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Keegan McGregor pours East Coast hospitality onto a global stage. As the 2024 World Class Global Bartender of the Year, McGregor emerged from a field of competitors across more than 40 countries by doing something deceptively simple: staying rooted in place and remaining true to himself. His cocktails are built on storytelling, sustainability, and a strong sense of community—whether reimagining Halifax through a hodge podge–inspired serve or inviting guests into Highwayman as if they were stepping into a friend’s home.
Fifteen years behind the bar have honed his technique, but it’s McGregor’s intuition that set him apart. At Highwayman, drinks are precise yet unpretentious, guided by the belief that great hospitality is about making people feel seen and welcome. His work proves that when care and connection lead the way, warmth becomes a world-class technique.
One of your winning serves reimagined Halifax through hodge podge — a dish that’s humble, seasonal, and deeply local. What does Halifax taste like to you, and how do you translate that feeling into a cocktail without turning it into a gimmick?
When I think of the taste of Halifax, I think more in terms of seasonality, or simply the food my family would make — dishes with interesting flavour combinations. For the Hodge Podge Flip, I was thinking of fall instead of spring, so I naturally had to use corn milk, carrots, and ginger. For the summer months, I think of fresh strawberries, peppers from the market, and mushrooms, which I combine for a Caesar-style cocktail. For winter, I think of warm, cozy flavours like haskap and spiced oatmeal, which I use in a punch-style cocktail with an oatmeal brandy.
One of my most popular cocktails on tour is the “Apple Butter Martini” — a combination of Tanqueray 10 Gin, Pineapple Weed Vermouth, and an Apple Butter Liqueur. Pineapple Weed is essentially chamomile, though I’ve heard many locals call it that as it’s a weed that grows up through the sidewalk cracks. Outside of Northeastern America, Apple Butter tends to be an ingredient people are unaware of — it’s simply cooked-down applesauce that takes on deep, caramelized flavours.
To avoid making any of this a gimmick, I have to be thoughtful, but also playful, because that’s who we are as people. We tend not to take ourselves too seriously; we like to be a bit more laid-back and have a laugh. I like to reflect that in my flavour combinations and make the guest question why or how certain flavours work together.
On the road, everyone expects me to use maple syrup, which I did avoid for a while because I felt it was a gimmick — until recently. I now have a drink that uses bee pollen, maple water, and local apple cider vinegar in a refreshing, farmers’-style cocktail called the Acadian Switchel. It’s full of natural electrolytes and truly a cocktail that brings you to a sense of place.
You’ve said your style is “kitchen party hospitality,” where everyone feels like a friend you’re welcoming into your home. What does that philosophy look like in practice behind the bar at Highwayman, especially for someone visiting Halifax for the first time?
Kitchen Party hospitality is about making customers feel comfortable. At Highwayman, we welcome everyone through our doors.
Being a Spanish-inspired restaurant, some of our dishes aren’t familiar to regular clientele, so we do our best to keep things as approachable and casual as possible. The parallels between East Coast hospitality and Spanish hospitality are easy to find. All of our staff are knowledgeable, our quality in food and drink is high, yet we do our best not to seem pretentious.
On the road, I definitely lean into this a bit more. I grew up with my family hosting people and parties all the time, and my first few jobs as a bartender were at music venues where we had band apartments, so I’m used to playing the host. I also tend to bring a little stuffed cod with me on the road, where I make everyone “honorary Canadians.”
Since winning Global Bartender of the Year, you’ve stepped onto a world stage — events, judging, travel — yet Halifax still seems to be your anchor. What do you feel you’re representing when you pour a drink abroad and say you’re from here?
I’ve been fortunate in the sense that I grew up all over Atlantic Canada — St. John’s, Newfoundland, Moncton, New Brunswick, and a lot of time in Prince Edward Island — so when I’m abroad, I’m trying to create a sense of time and place and teach people about our microcosm of the world. Let’s face it, 95% of people abroad have no idea where we’re located on a map, so there’s both a pride and a stubbornness in highlighting who we are and what our palate is, our customs and our culture. We’re a market that is oftentimes overlooked compared to the rest of Canada, and this has given me the chance to hoist the flag — to be loud and proud and tell the world who we are and why we are so unique.
I have a rotating set of drinks I take on the road, and each one gives me a chance to talk about the terroir and merroir — using seaweeds, apple butter, haskap, and other fresh berries. I definitely incorporate global ingredients, but they provide moments for storytelling: our influences, and how we’ve impacted the world.
