On the weekend in New Orleans, the ceremony for this year’s Spirited Awards — held every year as a part of Tales of the Cocktail — saw Melbourne’s Black Pearl receiving international acclaim as they took out the award for Best International High Volume Cocktail Bar.
Black Pearl beat out three other high profile bars for the awards, including fellow Melbourne bar, Eau de Vie, as well as London’s Callooh Callay and Trailer Happiness.
In other categories, the International Bartender of the Year award was taken out by Ryan Chetiyawardana, and his bar Dandelyan also won the title of Best New International Cocktail Bar (you can read our story about Dandelyan’s cocktail list here).
Jonathan Downey was recognised for the Lifetime Achievement award for his work with Match Bar Group; spirits writer and educator Dave Broom took out the Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer title; and the team at Singapore’s 28 Hong Kong Street beat fellow nominees, Black Pearl, to win the title of Best International Bar Team. New York’s The Dead Rabbit also took home the award for World’s Best Cocktail Menu (have a look at a couple of the drinks from The Dead Rabbit menu here).
Take a look below at the full list of winners.
2015 Spirited Awards Winners
American Categories
Best American Bar Team
Employees Only (New York)
American Bartender of the Year
Ivy Mix (New York)
Best American Brand Ambassador
Brooke Arthur (House Spirits)
Best American Cocktail Bar
Williams & Graham (Denver)
Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar
Employees Only (New York)
Best American Hotel Bar
The Broken Shaker (Miami Beach)
Best American Restaurant Bar
Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks (Boston)
Best New American Cocktail Bar
ABV (San Francisco)
International Categories
Best International Bar Team
28 Hong Kong Street (Singapore)
International Bartender of the Year
Ryan Chetiyawardana (London)
Best International Brand Ambassador
Claire Smith-Warner (Belvedere Vodka)
Best International Cocktail Bar
Artesian (London)
Best International High Volume CocktailBar
The Black Pearl & The Attic (Melbourne)
Best International Hotel Bar
Beaufort Bar, The Savoy (London)
Best International Restaurant Bar
Blind Pig at Social Eating House (London)
Best New International Cocktail Bar
Dandelyan (London)
Writing Categories
Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication
PUNCH
Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer
Dave Broom
Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold
Best New Spirits Book
Whisky: The Manual by Dave Broom
Overall Categories
Best Bar Mentor
Jim Meehan (Portland)
Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient
Amaro di Angostura
World’s Best Cocktail Menu
Dead Rabbit (New York)
World’s Best Spirits Selection
Canon (Seattle)
World’s Best Bar
Dead Rabbit (New York)
Special Recognitions
Lifetime Achievement Award
Jonathan Downey
Sam Guarino Citation
Steve Mannan