And the Nominees Are...

The annual Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Award nominees were announced this weekend- and I'm one of them!

The other writers in the category each have multiple books to their credit out based on years of research, while I'm all, "Hey y'alls! Drinks is good over here!" So it really is an honor just to be nominated.

The winners will be announced on July 11th at the awards ceremony. It's a lot like the Oscars except everyone is drinking and nobody can remember the next day who won.

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 journalism (Magazine, Newspaper, Website, etc) that promotes bars, bartender, or cocktails in general.

Camper English
Dave Wondrich
Gary Regan
Jared Brown & Anistatia Miller

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
Criteria: The best book published in 2008 regarding cocktails, liquor, and bars, bar design or bartending in general. New editions of existing works may also be nominated.

Cocktails Made Easy - Simon Difford
Mud Puddle Books - Greg Boehm
The Essential Cocktail - Dale DeGroff

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 numbers of bottles stocked.

The Merchant Hotel, Belfast
Le Lion Bar de Paris, Hamburg
ZigZag Café, Seattle

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.

Death & Co, NYC
PDT, NYC
Pegu Club, NYC

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.

Door 74, Amsterdam
High Five Bar, Tokyo
PDT, NYC
Pegu Club, NYC

World's Best New Cocktail Bar
Criteria: Only bars which opened after 1st March 2008 may be nominated. This award aims to reward new creativity and ideas as well as well executed drinks.

Clover Club, Brooklyn
Drink, Boston
Quo Vadis, London

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, which uphold this tradition (but are not necessarily old) and offer five-star service and consistently well-made drinks.

Dukes, London
The Connaught, London
The Merchant, Belfast

American Bartender of the Year
Criteria: From Jerry Thomas onwards, American bartenders have been amongst the most influential on drinks 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, which have been copied by his/her peers.

Audrey Saunders
James Meehan
Phil Ward

International Bartender of the Year
Criteria: The absolute best drinks 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.)

Agostino Perrone
Charles Vexenat
Tony Conigliaro

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.

Angostura Orange Bitters
Bols Genever
Ocho

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.

Hawksmoor, London
Le Lion Bar de Paris, Hamburg
Merchant Hotel, Belfast

Best American Brand Ambassador
Criteria: An award, which recognizes the importance of personality in the promotion of drinks brands across America.

Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida
Julio Bermejo, Tequila
Simon Ford, Plymouth