Cheers to the 2024 Spirited Award Winners!

by David Klemt

We didn’t attend Tales of the Cocktail this year but we did watch the Spirited Award livestream to celebrate our peers receiving the recognition they deserve.

Let’s dive right into it!

A massive congratulations to the team at ALQUÍMICO in Cartagena des Indias, Colombia, for grabbing the World’s Best Bar crown.

Two incredible and generous bar pros, Alex Jump and Danil Nevsky, are this year’s Best US Bar Mentor and Best International Bar Mentor, respectively. I want to thank Jump for using her time on stage to call out the mental and physical health threats our industry continues to face.

This year’s Timeless US Award goes to The Buena Vista in San Francisco, California, while the Timeless International Award winner is Café Pacifico in London, UK. Hidetsugu Ueno’s commitment to the craft of bartending, hospitality, mentorship, and community earned him the 2024 Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award. Colin Asare-Appiah (“Get involved, bruv!”) is the more-than-deserving winner of this year’s Tales Visionary Award.

A special congratulations to Nectaly Mendoza, Joy Figueroa, and the team at Cleaver in Las Vegas for earning the Best US Restaurant Bar award. Yes, my civic pride is showing.

Another tip of the cap goes to Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, Mexico, for picking up three Spirited Awards: World’s Best Cocktail Menu, Best International Bar Team, and International Bartender of the Year. Congratulations to Eric van Beek!

Allegory at the Eaton Hotel takes two Spirited Awards back to DC: Best US Hotel Bar, and US Bartender of the Year. Cheers to Kapri Robinson!

Should you want a refresher regarding the four finalists from each award category, click here. The top-ten nominees are listed here, and the top-ten regional honorees can be found via this link.

Below, the award winners in the order they were revealed during the 2024 ceremony. Cheers!

Best New International Cocktail Bar

Bar Leone (Hong Kong)

New New US Cocktail Bar

Superbueno (New York, New York)

Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication

The Cocktail Lovers

Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing

“A New Spirit Confronts the Consequences of Colonialism,” by Adaorah Oduah, for Punch

Best International Brand Ambassador

Dave Mitton, Lot 40 / J.P. Wiser’s

Best US Brand Ambassador

Anna Mains, Monkey Shoulder

Best Broadcast, Podcast, or Online Video Series

Bartender At Large, hosted by Erick Castro

World’s Best Cocktail Menu

Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City, Mexico)

Best International Restaurant Bar

Danico (Paris, France)

Best US Restaurant Bar

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

Best International Bar Team

Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City, Mexico)

Best US Bar Team

Jewel of the South (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Best International Hotel Bar

BKK Social Club at Four Seasons Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand)

Best US Hotel Bar

Allegory at the Eaton Hotel (Washington, DC)

Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits

Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice: A Cocktail Recipe Book Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin

Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book

The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts by Camper English

Best International Cocktail Bar

ALQUÍMICO (Cartagena des Indias, Colombia)

Best US Cocktail Bar

Yacht Club (Denver, Colorado)

World’s Best Spirits Selection

Baba Au Rum (Athens, Greece)

Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient

YUZUCO Yuzu Super Juice

International Bartender of the Year

Eric van Beek, Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City, Mexico)

US Bartender of the Year

Kapri Robinson, Allegory at the Eaton Hotel (Washington, DC)

Best International Bar Mentor

Danil Nevsky

Best US Bar Mentor

Alex Jump

Image: Shutterstock. Disclaimer: This image was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform.