YoYo Bar and Restaurant bartender Sam Kaplan voted as Noosa’s best in Delicious Local call out

A Noosa bartender who has spent 10 years creating cocktails in the hospitality industry said he “didn’t expect” to be voted as the region’s best.

Noosa bartender Sam Kaplan has been voted as the best in the region after a decade of experience in the industry.

Celebrity chef Matt Preston put a call out to find the top bartender and the YoYo Bar and Restaurant employee earned a majority of the votes out of the Noosa bartenders in the running.

Mr Kaplan said he “didn’t expect” to win the title but was thankful to those who rallied behind him.

He started his career in the hospitality industry about 10 years ago in Noosa and then moved to Melbourne for four years where he said he honed his skills as a bartender.

Mr Kaplan said he was thrilled he ended up at YoYo after moving back to the Coast in 2017.

“Working at YoYo is exactly what I want,” he said.

“After 10 years of searching for what I want in this industry, I’ve finally found that.”

Mr Kaplan said he found joy in delivering an unmatched service to his regular customers, specifically in creating the cocktails of their dreams.

“For me, it’s to do with job satisfaction,” he said.

“There’s something about talking to somebody, getting a feel for what they’re after and being able to put that in a glass and seeing their response when you deliver them exactly what they’ve asked for.”

The most important lesson Mr Kaplan said he’d learnt during his time as a bartender was to have a bit of fun with his cocktails.

“I got taught a few years ago that the drink’s not about me, it’s about them,” he said.

“I learnt to leave, for lack of a better word, the wank at the door.

“It’s about delivering them exactly what they want in a glass.

“Cocktails are meant to be fun.”