2009 Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards Finalists Announced
All the finalists in the 23 categories of the Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards announced
Now in its 9th year, the Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards covers 23 categories with seven finalists in each, recognising excellence across a broad spectrum of the hospitality industry. Awards include Bar of the Year, Cocktail Bar of the Year, Nightclub of the Year, Bar Manager of the Year, Best Music Offering and the newest award, Best Small Bar.
One of the most highly anticipated awards each year is the Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year (sponsored by Club Suntory) which is decided through a rigorous three-stage competition on 21st & 23rd September. A record number of 120 bartenders from around the country are expected to compete for top honours this year.
The list of more than 100 finalists includes some of the popular winners from last year such as 1806 in Melbourne and The Lark in Brissie who is nominated in a whopping four categories this year. Brisbane’s Cloudland, the latest offering from the Katarzyna Group has emerged onto the Finalists list with a bang with nominations in both the New Hotel of the Year, Best New Venue Design and Multiple Venue Operator categories.
As always, new Melbourne bars have been well represented with Seamstress/Sweatshop leading the charge making the top seven in a staggering six categories. The highly anticipated Match Bar & Grill in Melbourne (from the famous UK franchise) has also made a splash with nods in four categories.
Keeping in step with the changing bar scene in Australia, the Bar Awards have been adapted slightly with new rules for the fiercely contested Cocktail Bar of the Year category which stipulate that venues must stock bottled mixers and offer premium or bespoke ice. And there is also a new award - Small Bar of the Year - to reflect the new legislation that has come into effect around the country in the last 12 months and award bars with a capacity for under 120 patrons.
“The Australian bar awards began back in 2000 and have become the most celebrated awards night for the bar industry,” says David Spanton, Publisher of Australian Bartender magazine. “They are a great way for everyone to get together, pat each other on the back and celebrate the successes of the last year.”
Presented by Australian Bartender magazine, the bar awards has been described as the ‘Oscars of the bar industry’. The national awards are now in their ninth year and recognise excellence and innovation in bars, hospitality, drinks and hotels across Australia.
The Australian bar awards will be announced on Wednesday, 23 September at a gala dinner at the Hilton Ballroom in Sydney with more than 700 bar industry professionals in attendance.
Finalists are selected from thousands of votes from bartenders, owners, drinks companies and other professionals associated with the trade. The winners are then selected by an independent panel of industry identities; making the Australian bar awards the most transparent and respected awards within the wider hospitality and publishing community.
Click here to see the complete list of finalists or check out the July issue of Bartender magazine.
For more information on Sydney BarShow or to book your tickets to the Australian bar awards visit www.barshow.com.au
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Go BLACK PEARl. Words cannot describe how proud i am for you guys. Hope you clean up at the awards. Great to see Adi up for bar manager aswell. Im proud as punch!! Tash, a well deserved nomination for a woman that deserves all the kudos in the world. Love you guys.
T
Well done all.
See you up in Sydney.
T Dub.
Congratulations to everyone nominated as its been a difficult year for many, so to see so many quality bars and professionals nominated is a testiment to the resilence, professionalism and passion from our great bar industry nationwide! See you all in September folks!
Seamstress has about 4 people in it Tuesday to Thursday!! Worthy of such bar status definately not!!
Hi all!
Thanks very much for your support “wake-up”. It’s good to see us industry folk supporting each other. We make the best drinks, using the best service we can possibly deliver - sorry you were disappointed!
Congrats to everyone on their nominations - you’re all awesome and I look forward to seeing ya’ll in Sydney!
Adi Ruiz
P.s Go Baden Powell on making ghost drinks!
P.p.s We had a good seven in last Wednesday!!
Dear Wake up,
We don’t judge bars by the number of people in them.
We judge them on a fairly determined and rigorous set of standards.
If it was numbers of guests in a bar that determined what made a bar great, pokie venues and strip clubs would be considered the best bars in the country.
Thankyou for your opinion you moron.
Go fuck yourself.
Cheers T Dub
Well Said Timy Wastell, I myself love bars that you can talk to the bartender especially when they are as tallented as the bartenders at Seamstress. Dear wakeup I hope you enjoyed all the rare spirits and fine chat at Seamstress because next time you are at QBH having the time of you life with 2000 other’s I am sure you will see the light.
Well, you’ll be pleased to know folks that Baden Powell, apparently, is now open for business! No more ghost cocktails… We’ve also spoken to the folks there and they’ve admitted that they weren’t open during the voting period so are not eligible for New Hotel of the Year.
The George in Perth is taking their place as a finalist. They just narrowly missed nomination first time around. A correction has been printed in the August issue of Bartender out very soon and corrections have also been made on http://www.barshow.com.au
It would seem we’ve proved that democracy isn’t perfect!
Cheers
Simon
oh ‘wake up’ i guess you were dissapointed by the attention to perfection at seamstress…
Get a set and write your name atleast. If i have a problem with anyone in the industry i wouldn’t hide behind a anonymous cloke. Tim Wastell, you grow a terrible moustache. Adi Ruiz, you have rubbish dress sense. Greg Sanderson,,,actually Greg, your’e alright.
T. Go seamstress/sweaty
that’s two weeks to the day wake up. care to enlighten us with your expertise and /or opinion any further?
seriously, you have to be industry
make a relevent point
i hear that seamstress did well as did the lark
seven and four catagories respectively
so did we mate, have a crack
are you part or the problem or part of the solution, what’s your contribution to life? (J5)
sorry about the moron bit, i was angry and feeling violent
the get fucked still stands
moron
t dub
Hahahahaha
Poor ‘Wake Up’ is getting a serious beatdown!
The price of ignorance…
“sorry about the moron bit, i was angry and feeling violent
the get fucked still stands
moron”
Priceless!!!
Seems i have created quite a stir… Sorry im to busy at my venue to get on here to often…..Wow a whole 7 people must havea great atmosphere and the bar must make stunning revenue on those nights!! And must be so hard to manage 7 guests that must be Bar Manager of the year material haha.
I will add more insightful news later you fools
Bye for now
wanker.
This thread is supposed to be a celebration of bar and bartenders achievements. Not a forum to give each other shit.
Why can’t we be friends? (in sing song voice hahaha)
well said/ sung
only 4 weeks untill bar show.
We where celebrating.
Someone crashed the party.
Looking forward to seeing you all in four weeks.
Cheers T Dub
I would just like to give a big congrats to all the brizzy lads, lasses and bars on the swag of nominations we are up for especialy byblos and their group and my fellow sling folk for theirs.
Also Tim I compleatly appreciate the refferance to J5.
I concur Ryan!
Wake Up…really?! Come on now.
We’ve all come so far & achieved so much, let’s have some fun congratulating ourselves!
See ya at the show…
Ok Wakeup, you’ve had a crack at me that’s cool. Maybe we can catch up, and firstly we can talk about how to spell definitely, then we can tape up - where will you be then?
Love to hear from you personally - you know where you can find me.
Adi Ruiz. x
Wow, and i thought us reps were the ones that were supposed to attract all the hatin’….
Seriously though, good effort by the whole Melbourne menagerie of bars - i will be supporting you all on the big night!
Robb
shut up Robb.
Mr Adi,
I will be your second.
I wasnt having a shot at anyone personally. I was having a shot at the awards and especially some segments!!!
Bye for now
Dear Wake Up,
My guess is that you or your bar hasn’t been nominated and you feel the best way to express this is to be negative about the awards and finalists. Let me say that these awards are not about who is the busiest but rather the best at their craft. Yes Wake Up this means a place doesn’t have to be three-deep at the bar to be considered a great bar! We look for places that put their focus on quality service and drinks above all else and if that means they are not the busiest bar in town then who cares?
You have also made some comments about how much you hate the BarShow which I didn’t post on the website as it just seems pointless. The BarShow and Bar Awards are not perfect and never will be but we do our very best to put on good events. For the most part the trade see it as a good opportunity to get together and learn a few things, try new products and most importantly celebrate with our peers. You don’t seem to get this which is a shame.
Well put Mr. Spanton.
This whole fighting over the internet is like racing in the special olympics though. It doesn’t matter if you win, your still a retard.
‘Wake Up’ I challenge you to reveal who you are and stop hiding behind this thread which you have turned in to an industry war.
Hey all
Adi Ruiz and the team at Seamstress/SweatShop are at the top of the game. Yes I worked at Seamstress and Adi is a mate, but it is obvious that they are doing some great drinks, creating a warm, positive atmosphere and people are having a great time there. Not to mention the stuff you don’t see, training etc…
Why would someone then, in the industry no less, comment on anything but those points. As others have mentioned, forums such as these are for pushing the industry and having fun with it. Learning, bouncing ideas, giving feedback and generally some cheeky banter.
I used to go on DrinkBoy but there were too many people wanting to just stir shit, just like ‘wake up’. Whats your point?
At the very least be constructive wake up.
Actually no, give your name and stop this bullshit online bitch session.
Congrats to everyone nominated for Bar Awards.
Go away Tim Phillips
Jason Williams
i think wake up has received enough attention. i also believe that this is his or her game to drive the commentry, and as your attorneys (loosely) i advise you guys to give wake up no more advertising.
Moreover I am looking forward to the opportunity to measure myself against the greatest bartenders in this land at the moment, and that this years competition seems to be the toughest and the most impressive yet.
A big thanks to the guys who virtually kill themselves to bring us together once a year.
kind regards