Introducing the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards — entries open October 1st

This month saw Boothby turn two years old. In a time of pandemics and uncertainty, I gotta say — I’m pretty happy to get to do what I do. Thank you to all of you who have subscribed, followed, and shared our stories — it really means a lot.

And haven’t we been through a lot in those two years? But I’m glad the bars are back open. I’m stoked that the public have come back to our bars, that trade is returning to pre-pandemic levels. I'm relieved to have finally cut the long lockdown haircut and get back to regular programming.

And I’m most happy and grateful that I’ve had the chance to get to a few different cities around the country again, be it as close to Sydney as Wollongong or Newcastle, and as far afield as Perth.

Because what a country for drinking this is. I count myself lucky to have had the chance to sip creative, innovative, and delicious drinks from passionate bartenders around Australia. That’s what makes me so excited about to open entries in the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards 2022.

The idea here is to celebrate the best drinks of the last 12 months, and the bartenders behind them. I want this event and the media around it to help spread the good word about great drinks, and to put bartenders front and centre — not just with the industry, but the broader public, too.

So, for what it’s worth, I hope the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards become a fixture of the industry’s calendar every November, and I’m excited to do our part in championing the great bartenders, bars, and drinks that make our industry one of the world’s best.

We’re asking bartenders to enter the drinks they’re most proud of, the drinks they serve across the bar to punters every night. This isn’t a cocktail competition — this is a recognition of the great drinks bars actually serve. It has to be a drink that has been regularly available over the bar sometime in the last 12 months. It might be for a week, a month, or a season, but it’s got to be a drink that represents that bar and what they do well.

Now, say you’ve got a drink on the list at your bar, created by someone who no longer works there, but it’s a drink the bar is known for and it’s delicious. You can still enter it — just don’t claim you created it, and give propers to the person who did.

We’ll be counting down the Top 50 Drinks of the Year, from 50 to 1, at an invite-only awards party to remember at Double Deuce Lounge in Sydney on Tuesday 29 November. Throughout the countdown, we’ll be handing out three awards: the Drink List of the Year, presented by The London Essence Co.; the People’s Drink of the Year, presented by Orlando; and for the number one drink of the Top 50, the Drink of the Year, presented by Patron Tequila.

A big thank you to these sponsors for jumping on board for our first year, and for supporting the industry and the work that Boothby does.

Here’s how it works:

1. From October 1st, bartenders are invited to enter their drink at boothby.com.au/drinkoftheyear. The big overarching rule? It’s got to be a drink that has been on the list or regularly available during the past 12 months — this isn’t a cocktail competition, but a recognition of the top quality drinks our bars serve year in and year out. You’ll need a good photo of the drink, one of yourself, the recipe and some more info. Entries close 11:59PM AEDT October 31st. Visit boothby.com.au/drinkoftheyear for more.
2. In November, the entries are winnowed down to the Top 50 Drinks of the Year by Boothby and a small panel of industry advisors. These will be showcased online at boothby.com.au from November 10 2022.
3. The public is then invited to cast their votes for the People’s Drink of the Year presented by Orlando, and a 100-plus person panel of industry experts casts their votes to determine the order of the Top 50, the winner of Drink of the Year presented by Patron Tequila, and the winner of Drinks List of the Year presented by The London Essence Co.
4. Next, get ready to party at the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards at Double Deuce Lounge, Sydney, on Tuesday 29 November. That's the night when we'll count from 50 all the way down to number one, stopping to present the People’s Drink of the Year 2022, the Drinks List of the Year 2022, and the Drink of the Year 2022 along the way. There will be great drinks, good tunes, and a room of the best and brightest bartenders in Australia.

It’ll be night to remember, I promise. We’ll celebrate some great drinks, some amazing bartenders, and get a good feel for how Australia is drinking right now.

So please, if you’ve got a drink you’re proud of, send it in — and let’s celebrate.

Got any questions? Email me anytime, at sam@boothby.com.au.