Several Houston Bars Among Regional Top 10 for Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards
As is the case with so many annual events tabled for the past two years, Tales of the Cocktail is returning to an in-person format from July 25 through 29 in New Orleans. A significant part of the event is the Spirited Awards. Akin to the “Oscars of bartending,” it honors the best bars and bartenders from all over the world. Today, the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation announced the top 10 honorees by region and category — and there are several in Houston as well as the state of Texas.
From here, these lists of honorees will be whittled down to the overall top 10, which will be announced on June 9. On June 25, the top four will be announced, and the winners will be named during the 16th Annual Spirited Awards on July 28.
Before getting into the the Texas bars in the running, which are below and displayed in alphabetical order, it’s also worth noting that a former Houston bartender who left for adventures in Shanghai — and ended up opening a cocktail bar there — also received an honor. Plano native Yao Liu was formerly with Anvil Bar & Refuge (a prior Spirited Award honoree on numerous occasions, including a top four finalist in 2020), and his bar, Union Trading Company, is among the top 10 for Best International Bar Team – Asia Pacific.
Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Half Step — Austin
- Johnny’s Gold Brick — Houston
- The Roosevelt Room — Austin
Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
- DrinkWell — Austin
- Julep — Houston
- The Roosevelt Room — Austin
Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central
- Midnight Rambler at the Joule — Dallas
- The Driskill Bar at The Driskill Hotel — Austin
Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- Coltivare — Houston
- Rosie Cannonball — Houston
Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
- Angel Share — Houston
- Apothecary — Dallas
- Bar Loretta — San Antonio
- Tiki Tatsu-Ya — Austin
- Trash Panda Drinking Club — Houston
Phaedra Cook has written about Houston’s restaurant and bar scene since 2010. She was a regular contributor to My Table magazine (now closed) and was the lead restaurant critic for the Houston Press for two years, eventually being promoted to food editor. Cook founded Houston Food Finder in November 2016 and has been its editor and publisher ever since.
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