can Tho native just claimed a coveted Top 8 position at World Class Vietnam — the country’s most demanding bartending competition, with cocktails infused with southern spirit. And what makes his achievement even more remarkable is he was the only finalist among the elite eight to represent a city outside Vietnam’s cocktail capitals of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.For Nhut, who tends bar at Wink Hotel Can Tho’s rooftop bar, Endless Summer, his success isn’t just personal — it’s a testament to his city’s untapped potential. “Can Tho is unique,” he explains, thinking of watching the rivers flow past the city from the 19th floor bar. “Our rich flavors come directly from the Mekong Delta’s rivers and farms. That connection to the source — that’s what sets us apart.”
Can Tho is not just a flavorsome foundation for a bartender though, he continues, it’s full of magic and poetry too. “The name Can Tho actually comes from Cam Thi — the City of Poetry. When you arrive here, you’ll feel a gentle, calming vibe. Life here flows like the river — not too rushed, but never still.”
Vietnam’s Bar Scene Spreading Into New Corners Of The Country
True to the gentle nature of his home town, he’s too modest to completely own his recent accolade. “There’s so many others who are even more talented around me, and lots of people who supported me to get the title who deserve credit too,” he shrugs.
It is, though, a sign of Vietnam’s burgeoning bar scene spreading out into new corners of the country. “We’re witnessing a rapid boom in the cocktail bar scene,” he concurs. “Especially in Can Tho and similar cities — with many new bars opening with a wide variety of concepts. I think Vietnamese bartenders still need to work really hard for a while longer in order to grow the bar industry in Vietnam, but I believe, eventually, we’ll get there.”
‘Countryside’ Can Tho
And, for all its fresh ingredients and poetic riverside-state-of-mind, Can Tho presents some challenges for a fledgling World Class competitor.
Entrants from big cities tend to have access to more tools and technology, and to premium ingredients.
“I’m from the countryside,” Nhut exaggerates. Can Tho is, in fact, Vietnam’s fourth largest city with a population surpassing 2 million, but spend an afternoon traversing its network of canals or taking it all in from his rooftop bar, Endless Summer Rooftop Bar, Can Tho, and you’d be forgiven for agreeing with him that this isn’t big city life at all. “So, I often find myself sourcing what I need online or traveling to other cities just to get the right tools and ingredients, but it’s worth it,” he adds.
“Practice makes perfect, right?”
Ingredients and equipment aside, the World Class Vietnam competition demands hard work and diligence from anyone aspiring to its upper echelons. “Man, it’s a long journey. I put in the work every single day to become better than I was yesterday. After all, practice makes perfect, right?” he sighs at the memory.
It paid off. He’s emerged with a Top 8 trophy for his shelf and some hard-earned wisdom to share with future competitors hoping to follow in his footsteps. “Keep everything as simple and efficient as possible,” Nhut advises. “Time becomes your biggest enemy long before you step into the competition arena.”
Complexity doesn’t impress judges — execution does. “Perfect your fundamentals first,” he continues. “Master your basic techniques until they’re second nature. When the pressure hits and the clock starts ticking, you want your hands to move without your brain having to think.”
“And don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Take the best of what your city offers — for me it’s our fresh ingredients, our authentic flavors — and present them with flawless technique. That’s how you compete with the capitals.”
Cocktails Full Of Local Can Tho Culture
Taking the best of Can Tho saw Nhut make two cocktails that drew deeply on local culture and the city’s harvest festivals: Thượng Điền and Hạ Điền.
“The Thượng Điền (or ‘Up Field Festival’) marks the beginning of the harvest season, when locals make offerings of pork, fruits, and betel leaves, as they pray for favorable weather.
My aperitif of the same name featured Ron Zacapa 23, symbolizing the mother land, with herbal betel leaf notes representing the earth’s bounty, and sparkling wine celebrating the new harvest,” he explains.
His other harvest-festival inspired cocktail was called Hạ Điền (or ‘Down Field Festival’). The celebration comes later in the calendar with offerings of fresh rice to thank ancestors for successful crops.
“So my digestif reimagined the classic White Russian — replacing cream with toasted rice foam and using homemade coffee liqueur infused with cocoa from Can Tho’s renowned cacao farms.”
The Toughest Challenge
The World Class Vietnam judges appreciated the combination of taste and storytelling. “We spent time after each round discussing festival traditions and Vietnam’s culture. That cultural exchange — sharing the soul behind the cocktails — proved just as important as the technique,” Nhut nods.
However, ascending through the rounds of competition presents increasingly complex challenges. At the Top 8 stage, the remaining competitors are thrown into the mystery box challenge, where they each receive a box of ingredients, and, against the clock, have to come up with a cocktail.
Considering Nhut never expected to get this far, with the emotion of achieving a Top 8 spot still fresh and the clock already ticking, “This is the toughest challenge because I have to improvise with unfamiliar ingredients under tight time pressure.”
Straight Back To The Delta
The next morning, a little groggy from the celebrations the night before, Nhut was straight back to his beloved Mekong Delta, and his other home: Endless Summer Rooftop Bar, Can Tho.
It’s a bar where you can sit outside in the morning to enjoy the full view of the sunrise, relax by the pool in the evening while watching the sunset, or settle in at the bar counter late in the night with lots of tropical-fruit inspired drinks that capture the unique flavors of the region’s cuisine, and strike up a chat with the bartender.
“There’s two elements to being a bartender, the bar side and the tender side,” Nhut reflects, emphasizing each word. “I’m not just someone who mixes drinks, but someone who tends to the entire space and everyone in it.”
His role extends far beyond the cocktail shaker. “My main job is crafting drinks, but more importantly, I listen and connect with guests, making sure everyone feels comfortable and welcome. That’s the heart of Mekong Delta hospitality too — we don’t just serve you, we embrace you.”
Forget The Guidebooks
Catch Nhut on a night off, and he becomes Can Tho’s most enthusiastic tour guide.
“If you want the real Can Tho experience, forget the guidebooks,” he grins. “I’ll take you to places that don’t even have addresses. We’ll start with Vietnamese pancakes stuffed with coconut filling — something you can’t get anywhere else. Then we’ll squeeze into this tiny spot I know for grilled beef wrapped in wild betel leaves. After that, we’ll find a roadside vendor for silky tofu pudding with ginger syrup that’ll warm your soul.”
The night might end at a hidden speakeasy tucked down an unmarked alley – there’s one called The Heo Bistro, with a seven-deadly-sins theme – or back up on Endless Summer Rooftop Bar’s 19th floor. “We’ll grab cold beers and let that endless Mekong breeze remind us why Can Tho captured our hearts in the first place.”
“The capitals taught me technique, but Can Tho taught me soul.”
For anyone still questioning whether a bartender from Vietnam’s ‘countryside’ can compete with the big city talents, Nhut has a simple response: “The cocktail capitals of this country taught me technique, but Can Tho taught me soul. And in the end, soul is what people remember long after the last sip.”
With his Top 8 trophy gleaming behind the bar at Endless Summer Rooftop Bar, Can Tho, he’s not just representing his hometown — he’s redefining what Vietnamese cocktail culture can be…with all its freshness and fruitiness.
All photos courtesy of World Class Vietnam and remember to drink responsibly for 18+ only.
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