Nominations are closing soon for the Boothby Best Bars Awards for QLD & NSW

Here we go: it’s time to get your nominations in for the Boothby Best Bars QLD & NSW.

The Boothby Best Bars program is an editorial and awards feature aimed at showcasing the best bars in each Australian state — in 2023 we’re beginning with Queensland and New South Wales. The aim is to put the focus on the bars that make our cities and regions great.

Boothby Best Bars champions the bars that make each state great, on their own merits. A bar in Cairns has a different set of challenges to a bar in Sydney’s CBD — the Boothby Best Bars program not only recognises this but celebrates it, too.

Nominations are open now and close at 11:59pm AEDT on Sunday 2 April.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Work out whether you’re nominating yourself (or a bar you own or manage), or giving someone else a nomination. It’s encouraged to nominate yourself, and you only need one nomination to be considered in the next round (there are no points for multiple nominations).
2. Work out whether you’re nominating for a QLD bar or a NSW bar.
3. Hit the appropriate chatbot button below to launch the process.

Please note: if you are nominating a bar you own or manage,  we’ll also ask you to upload a photo and a PDF of the drinks list through the nomination process, so it’s best to get these ready ahead of time.

To cast a nomination in the Queensland event, hit the QLD nominations button below.

Or, to cast a nomination in the New South Wales event, hit the NSW nominations button below.

The Awards

In addition to counting down the top 40 bars in Queensland,  and the top 50 bars in NSW, we’re handing out five awards at each event.

The Best Bar in Queensland sponsored by Giffard

On May 22, we’ll be counting down the 40 best bars in Queensland, and the bar that reaches number 1 on the list is the winner of this award.

The Best New Bar QLD sponsored by Patrón Tequila

This award for the highest place newcomer on the list will be awarded to a new bar which opened between March 20 2022 and March 19 2023.

The Best Cocktail Bar QLD sponsored by Perrier

This award recognises the bar which stands out as a beacon for cocktails in QLD. The QLD advisory panel will cast their votes for this award after the nomination process has finished. The focus of this bar must be cocktails or its own complicated, compounded, or house-made fermentations.

Person of the Year QLD sponsored by Orlando

This award celebrates one person — whether they’re a bartender, owner, brand person or other influential industry identity — who is pushing the bar scene in Queensland forward. Nominations for this happen in the first round, with the advisory panel voting for who they think is the Person of the Year.

The All Time Great
This sets out to recognise a bar on the list that has been performing at a high level for seven years or more and which has made a lasting contribution to the industry.

How does it work?

1. From March 20 2023, we’ll put the call out for nominations in both Queensland and New South Wales, with an emphasis on getting nominations from regional cities and towns in both states.
2. After nominations close at 11:59pm AEDT on Sunday 2 April, the Boothby Advisory panel consisting of bartenders, bar owners and other industry figures will cast their votes based on the nominations, which will need to include at least two venues from outside their own city.
3. On the night of Monday 22 May, we’ll gather at Frog’s Hollow Saloon to celebrate the best bars in Queensland, with the countdown of the Top 40 and the awarding of the Best Bar in QLD sponsored by Giffard; the Best New Bar QLD sponsored by Patrón Tequila; the Best Cocktail Bar QLD sponsored by Perrier; Person of the Year QLD sponsored by Orlando; and Queensland’s All Time Great for bars that have been operating for seven years or more.
4. Then on Monday 19 June, we’ll celebrate at Jolene’s in Sydney and countdown the Top 50 and award the Best Bar in NSW sponsored by Giffard; the Best New Bar NSW sponsored by Patrón Tequila; the Best Cocktail Bar NSW sponsored by Perrier; Person of the Year NSW sponsored by Orlando; and the All Time Great NSW.