Masahiro Urushido, (center) Chivas Regal’s first Chivas Master

American bartender Masahiro Urushido was named as Chivas Regal’s first Chivas Master, winning the iconic whisky brand’s inaugural bartender competition at the NoMad hotel in New York in July. Urushido’s ”The New Pal” cocktail secured victory over 12 international competitors, awarding him the opportunity to work in partnership with Dave Arnold, ,inventor and co-founder of Booker and Dax, a food science development company and lab. Urushido and Arnold will collaborate on a new concept to be revealed at the next Chivas Masters final in 2015. The judging panel included Ago Perrone, Director of Mixology at the David Collins-designed Connaught Bar in London; Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry from The Dead Rabbit in New York; and Max Warner, Chivas Global Brand Ambassador.