NOMINATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL SPIRITED AWARD® CEREMONY
Posted on February 18, 2011
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NOMINATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE TALES OF THE COCKTAIL’S
5TH ANNUAL SPIRITED AWARD® Ceremony
Held during Tales of the Cocktail® 2011, the Spirited Award® Ceremony will honor the world’s best bars, bartenders, cocktail experts, writers and more.
New Orleans, LA – February 18, 2011 – Since 2007, Tales of the Cocktail®, the world’s premier cocktail festival, has been recognizing the world’s best bartenders, bars, cocktail experts, writers and more for their thirst for excellence in the cocktail industry. Celebrating its 5th year, the Spirited Award® Ceremony will once again honor the best of the cocktail world on Saturday, July 23, 2011 as part of this year’s Tales of the Cocktail® festivities. Nominations for Spirited Awards’ 16 categories are now being accepted online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com.
“Our list of award winners from the past four years is a who’s who of cocktails,” said Ann Tuennerman, Founder of Tales of the Cocktail®. “If you’re wondering where the cocktail industry is headed, The Spirited Award® recipients and nominees are a good place to start.”
This year, Tales of the Cocktail®, sponsored by Pernod Ricard USA, will present the coveted Riedel Crystal awards to cocktail professionals in 16 categories. This includes two new categories added by the 2011 Spirited Award® committee, Best High Volume Cocktail Bar and Best Restaurant Bar. The Best High Volume Cocktail Bar award has been developed to recognize a large, high traffic bars (100 seats or more) that’s able to deliver top-level cocktails, one bar patron after the next. The Best Restaurant Bar will be awarded to the world’s top restaurant bar, one that is dedicated to creating an exceptional cocktail experience for their dining guests with special considerations for aperitifs, digestive drinks and cocktail-food pairings. In addition to the awards being given out, Beverage Media Group, Inc. will recognize 10 Up & Coming Mixologists, selected from participants of the Tales of the Cocktail® Apprentice Program.
The awards will be announced as part of the Tales of the Cocktail’s five-day celebration being held July 20-24, 2011 in New Orleans. Tickets to the Spirited Award® Ceremony and other events will be available online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com beginning in March 2011.
The 2011 Spirited Award® Ceremony has two Judging Committees comprised of the following members:
Committee Chairman:
Simon Ford, Chairman
USA Judging Committee:
Tony Abou-Ganim
Bridget Albert
Henry Besant
Jacques Bezuidenhout
Derek Brown
Dale DeGroff
Peter Dorelli
Simon Ford
Robert Hess
David Kaplan
Allen Katz
Francesco Lafranconi
John Lermayer
Brian Rea
Audrey Saunders
Willy Shine
Marcos Tello
Ann Tunnerman
Charlotte Voisey
Phil Ward
International Judging Committee:
Ricardo Albrecht
Stephan Berg
Jacob Briars
Fernando Castellon
Wayne Collins
Tony Conigliaro
Jason Crawley
Dale DeGroff
Simon Difford
Philip Duff
Eben Freeman
John Gakuru
Jim Meehan
Sean Muldoon
Agostino Peronne
Stanislav Vadrna
Angus Winchester
Naren Young
Dave Wondrich
Award Categories and Criteria
(In no particular order)
American Bartender of the Year
Criteria: From Jerry Thomas onwards, American bartenders have been amongst the most influential on drink styles and cocktail culture in general. This award seeks to recognize the most influential American bartender today. The winner should be proficient at making all recognized classic drinks and also have created contemporary cocktails that have been copied by his/her peers. Nominees must actively be working behind the bar.
Best American Brand Ambassador
Criteria: An award which recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drink brands and their creative use of brand communication to engage the trade and their ability to execute compelling education and seminars. This person must be working as an Ambassador full time in the United States. Nominees must NOT be working behind the bar.
Best American Cocktail Bar
Criteria: This award recognizes the influence on cocktail trends within the United States and seeks to award the country’s best cocktail bar. Menu, bar teams and cocktail quality are all considered.
Best Bar Mentor
Criteria: Not everyone who is having an impact on the quality of the cocktails we drink is working behind the bar. There are many people who are creating fine bar programs, training the next generation of great bartenders and playing an active role in designing the bars we all love to drink in. This award recognizes those individuals who, in their professional life, play a crucial role in raising the quality of bars, bartenders, and cocktails without currently working as a bartender. Nominees must NOT be working behind the bar.
Best High Volume Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Awarded to the bar that consistently delivers top quality cocktails at bars with 100 seats or more. This award celebrates those bars that deliver cocktail culture to the masses efficiently. Cocktails, lists, bartending and service are all considered.
Best Cocktail Writing
Criteria: Great journalism is one of the best ways to communicate to the general public the value and significance of great cocktails and related products. This award is for any non-book writing (magazine, newspaper, website, etc.) that promotes bars, bartenders or cocktails in general.
Best International Brand Ambassador
Criteria: An award which recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drink brands and their creative use of brand communication to engage the trade and their ability to execute compelling education and seminars. This person should work in an International capacity or in a country other than the USA. Nominees must NOT be working behind the bar.
Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
Criteria: The best book published in 2010 regarding cocktails, liquor, bars, bar design or bartending in general. New editions of existing works may also be nominated.
Best New Product
Criteria: This is awarded to what the judges consider to be the best new cocktail ingredient (spirit, liqueur, syrup or juice) or piece of cocktail equipment (muddler, shaker, etc.). To qualify, products must be on general retail sale in at least three US states.
Best Restaurant Bar
Criteria: This award is for the restaurant bar that is dedicated to creating a great cocktail experience for their dining guests. Considerations will go to the approach they have to Aperitif and Digestive drinks, how well they work with the kitchen to pair cocktails with food, as well as general bartending and mixing excellence.
International Bartender of the Year
Criteria: The absolute best drink mixer in the world. The winner must have received international recognition of their work with their own recipes crossing borders to appear on cocktail menus in numerous countries. (US citizens are not excluded).
World’s Best Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Only truly world-class bars will be considered for this illustrious title. Some bars attain worldwide recognition and this award recognizes the very best of the best.
World’s Best Cocktail Menu
Criteria: The judges seek to reward innovative and thirst-inducing cocktail menus. Both the design and content will be considered.
World’s Best Drinks Selection
Criteria: A venue stocking an outstanding range of spirits and liqueurs. The judges will favor discernment as well as sheer number of bottles stocked.
World’s Best Hotel Bar
Criteria: The classic ‘American Bar’ played an important role in the history and development of cocktail culture. The judges are looking for hotel bars that uphold this tradition (but are not necessarily old) and offer five-star service and consistently well-made drinks.
World’s Best New Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Only bars which opened after March 1, 2010 may be nominated. This award aims to reward new creativity and ideas as well as well executed drinks.
About Tales of the Cocktail®
Tales of the Cocktail® is the world’s premier cocktail festival, bringing together the most respected minds on mixology for five days of cocktails, cuisine and culture. Held annually in New Orleans, this event has something for cocktail professionals and amateurs alike with a spirited schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions, parties and special events where brands showcase their latest products. Now in its ninth year, Tales of the Cocktail® returns with another round events all perfectly paired with some of the best cocktails ever made. Shake things up at Tales of the Cocktail® 2011, July 20-24.
About the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society
The New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society (NOCCPS) is a non-profit organization committed to preserving the unique culture of dining and drinking in New Orleans and the storied bars and restaurants that have contributed to the city’s world-wide culinary acclaim. This organization supports members of the hospitality industry through education and the production of events like Tales of the Cocktail®, and most recently, Trails of the Cocktail, a scholarship program for emerging talent in the cocktail industry.
For more information on Tales of the Cocktail®, visit the website at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com. Ticket will go on sale in March 2011.
