Returning for a second year, Prophecy presents the World Bartender Exchange 2026 – a one-night celebration of global cocktail culture.
On Thursday February 5 from 8pm – midnight, Canada’s Best New Bar will welcome the award-winning team from Penang’s Backdoor Bodega for an evening of creativity and a celebration of the region’s rich beverage and culinary offering.
Awarded World’s Best Cocktail Menu 2025 by 50 Best and Asia’s Best Cocktail Bar by Asia’s 50 Best Bars, Backdoor Bodega founder Koh Yung Shen and bar manager Thanesh Sivakumar join Prophecy’s beverage director Jeff Savage for the exchange.
Popping up for one final time is the team behind Potluck Hawker, serving classic regional dishes, perfectly paired with the newly created pours.
In celebration, Prophecy will debut a unique menu, including two new cocktails:
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Garden City (alcoholic): a bright, shaken blend of Prophecy Vermouth, green chartreuse, snap pea, yuzu kosho, lime and shiso.
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Long Lost (non-alcoholic): a pre-carbonated, forest-inspired drink featuring blueberry, western red cedar, mushroom, thyme, and maple.
Event details:
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Date: Thursday, 5th February
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Time: 8:00pm – 12:00am
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Price: $40 (includes reservation, 1x welcome drink from Prophecy’s menu, 1x welcome drink from Backdoor Bodega’s menu and 1x food item from Potluck Hawker)
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Tickets now available at prophecybar.com
About Shen:
Winner of The Bar Awards’ Bartender of the Year (Penang) 2019, Shen is a self-taught bartender and owner of No Bar Here and Backdoor Bodega, one of Penang’s pioneering speakeasy cocktail bars, and is an honouree of the Asia’s Most Influential 2022 list by Tatler Asia for his contributions to the Penang cocktail industry. Shen is also the organising host of the annual Penang Cocktail Week and Bar Show Malaysia, and a proprietor of Drafted beer garden.
Awards & Competitions:
Woodford Reserve Wonderful Race Malaysia 2023 Champion
Giffard West Cup 2022 Asia Champion
Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential 2022 Honouree
The Bar Awards’ Bartender of the Year (Penang) 2019
Jameson Barrelman Homecoming 2019 Malaysia Runner-Up
La Maison Cointreau 2019 Malaysia 2nd Runner-Up
Campari Bartender Competition 2019 Malaysia Finalist
Bacardi Legacy 2019 Malaysia Top 10
About Thanesh:
Professionally trained as a French culinary chef, Thanesh began his F&B career at the tender age of 16, working his way through various fine dining establishments in his hometown island of Penang before eventually venturing into bartending at Backdoor Bodega in 2021.
With his vast knowledge and experience from the kitchen, Thanesh’s culinary sense brought a new dynamic to the execution of cocktails at the bar, and played a vital role in the creation of Backdoor Bodega’s peranakan-inspired menu. Within two years of bartending, Thanesh has managed to clinch the global champion title of the Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Competition in 2023, and went on to become the Malaysian champion for the Rémy Martin Bartender Talent Academy competition in 2024. In September 2025, Thanesh completed a cocktail competition hat-trick by winning the Campari Red Hands Malaysia 2025, his third title in three years.
Notable Awards:
Campari Red Hands Malaysia 2025 Champion
Rémy Martin Bartender Talent Academy 2024 Malaysian Champion
Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Competition 2023 Global Winner
Hennessy MyWay 2022 Cocktail Competition Global Top 40
About Jeff Savage:
Jeff Savage was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Through his early life, Jeff was deeply influenced by the tenacity and dedication of his father, who owned and operated a small independent business, as well as his mother, who worked both with his father and as a catering chef. Jeff’s love of hospitality was further informed by the abundance of community service and regular house parties his parents hosted for the people they loved.
Jeff left Calgary the day after his 19th birthday to explore the world. When he returned to study at the University of Alberta, instead of re-signing his contract with the university’s sustainability office, he walked down the street and secured a role as the opening bartender at an upstart neighbourhood bar in Edmonton. From there, Jeff’s passion for a long-standing career behind the bar cemented itself.
After five years at Three Boars in Edmonton, Jeff went on to work at Proof Cocktail Bar and Deane House in Calgary before heading west to Vancouver. He later joined Botanist Bar, where his career entered a period of high recognition. During his time there, Jeff received the 2019–20 Canada’s 50 Best Best Bartender Award, led the bar to earn the 2022 MICHELIN Exceptional Cocktails Award, and oversaw Botanist’s recognition on both Canada’s 50 Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Bars lists.
Jeff now serves as Beverage Director of Prophecy, while also operating his consultancy, Father of Cups. Since opening, Prophecy has been named 53rd Best Bar in North America (2025) by North America’s 50 Best Bars, 7th Best Bar in Canada (2025) and Best New Bar (2025) by Canada’s 100 Best, and has been awarded two Pinnacle Pins for Outstanding Service and Hospitality.
Other awards: Vancouver Magazine Bartender of the Year (2022), World Class Canada Bartender of the Year (2019) and Global Runner-Up, Bols Around the World World’s Best Bar Team (2019), Bacardi Legacy National Finalist and Most Imaginative Bartender (2018), and Calgary’s Best Bartender (2016).
ABOUT PROPHECY | Prophecy is Vancouver’s newest cocktail destination, nestled beneath the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Led by At Home Hospitality, Prophecy fuses vintage charm and cutting-edge mixology in a captivating space with a rich history. Featuring cocktails by acclaimed Beverage Director Jeff Savage and a menu of carefully curated bites, Prophecy gives guests the chance to escape into the past while embracing the future. Here, every sip tells a story and every moment sparks an adventure. | prophecybar.com | Instagram: @prophecybar
801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC | 778-233-2953 | Open daily, 4:00 PM – Late
Images provided by: Stacey Young