Several Los Angeles Bars Nominated For National Cocktail Awards

Much like the James Beard Awards serve as the Academy Awards of food, the Tales of a Cocktail conference in New Orleans acts as the end-all-be-all of accolades in the world of spirits.

The weeklong event in Louisiana gives bartenders and industry professionals a place to raise a glass to those at the top of their game.

In 2012, The Varnish -- a favorite hotspot of countless celebs like Christina Hendricks -- took home the award of Best American Cocktail Bar, an accolade that had never before been given to an L.A. establishment. This year several local establishments including Bestia, Honeycut, Harvard & Stone, and Scopa Italian Roots were nominated.

Unfortunately none of those were nominees for the Best American Cocktail Bar or Best American Bartender categories, or the new Best American Bar Team category, the latter of which is a new one this year. And The Varnish is strangely missing from the nominations all together.

That said, Scopa Italian Roots is up for World's Best Drinks Selection in the international category. Bestia was nominated for Best American Restaurant Bar; Harvard & Stone and newbie Honeycut were nominated for Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar; and The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is up for Best American Hotel Bar.

The full list of finalists is below. And if all this talk of cocktails makes you thirsty, be sure to check out our list of the Best Cocktails in L.A.

2014 Spirited Awards Finalists

American Bartender of the Year

Jeff Bell (New York)
Erick Castro (San Diego)
Marcovaldo Dionysos (San Francisco)
Bobby Heugel (Houston)
Sean Kenyon (Denver)
John Lermayer (Miami)
Ryan Maybee (Kansas City)
Ivy Mix (New York)
Jeffrey Morgenthaler (Portland)
Pamela Wiznitzer (New York)

Best American Brand Ambassador

Brooke Arthur (House Spirits)
Colin Asare-Appiah (Bacardi)
Elayne Duff (Diageo Reserve)
Jamie Evans (Oxley gin)
Bernie Lubbers (Heaven Hill Distilleries)
Freddy May (Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky)
Chris Patino (Pernod Ricard USA Portfolio)
Nick van Tiel (Plymouth Gin / Beefeater)
Neyah White (Suntory Japanese Whiskies)
Angus Winchester (Tanqueray Gin)

Best American Cocktail Bar

Anvil Bar & Refuge (Houston)
The Aviary (Chicago)
canon: whiskey and bitters emporium (Seattle)
Cure (New Orleans)
The Dead Rabbit (New York)
Noble Experiment (San Diego)
Prizefighter (Emeryville)
Smuggler's Cove (San Francisco)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)
Williams & Graham (Denver)

Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar

Employees Only (New York)
Flatiron Lounge (New York)
Harvard & Stone (Los Angeles)
Honeycut (Los Angeles)
The NoMad (New York)
Polite Provisions (San Diego)
Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago)
Saxon + Parole Restaurant (New York)
Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)

Best American Restaurant Bar

320 Main (Orange County)
Bestia (Los Angeles)
Clyde Common (Portland)
Gramercy Tavern (New York)
No. 9 Park (Boston)
The NoMad (New York)
nopa (San Francisco)
OAK at fourteenth (Boulder)
The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange (Kansas City)
The Silver Dollar (Louisville)

Best American Hotel Bar

Bellocq (New Orleans)
Bemelmans Bar (New York)
The Broken Shaker (Miami)
Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone (New Orleans)
Clyde Common (Portland)
The Hawthorne (Boston)
The Regent Cocktail Club (Miami)
Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago)
The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (Los Angeles)
Vesper Bar (Las Vegas)

Best New American Cocktail Bar
Attaboy (New York)
Cane & Table (New Orleans)
Celeste (Chicago)
Golden Cadillac (New York)
Half Step (Austin)
Kimball House (Atlanta)
Mockingbird Hill (Washington, D.C.)
Multnomah Whisk{e}y Library (Portland)
Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago)
ZZ's Clam Bar (New York)

Best American Bar Team - New Category
Attaboy (New York)
Clyde Common (Portland)
The Dead Rabbit (New York)
Drink (Boston)
Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks (Boston)
Employees Only (New York)
The NoMad (New York)
The Regent Cocktail Club (Miami)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)
Williams & Graham (Denver)