Global travel restrictions have a huge impact on worldwide hospitality industry most of year 2020, The Tales of the Cocktail Foundation announced some changes while continue to celebrate the 15th annual Spirited Awards with theme – Community.
Spirited Awards
The non-profit organisation that educates, advances and supports the global hospitality industry and creates lasting impact in host communities are adjusting the nomination list to include non-bar awards. They are the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award; Pioneer Award; Timeless U.S. Award; Timeless International Award; Writing and Media award categories - Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication, Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing, Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book, Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits, and Best Broadcast, Podcast or Online Video Series.
Public nomination period for the Pioneer Award and the five Writing and Media awards begins on Monday, May 10 at 10:00am CST and concludes at 11:59pm CST on Wednesday, June 2. Eligible spirits professionals and enthusiasts can nominate anyone or self-nominate.
From the press release:
Due to bar closures, differing timelines of COVID government shutdowns, global travel restrictions in 2020, and given that a majority of Spirited Awards categories are judged annually based on the nominee’s body of work for the year prior, there was no fair opportunity for judges to experience and evaluate bars, individuals and teams for this year’s awards.
Spirited Awards Programs
The focus of this year’s program will be about exploring global trends and how the industry has diversified business and propel in the years to come. The Regional Spirited Awards Committees will identify the existing trends over the past year that has shaped the way the industry has adapted from Covid-19 and select people and organisations regionally to share their knowledge and experience.
From the press release:
Through this programming, the Foundation is taking this opportunity to look ahead; to provide a platform for veteran experts and new voices alike to opine on the future of the industry and share new, lesser told narratives.
Overall Chair — Charlotte Voisey
International Chair — Jacob Briars
Central U.S. Co-Chairs — Bridget Albert, Steva Casey
West U.S. Co-Chairs — Kiowa Bryan, Mary Palac
East U.S. Co-Chairs — Laura Cullen, Andy Seymour
Europe Co-Chairs — Guiseppe Gallo, Nicola Riske
Canada Co-Chairs — Evelyn Chick, Sabrine Dhaliwal
Middle East & Africa Co-Chairs — Oyindamola C. de-Medeiros, Richard Neil Irwin
Latin America & Caribbean Co-Chairs — Camille Austin, Tato Giovannoni, Jean Trinh
Asia Pacific Co-Chairs — Pankaj Balachandran, Yao Lu, Hayley Morison, Charmaine Thio
Writing & Media Co-Chairs — Paul Clarke, Sandrae Lawrence, François Monti, Matthew Rowley
This year’s committees and judging panels would be more geographically diverse as recruitment is more from mid-sized markets to better represent the range of the industry on a global scale. The Spirited Awards are not based on popular vote and all nominations are evaluated by their respective judging committees.
Tales of the Cocktail’s 2021 conference
Date: 20 – 23 September 2021
Format: Primarily digital with in-person activations wherever feasible and safe
Sponsors of Tales of the Cocktail this year are Bacardi, Beam Suntory, and William Grant & Sons as underwriting partners, Perrier as the festival’s Official Water and Q Mixers as the Official Mixer for the year.
For more information, please visit talesofthecocktail.org/.