While most nominees will have to wait until July 25 to learn if they actually won a Spirited Award, there are at least two bars (London’s Cafe Pacifico and San Francisco’s Buena Vista Cafe) and one bartender, Hidetsugu Ueno, who can raise a glass in celebration tonight. Ueno, 2016’s International Bartender of the Year, will be honoured with the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Awards as the proprietor of Tokyo’s Ginza-style Bar High Five.
Cafe Pacifico, which will be awarded the prestigious Timeless International Award, introduced tequila and authentic Mexican cuisine to the UK, while Buena Vista Cafe will be honoured with the Timeless Award for the United States. The bar is renowned for having introduced Irish coffee to America, serving 2,000 Irish coffees per day, and for serving more Irish whiskey annually than any other bar on the planet.
All images by @craig.sugden.photography
