The winners of the Spirited Awards 2014
It’s Tales of the Cocktail week again! Andrew Wilkin reports for MIXOLOGY ONLINE from the annual highlight – the Spirited Awards, who aim to award the best bars and bartenders in the US and internationally. So, who were the lucky winners?
The revelry of New Orleans is known the world over. Whether it’s Mardi Gras, rhythm and blues or the sensational spice of the jambalaya, the Big Easy conjures up visions of hazy good times. And the cocktail? Well, Nola’s a veritable cocktail mecca.
Adorned with a list of long drink institutions from 1870’s-established The Old Absinthe House to Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt and also the home of the Museum of the American Cocktail, the raucous port city has always been a pro with a mixer and shaker. It’s thus apt that Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s biggest and arguably most prestigious cocktail conference, has set up camp annually in NOLA for the last twelve years. There’s both the hangouts fit for raucous shenanigans (ask anyone in the beverage industry – a prerequisite of any trade conference!), and the cocktail prestige. The highlight of the week is the Spirited Awards, held at the Sheraton, who aim to award the best of all American and international drinking establishments – the best bartenders, ambassadors, publications, drinks and of course, bars. Yes, the Spirited Awards truly run the gamut.
What do we think of this years nominees list? As ever, we here at MIXOLOGY are keen to sing the praises of the European nominees, often overshadowed by their US counterparts in this American ceremony. It’s quite apt that London bar Nola (Best International New Cocktail Bar) gets a nod, given it’s coincidental use of the acronym, and there’s Euro nods too for Edinburgh’s Bramble Bar (Best International Cocktail Bar), Paris’ Candelaria (Best International Cocktail Bar), Amsterdam’s Door 74 (Best International Cocktail Bar) and Prague’s Black Angel’s Bar (Best International Hotel Bar). Yet there’s only one solitary nod for the German-speaking lands – Munich’s Schumann’s. The iconic Odeonsplatz staple goes in the Best International High Volume Bar category. It thus looks unlikely we’ll have a Germanic successor to 2010’s victory by Berlin’s Lebenstern for the World’s Best Drinks Selection, or 2008’s prevailing of Hamburg’s Le Lion for ‘World’s Best New Cocktail Bar’.
Which brings us to the question – are the Spirited Awards relevant? Criticism largely focuses on the geographic nature of the nominee list – namely, it’s knack for annually awarding those from Anglo-American countries, a solitary few from the European continent and excluding others (South America is yet to be nominated). As has been stated beforehand, MIXOLOGY would love to see a wider worldwide spread but there’s signs of a change afoot – for example Russia, previously shut out, gets its first nominee this year, for Moscow’s Delicatessen (Best International Restaurant Bar). It won’t be the last. Look at it this way, as the world becomes ever-more globalised, so will the Spirited Awards – just wait and see…
And alas, there’s a rumour going around that this year, the jury have been canvassing for more international votes. So, when will we find out the winners? Around about…NOW! The winner’s of this years Spirited Awards are as follows…
American Bartender of the Year: Sean Kenyon (Denver)
Best American Bar Team: Trick Dog (San Francisco)
Best American Brand Ambassador: Neyah White (Suntory Japanese Whiskies)
Best American Cocktail Bar: The Dead Rabbit (New York)
Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar: Polite Provisions (San Diego)
Best American Hotel Bar: Clyde Common (Portland)
Best American Restaurant Bar: The NoMad (New York)
Best New American Cocktail Bar: Three Dots and A Dash (Chicago)
International Bartender of the Year: Simone Caporale (London)
Best International Bar Team: Artesian at The Langham (London)
Best International Brand Ambassador: Giuseppe Gallo (Martini)
Best International Cocktail Bar: 28 Hong Kong Street (Singapore)
Best International High Volume Cocktail Bar: Schumann’s Bar (Munich)
Best International Hotel Bar: Artesian at The Langham (London)
Best International Restaurant Bar: The Bon Vivant (Edinburgh)
Best New International Cocktail Bar: White Lyan (London)
Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication: Imbibe magazine (United States)
Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer: Paul Clarke (United States)
Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book: Beachbum Berry’s “Potions of the Caribbean” by Jeff Berry
Best Bar Mentor: Dushan Zaric
Best New Product: Del Maguey Ibérico mezcal
World’s Best Cocktail Menu: The Aviary (Chicago)
World’s Best Drinks Selection: The Dead Rabbit (New York)
It’s always important to remember the Spirited Awards are subjective – many a top-notch bar around the world missed out on noms, something which doesn’t mean they are of ‘lesser quality’. A definitive arbiter of quality – no awards ceremony can achieve that, whether it’s the Oscars, the Nobel Peace Prize or even our own MIXOLOGY BAR AWARDS!
For the winners, a long night awaits after the Great Gatsby themed ceremony. Maybe they can check out MIXOLOGY’s recent article about New Orleans’ top bars, and extend the decadence within the delirium of Carousel Bar & Lounge’s rotating bar and fairground aesthetic, or head to the so-called “birthplace of the Grasshopper Cocktail” at Tujague’s in the French Quarter?
Congratulations to all from everybody at MIXOLOGY in Berlin, and whatever the destination, here’s to the night ahead…
