Not that we needed any further proof, but San Francisco has once again established itself as a prime drinking destination. This past weekend, Tales of the Cocktails—a celebration of all things liquor—held its 10th annual Spirited Awards, and our fair city took home three distinct awards. With only eight American categories (and 25 categories overall), that's a pretty remarkable haul.
ABV won for Best American Bar Team, Smuggler's Cove took home top prize for Best American Cocktail Bar and Tommy's won for World's Best Spirits Collection. Yup, world's best. Other SF bars that were nominated include Trick Dog, nopa, The Treasury, Forgery and Whitechapel, many of whom were named as some of the World's 50 Best Bars in 2015. More than 100 industry experts from across the globe voted on the winners.
London received the majority of the remaining Spirited Awards, but perhaps the most meaningful award of the night was the Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon the late Sasha Petraske, whose death this past August shocked bar communities around the world. He was responsible for some of New York's most standout cocktail spots (most notably, Milk & Honey), as well as Los Angeles' The Varnish and Melbourne's Everleigh.
Check out the full list of Spirited Awards winners here.