Maya Pistola Agavepura (Pistola), Asia’s first premium 100% aged agave spirit, recently crowned Asia’s top bartenders from India, Singapore and Thailand in the second edition of ‘Pistola Duels’, an international bartending competition.

The winning bartenders – Dushyant Tanwar from The Loft (India), Wee Siong from Smoke and Mirrors (Singapore) and Natkrit Chatsakpairach from Jhol Bangkok (Thailand) – won an all-inclusive trip to Paris to participate in a guest shift at the Pistola Bar for the prestigious Top 500 Bar Awards ceremony in November.

The competition, which spanned four rounds over 2 months, concluded with an electrifying finale at PCO Mumbai, where the top four finalists from each country faced off in a head-to-head contest to champion the Agave cocktail movement.

Pistola Duels kicked off with two social media rounds, where contestants were judged on practicality, innovation, presentation and digital reach. From nearly 150 participants, eight semi-finalists per country advanced to a head-to-head duel at their respective bars, where they competed to attract consumers to their cocktail creations.

The top four from each country then competed in the finale, featuring an impromptu market hunt for cocktail ingredients, and a quiz testing their knowledge of the agave spectrum.

Dushyant’s winning cocktail was a coffee-infused Manhattan with citrus notes from oranges and spice route bitters, complementing the flavours of Pistola Añejo.

Wee’s winning cocktail was a Pistola Reposado Milk Punch that embodies the philosophy of “all is one”, a wonderful glass of Indian, Malay and Chinese flavours.

Natkrit’s winning drink was a Pistola Reposado cocktail with asparagus, kokum, Campari, coconut water, Thai jasmine tea syrup, lemon and a bright yuzu curry leaf foam.

The final round was evaluated by a jury of industry experts, including Pankaj Balachandran (Co-Founder, Countertop India); Shatbhi Basu (Founder, STIR Bartending Academy); Vikram Achanta (Founder and CEO, Tulleeho and 30BestBarsIndia); Smitha Menon (Columnist and Host, Big Food Energy); and Aatish Nath (food and travel journalist).

The competition fosters a culture of creativity and skill-building, pushing participants to go beyond traditional cocktail recipes and embrace agave as a versatile base for modern, spirit-forward cocktails. The format intends to unite the Asian bar community, building a global network of bartenders who share techniques, ideas and inspiration.