Charlotte Voisey Honors 20 Years of Bar Teams

Charlotte Voisey and her team at Tales of the Cocktail Foundation spent April 8, 2026, doing the slow work of naming bar-floor labor: the prep sheets, station discipline, service standards, and hotel-bar crews that held their rooms through the last twelve months. In its 20th annual Spirited Awards Regional Top 10 Honorees, the Foundation named bartenders, teams, and hotel-bar crews across eight regions: Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East & Africa, U.S. Central, U.S. East, and U.S. West.¹ Those teams will bring that work to New Orleans for the July 23 celebration during Tales of the Cocktail.

The dates give bartenders and bar managers a working map before the conference opens. Tales of the Cocktail runs July 19 to 24, 2026, in New Orleans; the awards ceremony sits inside that week.³ The Spirited Awards began in 2007 and reach their 20th annual edition in 2026, with Food & Wine serving as Official Media Partner.⁴

Voisey's program names individuals, establishments, products, media, and leaders across the drinks industry. In the regional establishment categories, the craft appears in several kinds of service: the bar team holding a room under pressure, the bartender repeating the method night after night, and the hotel-bar crew serving both passing guests and returning regulars.

Charlotte Voisey on What the 2026 Regional List Recognizes

Voisey built the regional structure to keep the work close to its conditions. A bartender develops a program inside a city's supply chains, licensing rules, drinking habits, staffing culture, and late-service rhythms. The 2026 fields move from Seoul to San Juan, Toronto to London, Melbourne to Mexico City, then back to New Orleans for the shared awards week.

As Executive Director of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, Voisey placed weight on both local consequence and international reach. "In our 20th year, we're proud to honor their accomplishments and recognize the meaningful influence they bring to both their local scenes and the international cocktail landscape," said Charlotte Voisey.²

The category language matters. Best International Bar Team, presented by William Grant & Sons, points to collective craft: the person cutting citrus, the bartender calling the next round, the server reading the pace of a table, and the manager who knows when to tighten the rail. Best International Cocktail Bar, presented by Pernod Ricard, turns attention to the bartender's whole program: drinks, method, consistency, and the ability to repeat standards over hundreds of nights.

The Bar Teams Named in Asia Pacific and Canada

In Asia Pacific, the Best International Bar Team honorees are the crews at Alice Cheongdam in Seoul, South Korea; Bar Bellamy in Melbourne, Australia; Bar Cham in Seoul, South Korea; Bar Leone in Hong Kong, China; Bar Us in Bangkok, Thailand; BKK Social Club at Four Seasons Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand; Caretaker's Cottage in Melbourne, Australia; Jigger & Pony at the Amara Hotel in Singapore; Old Love's in Sydney, Australia; Origin Bar at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore; and VIRTÙ at the Four Seasons Tokyo Otemachi in Tokyo, Japan. The APAC field has 11 honorees due to a tie.⁵

Canada's bar-team field also carries 11 honorees due to a tie: the teams at Atwater Cocktail Club in Montreal, QC; Bar Pompette in Toronto, ON; Belle Isle in Toronto, ON; Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, BC; Civil Liberties in Toronto, ON; Civil Works in Toronto, ON; Humboldt Bar at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites in Victoria, BC; Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, ON; The Cloakroom Bar in Montreal, QC; The Coldroom in Montreal, QC; and The Keefer Bar in Vancouver, BC.⁶

The team category keeps the focus on labor rather than a single drink. A strong room depends on the bartender cutting citrus, the person calling the next round, the server reading the pace of a table, and the manager who knows when to tighten the rail. Voisey's list brings awards language back to coordinated hands.

The Bartenders and Teams Named in Europe and Latin America

Europe's Best International Bar Team field includes the crews at Baba Au Rum in Athens, Greece; Botanical by Alfonse in Namur, Belgium; FOCO in Barcelona, Spain; Mirror Cocktail Bar at Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel in Bratislava, Slovakia; Moebius Milano in Milan, Italy; Paradiso in Barcelona, Spain; Satan's Whiskers in London, UK; Tayēr + Elementary in London, UK; and The Cambridge Public House in Paris, France.⁷

For Best International Cocktail Bar in Europe, the honorees are the bartenders running Bar Nouveau in Paris, France; Botanical by Alfonse in Namur, Belgium; Devil's Cut in Madrid, Spain; FOCO in Barcelona, Spain; Kwãnt Mayfair in London, UK; L'Antiquario in Naples, Italy; Line Athens in Athens, Greece; Panda & Sons in Edinburgh, Scotland; Satan's Whiskers in London, UK; and The Cambridge Public House in Paris, France. That field has 11 honorees due to a tie.⁸

Latin America & Caribbean shows a dense concentration of Mexico City bartenders alongside crews in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. Best International Bar Team includes the teams at Bar Mauro in Mexico City, Mexico; El Barón Cafe & Cocktail Bar in Cartagena, Colombia; Exímia Bar in São Paulo, Brazil; Form + Matter in Mexico City, Mexico; Kaito del Valle in Mexico City, Mexico; La Factoría in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Lady Bee in Lima, Peru; Mecenas in Mexico City, Mexico; Tlecān in Mexico City, Mexico; and Tres Monos in Buenos Aires, Argentina.⁹

The same region's Best International Cocktail Bar honorees are the bartenders at Bar Mauro in Mexico City, Mexico; Café de Nadie in Mexico City, Mexico; El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara, Mexico; Exímia Bar in São Paulo, Brazil; Form + Matter in Mexico City, Mexico; Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, Mexico; Kaito del Valle in Mexico City, Mexico; La Factoría in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tlecān in Mexico City, Mexico; and Tres Monos in Buenos Aires, Argentina.¹⁰

The Hotel-Bar Crews Holding Their Station

A hotel bartender works under a different kind of pressure. The crew may serve a guest who has just landed, a regular who knows the room, a conference table between sessions, and a diner coming in after service. The category asks whether those bartenders can stay precise while the audience keeps changing.

In APAC, the Best International Hotel Bar honorees are the teams at ARGO at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong, China; Bar Sathorn at the W Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand; Bar Trigona at the Four Seasons Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Cosmo Pony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia; Dean & Nancy on 22 at the A by Adina hotel in Sydney, Australia; Firefly at The Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand; Manhattan Bar at the Conrad Singapore Orchard in Singapore; Origin Bar at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore; Punch Room at the Tokyo Ginza EDITION in Tokyo, Japan; and VIRTÙ at the Four Seasons Tokyo Otemachi in Tokyo, Japan.¹¹

Canada's Best International Hotel Bar honorees include the crews at Bar 1608 at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City, QC; Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, BC; Clockwork Champagne & Cocktails at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, ON; Evangeline at the Ace Hotel in Toronto, ON; H Tasting Lounge at The Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, BC; Humboldt Bar at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites in Victoria, BC; Library Bar at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, ON; Marcus Lounge and Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Montreal in Montreal, QC; Prophecy Bar at Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, BC; and the bar at Alder at Ace Hotel Toronto in Toronto, ON.¹²

The hotel-bar field shows how broad the modern bartender's bench has become. A lobby address does not soften the technical demands; it changes them. The bartender still has to control dilution, temperature, timing, garnish, glassware, and the small handoffs that make one drink arrive as intended.

Why Charlotte Voisey Brings the Honorees to New Orleans

Voisey gives the July 23 celebration a physical center during the July 19 to 24 Tales of the Cocktail conference. For bartenders, owners, beverage directors, hotel operators, media, and drinks leaders, the week gathers regional work into one trade conversation.

The useful questions are practical. Which bartenders and teams appear across more than one category? Which cities show depth in team and cocktail-bar recognition? Which hotel-bar crews stand beside independent cocktail-room bartenders? The answers do not replace tasting, visiting, or working a station, but they tell a practitioner where the industry's attention has settled.

Awards compress long service into names and dates. The work itself remains slower: the bartender's build, shake, stir, reset, and quiet correction before the next guest arrives.