Coming to you from a webcam in an apartment in NYC Simon Ford and Jacob Briars initiated the inaugural broadcast of the top four finalists in each category of the 2014 Spirited Awards. As Ford notes, “Millions tune in for the Oscars, and we are going the same route for bars. There are more bartenders than actors [out there].”

And speaking of more…Briars explains, “This was the biggest and most comprehensive Tales Awards nominations pool ever.” With over 2,000 individual nominations and over 50 countries being represented with at least one nominee, the 135 judges were hard pressed to whittle it down to a list of four per category. Let’s see who we’ll be cheering on Saturday night at Tales during the Black and White themed 8th Annual Spirited Awards® show (although you know you’re all winners).

AMERICAN CATEGORIES:
American Bartender of the Year
•Jeff Bell (New York)
•Marcovaldo Dionysos (San Francisco)
•Bobby Heugel (Houston)
•Sean Kenyon (Denver)

Best American Brand Ambassador
•Brooke Arthur (House Spirits)
•Chris Patino (Pernod Ricard USA Portfolio)
•Neyah White (Suntory Japanese Whiskies)
•Angus Winchester (Tanqueray Gin)

Best American Cocktail Bar
•canon (Seattle)
•The Dead Rabbit (New York)
•Smuggler’s Cove (San Francisco)
•Williams & Graham (Denver)

Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar
•Employees Only (New York)
•Honeycut (Los Angeles)
•Polite Provisions (San Diego)
•Trick Dog (San Francisco)

Best American Restaurant Bar
•Clyde Common (Portland)
•Gramercy Tavern (New York)
•The NoMad (New York)
•nopa (San Francisco)

Best American Hotel Bar
•Clyde Common (Portland)
•The Hawthorne (Boston)
•Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago)
•The Spare Room (Los Angeles)

Best New American Cocktail Bar
•Attaboy (New York)
•Half Step (Austin)
•Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago)
•ZZ’s Clam Bar (New York)

Best American Bar Team – New Category
•Attaboy (New York)
•Employees Only (New York)
•Trick Dog (San Francisco)
•Williams & Graham (Denver)

INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
International Bartender of the Year
•Simone Caporale (London)
•Zdenek Kastanek (Singapore)
•Hidetsugu Ueno (Tokyo)
•Tom Walker (London)

Best International Brand Ambassador
•David Cordoba (Bacardi)
•Giuseppe Gallo (Martini)
•David Piper (Hendrick’s Gin)
•Claire Smith (Belvedere Vodka)

Best International Cocktail Bar
•28 Hong Kong Street (Singapore)
•Bramble Bar (Edinburgh)
•Candelaria (Paris)
•Door 74 (Amsterdam)

Best International High Volume Cocktail Bar
•The Black Pearl (Melbourne)
•Eau De Vie Melbourne (Melbourne)
•London Cocktail Club (London)
•Schumann’s (Munich)

Best International Restaurant Bar
•The Bon Vivant (Edinburgh)
•Delicatessen (Moscow)
•Spitalfields Bar at Hawksmoor (London)
•Blind Pig at Social Eating House (London)

Best International Hotel Bar
•Artesian at the Langham (London)
•Beaufort Bar at The Savoy Hotel (London)
•Black Angel’s Bar (Prague)
•Connaught Bar at the Connaught (London)

Best New International Cocktail Bar
•Blind Pig at Social Eating House (London)
•Hello Sailor (Sydney)
•NOLA (London)
•White Lyan (London)

Best International Bar Team – New Category
•28 Hong Kong Street (Singapore)
•The American Bar at The Savoy (London)
•Artesian at the Langham (London)
•The Black Pearl (Melbourne)

OVERALL CATEGORIES:
Best Bar Mentor
•Jacob Briars
•Jackson Cannon
•Jim Meehan
•Dushan Zaric

Best New Product
•Ancho Reyes
•Crawley’s Imperial Shaker Machine
•Del Maguey Ibérico mezcal
•Martini Gran Lusso Vermouth

World’s Best Cocktail Menu
•The Aviary (Chicago)
•The Nightjar (London)
•Pouring Ribbons (New York)
•Trick Dog (San Francisco)

World’s Best Drinks Selection
•Connaught Bar at the Connaught (London)
•The Dead Rabbit (New York)
•Multnomah Whisk{e}y Library (Portland)
•Tommy’s (San Francisco)

WRITING CATEGORIES:
Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer
•Toby Cecchini (United States)
•Paul Clarke (United States)
•Jeffrey Morgenthaler (United States)
•Robert Simonson (United States)

Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication
•Alcademics.com (United States)
•Ginger Magazine (France)
•Imbibe Magazine (United States)
•PUNCH (punchdrink.com) (United States)

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
•Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean by Jeff Berry
•Cocktail Culture by Shawn Soole & Nate Caudle
•The Curious Bartender by Tristan Stephenson
•The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

To View the LIVE broadcast of the Top 4 Finalists of the 2014 Spirited Awards® Hosted by: Simon Ford and Jacob Briars click here -www.youtube.com/watch?v=G18H0_2YUhI

Through its annual Spirited Awards®, Tales of the Cocktail® recognizes those that continue to represent the cocktail industry in exciting new spotlights. To embody the ideals in which Tales of the Cocktail® was originally founded, these awards were developed to recognize both national and international honorees across twenty-three categories. Each award recipient will receive an exclusive Riedel Crystal trophy. We are proud to announce that our sponsors include 86 Company, American Harvest, Angostura, Bacardi USA, Beverage Media Group, Crystal Head Vodka, Imbibe Magazine, Nicolas Feuillatte, Pernod Ricard USA, Pierre Ferrand, and William Grant & Sons. Tickets to the Spirited Awards® ceremony can be purchased online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com for $125 per individual ticket and $1250 per table of 10 seats. The Spirited Awards® are just one part of the exciting 12th Anniversary Tales of the Cocktail® taking place in New Orleans, July 16-20, 2014. Visit www.TalesoftheCocktail.com to learn more about the many other spirited events.