SA’s best cocktail bar for 2019 – announced

The BAR (Bartending Accolades & Recognition) Awards has steadily been gaining traction since its humble beginnings four years ago. 

From a casual gathering of drink slingers, the event is now a formal, national affair where the crème de la crème of the drinks industry – from brand ambassadors to drinks media – don tuxes and shimmery frocks and celebrate their own.  Here are this year’s finalists and winners, as voted by their peers. Spoiler alert: yours truly features!

Best New Cocktail Bar 

Awarded to a bar that’s gained notoriety for its cocktails, either by way of preparation, design, concept or delivery.

Winner: Art of Duplicity

Finalists: 

Lucky Shaker (Ballito)
Mix Bar (Joburg)
The Little Fox Cocktail Bar (Joburg)

Cocktail Bar of the Year

Awarded to a bar that has a long history of being known for its cocktail menu, cocktails, staff compliment and overall experience. 

Winner: Cause | Effect (Cape Town)

Finalists: 

Art of Duplicity (Cape Town)
Mootee (Joburg)
Sin+Tax (Joburg

High-Volume Cocktail Bar of the Year

Awarded to a bar known for its cocktails in accordance with how well cocktails are delivered at high volumes. Quality of cocktails is important, but the design and concept of the drinks don’t need to be ground breaking.

Winner: The House of Machines (Cape Town)

Finalists:

Cause | Effect (Cape Town)
Lucky Shaker (Umhlanga)
Orphanage Cocktail Emporium
Sin+Tax (Joburg)

Hotel Bar of the Year

Awarded to the hotel bar with the ability to stay on global trends, taking into account the drinking experience with the setting and ability to deliver cocktails with a five-star backing.

Winner: Bascule Bar at Cape Grace (Cape Town)

Finalists:

Tobago’s Bar & Terrace at Radisson (Cape Town)
Blu Vista Bar at The One & Only (Cape Town)
Willaston Bar at The Silo (Cape Town)

Best Pop-up Bar of the Year

Awarded to a non-permanent bar that’s operational for a set duration, delivering the best cocktails and the perfect drink experience at their pop-up locations. These spaces are fun filled, evoking emotion and the fear of missing out. The winner was the must-see place of 2018.

Winner: The Polynesian Pearl Diver (Cape Town)

Finalists:

Little Havana (Durban)
Mootee Shebeen (Joburg)
Rum Tum Tum (Cape Town)
The Union (Cape Town and Joburg)

Best Mobile-bar Operator

Awarded to a mobile bar within the events industry that has been in operation for the duration of an event or series of events. It has the ability to deliver the best cocktails in a mobile setting, be reliable and to react to challenges.

Winner: Molecular Bars

Finalists:

Crush Bar Services
Shaker
SIP Exclusive
The Perfect Serve
Thirst Bar Services

Best Bar Team

Awarded to the bar that has cultivated the best bar culture or way of working. This award speaks to the skills of the team as a whole rather than any individual.

Winner: Cause | Effect

Finalists:

Art of Duplicity
Lucky Shaker 
Sin+Tax
The House of Machines

Newcomer of the Year

Awarded to the bartender who has contributed the most to the art of bartending during the calendar year while only being involved in the industry for a short period of time.

Winner: Alecs Besier and Nkuli Khanyile

Finalists:

Aiden Powrie
Cameron-Leigh Henning
Leighton Rathbone
Mish Cherie Chinnah
Yves Kadilo

Bartender of the Year

Awarded to a bartender who has contributed the most to the art of bartending during the calendar year. It’s someone who’s demonstrated skill in any factor of bartending while displaying a passion for the craft and pushing the boundaries, both geographically and conceptually.

Winner: Travis Kuhn (The Perfect Serve)

Finalists:

Bruce Dorfling (Lucky Shaker)
George Hunter (Saint)
Julian Short (Sin+Tax)
Rudi de Vos (The House of Machines)

Brand Ambassador of the Year

Awarded to a brand builder who has performed an ambassadorial role to any brand that’s directly linked to the hospitality industry. They should be loyal to their brand, and should be nominated for this category because of their brand building efforts made in the trade, which may include their relationship with venues and bartenders.

Winner: Caitlin Hill (Rémy Cointreau) and Jody Francis (Inverroche)

Finalists:

Kresan Naidu (Pernod Ricard)
Marson Strydom (RGBC)

Mentor Award

Highlights special mention to persons in the trade who have offered their time, knowledge or passion for the industry to help and develop the skills of others.

Winner: Cassandra Eichhoff

Finalists:

Gareth Wainwright
Kurt Schlechter
Michael Stephenson
Travis Kuhn

Bartenders’ Brand of the Year

Awarded to a brand that has already achieved cult status or is on its way there. It can be a new product or an established one but most importantly it’s a brand that has gained more popularity during the 2018 calendar year than other brands.

Winner: Bulleit Bourbon

Finalists: 

Bacardi Rum
Espolon Tequila
Fernet Branca
Amaro Havana Club Rum

International Footprint Award

Dedicated to an individual who has promoted the SA bar industry in the international community more than any other SA representative. This individual has gained a reputation in the global industry either by travelling to a number of countries, or has created an international footprint through activity on social media.

Winner: Sumaiyah Connolly and Travis Kuhn

Finalists:
Bruce Dorfling
George Hunter
Kurt Schlechter

Best Brand Campaign

Awarded to any brand or natural person for the role they played in designing and implementing a campaign during the calendar year 2018. It can be a competition, pop-up bar, promotion (national or local) or some sort of activity such as a presentation, road show or the like.

Winner: Diageo World Class

Finalists:

Campari Bar Academy
Havana Club’s Little Havana
Olmeca Tequila’s Tahona Society
The Botanist’s Forager Series
Woodford Reserve’s Woodford Bourbon Trail

Media Contributor of the Year

Designed to award a person (bartenders included) who has contributed to the industry through the medium of pen, reel or cast.

Winner: Leah van Deventer

Finalist:

Anel Grobler
Bernard Gutman
Jan Laubscher

Social Media Award

Awarded to a bartender who’s created value for a brand/venue/event through their social media platforms. This is a person who has created a solid social-media platform for themselves as brand derived from their volume of activity through shares, Likes and posts.

Winner: Peter Lebese

Finalists:

Caitlin Hill
Julian Short
Rudi de Vos 

See who last year’s winners were!