Scholarship
The Henry Besant Scholarship
Honoring our co-founder and Altos Tequila co-creator Henry Besant
Our dear co-founder, the late Henry Ernest Bryden Besant (1972-2013), had a penchant for helping young people who were just beginning to work in the hospitality industry.
We thought that establishing a fund to offer professional development opportunities to young people was the best way to honor Henry’s memory and his legacy in the bartending community.
The Scholarship
In 2018, we launched the Henry Besant Scholarship Program, which aims to fund the often-underappreciated bar staff, those at the beginning of their career.The candidates are nominated at the discretion of Altos Tequila’s global team of ambassadors. Proposed candidates should show promise behind the bar and be under the age of 24 to qualify for a $10,000 USD grant to help fund their bartending career.If you’d like to apply for The Henry Besant Scholarship, or know someone who should, please contact your local Pernod Ricard representative.
In 2021, we are proud to fund three young bartenders from around the world
Maria Frías from México is the recipient of the full Henry Besant Scholarship. Maria states he will be using the $10,000 USD to learn English in Australia.
Australia’s Melanie Hack has received a special $5,000 USD scholarship with which she will going back to university and studying a degree in business management.
Erika Jonsson from Sweden has also received a special $5,000 USD scholarship, which she will get an internship at an innovate and creative cocktail bar in London.
Learning English was just the beginning
In 2019, Adrián Lucky López from Mexico won the scholarship, which he used to move to the UK to study English. Apart from enrolling in school there, Lucky also was able to work at a bar and to meet many legends of the bartending world, making his experience even more life changing. Read more about his inspiring London experience on our blog “Bloody Good, Adrián!”