Last night marked the 20th year of the celebrated Annual Spirited Awards hosted at the Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. As a way to wrap up the weeklong conference and festivities, the awards honor bar and hospitality professionals, organizations and establishments across the globe who are actively shaping the community. Bartenders, hospitality professionals and bars from all around the world were honored in the global ceremony.
New York took home three awards last night. The U.S. Bartender of the Year went to the ever-accomplished Takuma Watanabe, founder of Martiny’s (a bar that won the Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar designation in 2023), L’Americana and Midnight Blue. One of the largest awards of the night, the title of Best U.S. Cocktail Bar went to the East Village’s Bar Snack. We certainly understand the designation as the bar currently sits as our number one bar in New York, praised for its “rousing round of cocktails” with “riffs on whiskey sours with raspberry and smooth heads of Guinness, tiny tini’s (cutely named, Snaquiri) and a particular frozen we’d dain to drink any time of the year.” Following in the footsteps of last year’s winners, Sip & Guzzle, schmuck. carried the torch forward, winning the title of Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar. Coming in one ‘s best bars in New York City, we are a fan of the gussied-up lounge for its highballs that “burst with tomato sweetness…and peanutty tipples that hum with a chili-oil spiked heat.”
In fact, the eastern seaboard as a whole won big, as Washington D.C.’s Service Bar received an award for the Best U.S. Bar Team. Our contributor Helen Carefoot was well aware of the team’s professional prowess, recognizing the bar’s penchant for “employing and training some of the best bartenders in the city.” She further highlighted that the U Street bar is a “rare spot that serves high-end drinks in a relaxing, open atmosphere.” Another win for D.C., this time under the global category, the title for the World’s Best Cocktail went to Allegory at the Eaton Hotel.
Further south, the designation of Best U.S. Hotel Bar went to Miami’s ViceVersa at The Elser Hotel. Our contributor Fayln Wood praised the downtown Miami bar for its spotlight of “Italian spirits, bitters, amari and vermouths in both traditional and reimagined formats” with drinks that include Seasonal Negroni Punch and an “Affogato Martini with a dollop of house-made pistachio ice cream.”
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail lounge, Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, won the Timeless U.S. Award under the global category. Continuing the wins for the Midwest region, Cobra in Columbus, Ohio, won the title of Best U.S. Restaurant Bar. In the southwest, Amanda Gunderson and Travis Nass won Best U.S. Bar Mentor for their work at Another Round Another Rally, a nonprofit that provides financial and educational resources for members of the hospitality industry. And as for the title of Best U.S. Brand Ambassador, the honor went to Benny Hurwitz of Campari American Whiskies.
Check out the lineup of winners below:
U.S. CATEGORIES:
U.S. Bartender of the Year presented by Brown-Forman
Takuma Watanabe, Martiny’s/ L’Americana/ Midnight Blue, New York, NY
Best U.S. Bar Mentor presented by Helmsman Imports
Amanda Gunderson and Travis Nass
Best U.S. Brand Ambassador
Benny Hurwitz, Campari American Whiskies
Best U.S. Bar Team presented by William Grant & Sons
Service Bar, Washington, D.C.
Best U.S. Cocktail Bar by Gruppo Montenegro
Bar Snack, New York, NY
Best U.S. Hotel Bar presented by PATRÓN, 100% Mystery Ingredient- Free Tequila
ViceVersa at the Elser Hotel, Miami, FL
Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
Cobra, Columbus, OH
Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar presented by Cutwater
schmuck., New York, NY
GLOBAL CATEGORIES:
World’s Best Cocktail Menu presented by Australian Bitters Co.
Allegory at the Eaton Hotel, Washington D.C.
Timeless U.S. Award presented by Explore Louisiana
Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, Milwaukee, WI
Find the full listing of international winners and writing and media award winners here.
