Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) has revealed the top 10 nominees for its 2022 Spirited Awards, with The Spirits Business named as one of the finalists for Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication.

Founded in 2007, the Spirited Awards seeks to put the spotlight on a range of industry talent from bartenders, journalists, and brand ambassadors, to brands and media.

The annual New Orleans festival is preparing to host this year’s event on 25 to 29 July, with the winners revealed on 28 July during the Spirited Awards ceremony.

Jacob Briars, Spirited Awards international chair, said: “It’s been a challenging couple of years for bars and restaurants, but these nominees are a reflection of the strong spirit of our industry in spite of challenges – bold new openings, bars and bartenders who continue to strive for excellence, and a whole lot of hard-working staff who deserve amazing recognition and our support.

“As our world opens up again, these nominees should be at the top of your list when deciding where to go next and what to drink there.”

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Spirited Awards committee and TOTCF board said it will not consider nominees from Russia for the 2022 awards.

In addition, the Spirited Awards’ two sitting judges from Russia have both agreed to abstain from judging this year.

The top four finalists will be revealed on 21 June 2022.

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International categories

International Bartender of the Year presented by Patrón

Moe Aljaff — Two Schmucks, Barcelona, Spain

Lorenzo Antinori — Argo/Four Seasons Hotel & Resorts, Hong Kong, China

Giorgio Bargiani — The Connaught Bar, London, UK

Kate Boushel — Atwater Cocktail Club/Milky Way Cocktail Bar, Montréal, Québec, Canada

James Grant — Little HK, Edmonton, Canada

Keith Motsi — Charles H Seoul at the Four Seasons Hotel, Seoul, South Korea

Rémy Savage – A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London, UK

Daniel Schofield — Schofield’s Bar, Manchester, UK

Ezra Star — Mostly Harmless, Hong Kong, China

Luke Whearty — Byrdi, Melbourne, Australia

Matt Whiley — RE, Sydney, Australia

 

Best International Bar Mentor presented by Lyre’s

Monica Berg

Arijit Bose

Simone Caporale

Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni

Tim Etherington Judge

Trevor Kallies

Dre Masso

Lauren Mote

Danil Nevsky

Agostino Perrone

Christina Veira

Camille Vidal

*Includes 12 nominees due to a tie

 

Best International Brand Ambassador presented by Lyre’s

Jenna Ba — Diageo

Claudia Cabrera — Fratelli Branca

Irene Díaz — Ron Diplomático

Martin Hudák — Mr Black Spirits

Daniyel Jones — House of Angostura

Ally Martin — Hendrick’s Gin

Dave Mitton — Pernod Ricard

Ricardo Nava — Bacardí Latin America

Tim Phillips-Johansson — Johnnie Walker

Nicola Riske — The Macallan

 

Best International Bar Team presented by House of Angostura

Alquímico — Cartagena, Colombia

Atwater Cocktail Club — Montréal, Québec, Canada

Jigger & Pony at the Amara Hotel — Singapore

La Factoría — San Juan, Puerto Rico

Maybe Sammy — Sydney, Australia

Salmon Guru — Madrid, Spain

Tayēr + Elementary — London, UK

The Clumsies — Athens, Greece

Tres Monos — Buenos Aires, Argentina

Two Schmucks — Barcelona, Spain

 

Best International Cocktail Bar presented by Tequila Fortaleza

Alquímico — Cartagena, Colombia

Atwater Cocktail Club — Montréal, Québec, Canada

Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen & Cape Brandy Bar — Cape Town, South Africa

COA — Hong Kong, China

Florería Atlántico — Buenos Aires, Argentina

Maybe Sammy — Sydney, Australia

Paradiso — Barcelona, Spain

Salmon Guru — Madrid, Spain

Satan’s Whiskers — London, UK

Tayēr + Elementary — London, UK

Three Sheets — London, UK

Two Schmucks — Barcelona, Spain

*Includes 12 nominees due to a tie

 

Best International Hotel Bar presented by Perrier

Bar Trigona at the Four Seasons Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel — Vancouver, Canada

Bulgari Bar at The Bvlgari Resort — Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Charles H Seoul at the Four Seasons Hotel — Seoul, South Korea

Fifty Mils at the Four Seasons Hotel — Mexico City, Mexico

Jigger & Pony at the Amara Hotel — Singapore

Lyaness at Sea Containers London — London, UK

Mo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental — Singapore

Origin Bar at The Shangri-La Hotel — Singapore

The American Bar at The Stafford London — London, UK

The Donovan Bar at the Brown’s Hotel — London, UK

*Includes 11 nominees due to a tie

 

Best International Restaurant Bar presented by Tales of the Cocktail Foundation

Bar Kismet — Halifax, Canada

Caffe Fernet — Singapore

Danico — Paris, France

Le Mary Celeste — Paris, France

Locale Firenze — Florence, Italy

LPM Restaurant & Bar — Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Pujol — Mexico City, Mexico

Sexy Fish — London, UK

The Continental Deli — Newtown, Australia

Tjoget — Stockholm, Sweden

Zuma Dubai — Dubai, United Arab Emirates

*Includes 11 nominees due to a tie

 

Best New International Cocktail Bar presented by Stranger & Sons

A Bar with Shapes for a Name — London, UK

Amaro Bar — London, UK

Argo — Hong Kong, China

Dead End Paradise — Beirut, Lebanon

Dean & Nancy — Sydney, Australia

RE — Sydney, Australia

Schofield’s Bar — Manchester, UK

Side Hustle at the Nomad — London, UK

Sips — Barcelona, Spain

Wax On — Berlin, Germany

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US categories

US Bartender of the Year presented by Del Maguey

Josh Davis — 16th Street Bar, Chicago, Illinois

Chris Elford — Trade Winds Tavern, Navy Strength, Rob Roy, Here Today Brewing, Seattle, Washington

Chris Hannah — Jewel of the South, New Orleans, Louisiana

Caer Maiko Ferguson — Drink Well, Austin, Texas

Chris McMillian — Revel Bar & Cafe, New Orleans, Los Angeles

Shauna O’Neil — Sweet Liberty, Miami, Florida

Kapri Robinson — Allegory, Washington DC

Christian Suzuki-Orellana — Wildhawk, San Francisco, California

Masahiro ‘Masa’ Urushido — Katana Kitten, New York

Christine Wiseman — Bar Lab Hospitality Group, Miami, Florida

 

Best US bar mentor presented by Bar Smarts

Colin Asare-Appiah

Julio Cabrera

Kevin Diedrich

Meaghan Dorman

Alba Huerta

Alex Jump

Sean Kenyon

Franky Marshall

Nectaly Mendoza

Jeffrey Morgenthaler

 

Best US brand ambassador presented by Libbey Glass

Cameron George — Ardbeg

Chris Cabrera — Bacardí USA

Daniel Warrilow — Campari America

Jenna Murray — The Glenlivet

Kiowa Bryan — Spiribam

Lynn House — Heaven Hill

Natasha Sofia Velez — Davos Brands

Ryan Wainwright — Bombay Sapphire

Tad Carducci — Gruppo Montenegro

Vance Henderson — Hendrick’s Gin

 

Best US bar team presented by William Grant & Sons

Attaboy — New York

Cleaver – Butchered Meats, Seafood & Classic Cocktails — Las Vegas, Nevada

Half Step — Austin, Texas

Jaguar Sun — Miami, Florida

Jewel of the South — New Orleans, Louisiana

Katana Kitten — New York

The Long Island Bar — Brooklyn, New York

The Roosevelt Room — Austin, Texas

The Snug — Sacramento, California

Thunderbolt — Los Angeles, California

 

Best US Cocktail Bar presented by Absolut Vodka

Bar Goto — New York

Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 — New Orleans, Los Angeles

Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour — Phoenix, Arizona

Drink Well — Austin, Texas

Julep — Houston, Texas

Katana Kitten — New York

Occidental — Denver, Colorado

Pearl Diver — Nashville, Tennessee

The Roosevelt Room — Austin, Texas

Thunderbolt — Los Angeles, California

 

Best US Hotel Bar presented by Grey Goose

Bar Marilou at Maison de la Luz — New Orleans, Los Angeles

Champagne Bar at The Surf Club Miami — Miami, Florida

Dear Irving on Hudson at the Aliz Hotel — New York

Hey Love at The Jupiter — Portland, Oregon

King Cole Bar at The St Regis New York — New York

Libertine Social at the Mandalay Bay — Las Vegas, Nevada

Little Rituals at the Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott — Phoenix, Arizona

Midnight Rambler at the Joule — Dallas, Texas

Mountaineering Club at the Graduate Seattle Hotel — Seattle, Washington

Silver Lyan at the Riggs Washington DC — Washington DC

 

Best US Restaurant Bar presented by Maison Ferrand

Café La Trova — Miami, Florida

Cleaver – Butchered Meats, Seafood & Classic Cocktails — Las Vegas, Nevada

Crown Shy — New York

Gramercy Tavern — New York

Jewel of the South — New Orleans, Louisiana

Kimball House — Decatur, Georgia

Kumiko — Chicago, Illinois

L’Oursin — Seattle, Washington

Republique — Los Angeles, Califronia

Spoon and Stable — Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Best New US Cocktail Bar presented by Aviation Gin

Double Chicken Please — New York, NY

Happy Accidents — Albuquerque, New Mexico

Kona’s Street Market — San Francisco, California

Law Bird — Columbus, Ohio

Overstory — New York

Palmetto — Oakland, California

Temple Bar — New York

Tiki Tatsu-Ya — Austin, Texas

Trade Winds Tavern — Seattle, Washington

Yacht Club — Denver, Colorado

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Writing and media categories

Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication presented by Diageo Bar Academy

Class

Difford’s Guide

Discard the Zine

Drink Magazine Asia

Drinks International

Liquor.com

The Cocktail Lovers

The Spirits Business

Vine Pair

Whisky Magazine

 

Best Broadcast, Podcast, or Online Video Series presented by Diageo Bar Academy

A Life In Whisky: The Dennis Malcolm Story (A documentary by Whisky Magazine)

Behind the Bar with Cara Devine

El Club de los Cantineros (documentary)

Freepour

Happy Hour History

Hospitality Forward podcast by Hanna Lee Communications

Radio Imbibe

Shōshin Art Club

The Cocktail Lovers Podcast

The Speakeasy Podcast

 

Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing presented by Diageo Bar Academy

Get Real: The bar world looks beyond feel-good measures on sustainability and climate change by Max Falkowitz, for Imbibe

Getting high from a new supply: a revolutionary flavour extraction method for cocktails is being pioneered in South Africa by Leah van Deventer, for theworlds50best.com

Has the coronavirus pandemic destroyed American bar culture? by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, for Daily Beast

Making it Through: How a bar’s regulars helped during a pandemic by Rebecca Cate as told to Paul Clarke, Imbibe

Marc Farrell wants to change the way you think about rum by Yolanda Evans, for Food & Wine

Meet the eco-packaging innovations transforming the drinks industry by Betsy Andrews, for Seven Fifty Daily

Mexican terroir by Liza Weisstuch, for Whisky Magazine

The greatest drinking contest in history by David Wondrich, for Daily Beast

The Hard Reset – Creating a new hospitality culture by Anna Sebastian, for Class

Turns out rye whiskey isn’t an American creation after all by Lew Bryson, for Daily Beast

 

Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book presented by Lyre’s 

Claridge’s The Cocktail Book by Denis Broci and Nathan McCarley-O’Neill

Cocktail Dive Bar: Real Drinks, Fake History, and Questionable Advice from New Orleans’s Twelve Mile Limit by T Cole Newton

Death & Co: Welcome Home by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, and David Kaplan

Difford’s Guide to Cocktails Sixteenth Edition by Simon Difford

Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails by Robert Simonson

The Cocktail Seminars by Brian D Hoefling

The Japanese Art of the Cocktail by Masahiro Urushido and Michael Anstendig

The Way of the Cocktail: Japanese Traditions, Techniques, and Recipes by Julia Momosé with Emma Janzen

Tokyo Cocktails by Nicholas Coldicott

Zero Proof: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking by Elva Ramirez

 

Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits presented by Diageo Bar Academy

A Good Drink: In Pursuit of Sustainable Spirits by Shanna Farrell

Bourbon: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey by Clay Risen

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O’Meara

L’Ora dell’Americano by Mauro Mahjoub & Lucio Tucci

Something & Tonic by Nick Kokonas

The Big Book of Amaro by Matteo Zed

The New Kindred Spirits by F Paul Pacult

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails edited by David Wondrich with Noah Rothbaum

The Spirit of Rye by Carlo DeVito

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Global categories

Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient presented by Tales of the Cocktail Foundation

Abasolo Ancestral Corn Whisky

Angostura Cocoa Bitters

Citadelle Gin Jardin d’été

Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Vida de Muertos

Equiano Light Rum

Fever-Tree Sparkling Lime & Yuzu

Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit

Hendrick’s Lunar Gin

Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Italian Orange

Nixta Licor de Elote

Lost Irish

Ojo de Tigre Mezcal Artesanal

Savoia Americano

*Includes 13 nominees due to a tie

 

World’s Best Cocktail Menu presented by Diageo Bar Academy

Alquímico — Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Dante NYC — New York, NY

Himkok — Oslo, Norway

Little Red Door — Paris, France

Lyaness at Sea Containers London — London, UK

Mace Bar — New York, US

Paradiso — Barcelona, Spain

Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood London — London, UK

Swift Soho — London, UK

Tayēr + Elementary — London, UK

 

World’s Best Spirits Selection presented by Beam Suntory

Atla — New York, US

Brandy Library — New York, US

In-Situ Mezcaleria — Oaxaca City, Mexico

Jack Rose Dining Saloon — Washington DC, US

Origin Bar at The Shangri-La Hotel — Singapore

Rumba — Seattle, Washington, US

Sexy Fish — London, UK

Swift Soho — London, UK

The Bamboo Room at Three Dots and a Dash — Chicago, Illinois

The Doctor’s Office — Seattle, Washington, US