South Africa's best bars and bartenders for 2019 announced

The winners of the 2019 Bar (Bartending Accolades and Recognition) Awards were recently announced at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The awards aim to celebrate the best in South Africa's cocktail industry - from the best bars and best brands to the best mixologists who have devoted countless hours to perfecting their craft.

Nominations and judging for each category of the awards are managed by a pool of the biggest role-players in the F&B, hospitality and spirit industries.

SA B.A.R Awards Cocktail Bar of the Year 2019 - Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen © Loop Films

South Africa's current Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year, drinks consultant, owner of The Perfect Serve mobile bar service and Bar Awards founder, Travis Kuhn explains that the Bar Awards strive to acknowledge the brands and mixologists that make the SA cocktail industry a contender on the global stage. He says: “The Bar Awards is a celebration of each and every person and brand in the industry who make meaningful contributions to the trade, but an even bigger congratulations must go to those who have stood out enough to receive special recognition as voted for by their peers.”

Outgoing 2018 winners Raymond Endean of Orphanage Cocktail Emporium, Denzel Heath of Mootee Bar and Julian Short of Sin + Tax agree that events like the Bar Awards “stir up a healthy sense of competition”, “keep us motivated and hungry to be better” and “give us something to aspire to” whilst Bradley Jacobs from Diageo adds that the acknowledgement of the awards “in an industry we are passionate about and love so much, which we dedicate our lives to, is really something very special.”

SA B.A.R Awards Bartender of the Year 2019 - Travis Kuhn © Loop Films

Dino Batista from Molecular Bars said on the night: “Add water to the ocean and all the ships rise.”

The 2019 winners are:

Bar Team of the Year
Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen

International Footprint Award
Sumaiyah Connolly and Travis Kuhn

Bartender Newcomer of the Year
Alecs Besier and Nkuli Khanyile

Social Media Award
Peter Lebese

High-Volume Cocktail Bar of the Year
The House of Machines

Hotel Bar of the Year
Bascule Bar, Cape Grace

Mobile Bar Operator of the Year
Molecular Bars

Media Contributor of the Year
Leah van Deventer

Pop Up Bar of the Year
The Polynesian Pearl Diver

Mentor of the Year
Cassandra Eichhoff

Brand Campaign of the Year
Diageo World Class

Best New Cocktail Bar
The Art of Duplicity

Bartenders Brand of the Year
Bulleit Bourbon

Cocktail Bar of the Year
Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen

Brand Ambassador of the Year
Caitlin Hill (Remy Cointreau) and Jody Francis (Inverroche)

Bartender of the Year
Travis Kuhn

For more information about the Bar Awards connect on Facebook and Instagram.