Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) has announced the international nominees for the 16th annual Spirited Awards and there are seven Australians in the mix.

Luke Whearty at BYRDI in Melbourne, Australia and Matt Whiley at RE in Sydney are up for International Bartender of the Year, Martin Hudák at Mr Black Spirits is up for Best International Brand Ambassador, MAYBE SAMMY in Sydney is up for Best International Bar Team and Best International Cocktail Bar, The Continental Deli in Newtown is up for Best International Restaurant Bar and Dean & Nancy on 22 and RE in Sydney are up for Best New International Cocktail Bar.

“We are beyond the words to receive such a recognition on global scale by our industry,” the Maybe Sammy team said.

“Second year in row our Maybe Sammy is selected as top 10 Best international cocktail bar & bar team! On top of that our new sister venue Dean & Nancy on 22 not even after year of operation got into the top 10 list for Best international cocktail bar ! Thank you everyone for the love and congratulations to all other nominees and friends on the list.”

Since its founding in 2007, the Spirited Awards have become one of the industry’s most sought-after awards, recognising beverage professionals, products, and establishments across every facet of the spirits and cocktail community on a global scale.

TOTCF will announced the winners during the Tales of the Cocktail conference, which is returning for an in-person celebration in New Orleans from July 25-29, 2022.

“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,” said Jacob Briars, Spirited Awards International Chair.

“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.”

International categories nominees

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 (above)

Best International Bar Mentor presented by Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic

• 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 Non-Alcoholic

• Jenna Ba — Diageo
• Claudia Cabrera — Fratelli Branca
• Irene Díaz — Ron Diplomático
• Martin Hudák — Mr Black Spirits (above)
• Daniyel Jones — House of Angostura
• Ally Martin — Hendrick’s Gin
• Dave Mitton — Lot No. 40 / J.P. Wiser’s 
• 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 (above)
• 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

• ALQUIMICO — 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, BC, Canada
• Bulgari Bar at The Bvlgari Resort — Dubai, UAE
• 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, NS, Canada
• Caffe Fernet — Singapore
• Danico — Paris, France
• Le Mary Celeste — Paris, France
• Locale Firenze — Florence, Italy
• LPM Restaurant & Bar — Dubai, UAE
• Pujol — Mexico City, Mexico
• Sexy Fish — London, UK
• The Continental Deli — Newtown, Australia (above)
• Tjoget — Stockholm, Sweden
• Zuma Dubai — Dubai, UAE

*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 (above)
• 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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