The Bar Awards 2017: 12 Awards Celebrating Greatness in The Bar Community
When you think of movies, you think of the Oscars. When you think of TV, you think of the Emmys. When you think of music, you think of the Grammys. And when you think of human achievements in general, there is no other than the Nobel Peace Prize which always seems to comes to mind. What these award ceremonies have in common is that they celebrate some aspect of human triumph in their respective fields. And yet, in this day and age when measuring the distance from Earth to another galaxy is accurate science, “greatness” remains a hard sentiment to measure in any profession.
In comes The Bar Awards – who after being conceptualized and founded in 2014 in Singapore, aims to bring people together to celebrate the achievements and excellence within the bar community by categorizing and honoring greatness. Since its inauguration event 3 years ago, the awards have also hosted an event in Hong-Kong, and in 2017 chose to bring the awards to Bangkok for the very first time.
The “science” behind the awards involves a 2-week long nomination period in which the public was given the chance to nominate their favorite bars and bartenders for 12 different categories. Once all nominations have been accepted, The Bar Awards team and its panel of 39 industry leaders selected the Top 10 candidates to be nominated in each category. These same industry leaders then vote for the winners of each category and presented them their awards on April 23rd, 2017 at Zuma Bangkok after a long and eventful “The Bar Awards style” weekend.
The awards ceremony was attended by over 200 members of the Bangkok F&B industry, all of which witness the awards going to very deserving candidates. For those of you who may have missed the awards, we have summed up all the winners from the night. In essence the following list is definitely your to-do list for the rest of 2017 of places to visit and people to meet. Prepare yourselves, because you will probably want to check all these places out ASAP before more word gets out!
The Rising Star Award
Winner: Pinsuda Pongprom (The Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok)
The Rising Star Award recognizes Bangkok’s best young bartender of the year. The award is given to an individual who has risen above the ranks of their peers to shine in the bar and beverage industry before turning 28.
Best Restaurant Bar
Winner: Vesper Cocktail Bar & Restaurant
The Best Restaurant Bar Award recognizes a restaurant that appreciates that diners want a great beverage program to accompany their food. With diners expecting more than just a meal, a well thought out beverage program creates a memorable dining experience.
Best Beer Bar
Winner: Mikkeller Bangkok
The Best Beer Bar Award recognizes an establishment with a well-curated beer offering that is also backed by knowledgeable and passionate people. Beer and especially craft beer is a growing market in Bangkok in the recent years so this award reflects the market extremely well.
Best Bar & Beverage Publication
Winner: DRiNK Magazine
The Best Bar & Beverage Publication Award is a new award added specifically to recognize those individuals and publications that spend countless hours visiting establishments, conducting interviews, fact checking and researching to craft the perfect article.
Best Bar Food
Winner: Bunker
The Best Bar Food Award recognizes the Bangkok bar with the most delicious bar food. The beverage program of an establishment, more often than not, overshadows the talents and creativity of the chefs. This award brings the chefs out of the kitchen and into the limelight.
Best Hospitality Team
Winner: Q&A Bar
The Best Hospitality Team Award recognizes that it is teamwork that makes the difference between a good bar and an excellent one – because it does not matter if your drinks are awesome if they are not served with a smile that makes revelers feel welcomed.
Best Hotel Bar
Winner: The Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
The Best Hotel Bar Award recognizes a hotel bar that is able to offer a great bar and beverage experience. The establishment that strives to enhance the experience for their hotel guests by developing and managing a fantastic beverage and bar program fully deserves to be recognized.
Most Creative Cocktail Bar
Winner: Bronx Liquid Parlour
The Most Creative Cocktail Bar Award recognizes the establishment with the most innovative cocktail program. This is an accolade that recognizes hard work and creativity from sourcing the best ingredients to distilling the most creative spirits for that one very special drink.
Best New Cocktail Bar
Winner: Backstage Cocktail Bar
The Best New Cocktail Bar Award recognizes a new establishment that has made a significant positive impact on the local cocktail culture and bar scene – but must have opened after March 2016.
The Ada Coleman Award
Winner: Chacha Suwincha Singsuwan (Rabbit Hole)
The Ada Coleman Award is a recognition dedicated to the hard work and achievements of Ada Coleman, the legendary head bartender of the American Bar of The Savoy Hotel in London of the early 1900s. The Ada Coleman Award aims to encourage and inspire more passionate female individuals to join the hospitality industry through celebrating the hard work and achievements of great female mentors and roles models of the Bangkok bar community.
Bartender of the Year
Winner: Chacha Suwincha Singsuwan (Rabbit Hole)
The Bartender of the Year Award is given to the bartender whose skills, knowledge, and the ability to connect with people is extraordinary beyond measure. The level of skill and hospitality extended by this individual is an experience in itself.
Best Cocktail Bar
Winner: Teens of Thailand
The Best Cocktail Bar Award recognizes the establishment that endlessly exceeds guests’ experiences and expectations each and every time that they are visited. The bar must manage to offer impeccable service, warm hospitality, superbly crafted cocktails, a well-curated beverage program, delectable food offerings, and a mesmerizing ambiance.
From left to right: Pinsuda Pongprom (The Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok), Vesper Cocktail Bar & Restaurant, Mikkeller Bangkok, Drink Magazine
From left to right: Pinsuda Pongprom (The Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok), Vesper Cocktail Bar & Restaurant, Mikkeller Bangkok, Drink Magazine
From left to right: Backstage Cocktail Bar, Chacha Suwincha Singsuwan (Rabbit Hole), Chacha Suwincha Singsuwan (Rabbit Hole), Teens of Thailand
All of the categories were extremely well contested and saw very close match-ups between multiple institutions and individuals. It was only right that once the winners were crowned all the champagne was downed.
Look out for these spots and bartenders to be in high demand in the upcoming months. Do not wait too long before you check them out to truly understand why they were winners at The Bar Awards 2017, Bangkok. Follow the official Facebook page or official website of The Bar Awards for updates throughout the year.
Words by Tang Kalayanamit
Images by Siam2nite