BOTANIST BAR IN VANCOUVER, CANADA, WINS MICHTER’S ART OF HOSPITALITY AWARD
IN THE SECOND ANNUAL NORTH AMERICA’S 50 BEST BARS AWARDS 2023
A beacon of outstanding hospitality in the Pacific Northwest celebrates the
region’s vibrant biodiversity and applies it in state-of-the-art, culinary-forward cocktails
Botanist Bar in Vancouver, Canada, has been announced as the winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, part of the second annual North America’s 50 Best Bars awards 2023. Created to recognize the importance of hospitality in the bar experience, this award is voted for by 260 members of North America’s 50 Best Bars Academy. These industry experts, all based in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, are asked to name the bar where they received the single-best hospitality experience during the voting period.
This is the first in a series of special pre-announced awards in the month leading up to the second annual announcement of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023, sponsored by Perrier. It will be held at a live awards ceremony taking place at Hacienda Los Picachos in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 6:30pm CST/8:30pm EDT. This represents the first time the awards ceremony will be staged in Mexico and salutes its presence on the global cocktail scene. North America’s 50 Best Bars, together with market-leading The World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars, provide consumers with the most reliable list of expert-approved drinking destinations anywhere in the world.
Mark Sansom, Content Director for North America’s 50 Best Bars, says: “The Canadian bar community has forged a culture of exceptional hospitality that Botanist Bar exemplifies. Located at the far Western edge of the continent, the bar welcomes locals and travelers alike, with the bar team giving their all every shift to guarantee a memorable and bespoke experience for each guest. This nurturing approach to hospitality extends to the bar team itself, which enjoys a three-day weekend on average to help maintain a healthy work-life balance. In the cocktail world of cold hands and warm hearts, Botanist Bar is a shining example and a deserved recipient of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award.”
Botanist Bar, led under the guidance of Creative Beverage Director Grant Sceney and spearheaded by Head Bartender Jeff Savage, is ensconced in the award-winning Botanist restaurant housed in the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. Inspired by the principles of botany, the bar celebrates the Pacific Northwest’s unique biodiversity in its culinary-forward approach using state-of-the-art techniques. Botanist Bar’s Cocktail Lab, a bartender’s studio stocked with a rotary evaporator, centrifuges and a band saw for size-specific ice sculpting, encourages unbridled creativity and precise, chemist-like executions of its house-made tinctures, shrubs and syrups. Guests are brought into conversations about ingredients and sophisticated processes, layering in intellectual depth to the bar’s unconditional and expansive hospitality.
Savage says: “Winning the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award is a distinct and completely humbling honor. We have cheered from afar watching bars we deeply admire receive this accolade and to be a part of the conversation alongside them is a gift. Hospitality is truly the most important aspect of what we do at Botanist. It’s ingrained in every decision we make. We’re blessed to be in a position to act as an ambassador for Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Oftentimes, we have guests who make our bar their first stop in the country, and we aim to not only show the best of what our little slice of the world has to offer, but to do so in the most welcoming, inclusive manner possible. It’s truly a gift to be recognized as a leading bar in Canada, and to win an award for something so important to us is an experience beyond words.”
Matt Magliocco, Executive Vice President, Michter’s Distillery, says: “Congratulations to Botanist on winning the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award at North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023. Ever since opening, Botanist has earned acclaim throughout Canada as one of the nation’s finest hospitality establishments. Today, it is wonderful to see the Botanist Bar team, led by Creative Beverage Director Grant Sceney and Head Bartender Jeff Savage, receive such well-deserved recognition from peers across North America.”
The second annual edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will be announced on Thursday, May 4, 2023. The countdown of the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars and the awards ceremony will also be broadcast to a global audience who are not able to attend in person, and bar and cocktail lovers will be invited to join through The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars TV channel on YouTube.
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About North America’s 50 Best Bars
Following the success of The World’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, and the establishment of Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2016, 50 Best launched North America’s 50 Best Bars, with the first edition of the awards held in New York, N.Y. on June 7, 2022. It shines a much-deserved spotlight on the region as a world-class drinks’ destination and acts as a mouthpiece for the outstanding talent coming through. The inaugural North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony and unveiling of the list provided a unique opportunity to unite bartenders, bar owners, cocktail aficionados and drinks media from all over the region at a captivating celebration of drinks, hospitality, passion and talent. North America’s 50 Best Bars includes voting for bars from Canada, the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. William Reed, which owns the 50 Best brand, is entirely responsible for the organization of the awards, the voting system and the respective lists.
How the Voting Works
The ranking for North America’s 50 Best Bars will reflect the best bar experiences based on the votes of the Academy members, who comprise anonymous North American bar industry experts (including bartenders, bar owners, drinks media and well-traveled cocktail connoisseurs) from the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. In 2023, the Academy was expanded to 260 members. This change was implemented to obtain a wider snapshot and ensure a greater number of diverse voices voting for the awards. Moreover, as per all 50 Best lists for restaurants, bars and hotels, 25% of Academy members are refreshed annually to keep the perspectives dynamic and relevant. Members of the 50 Best organization do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that bars cannot apply to be on the list and no sponsors have any influence on the list.
The Academy is divided into 8 regions: USA Northeast; USA Midwest; USA West; USA South; Canada East; Canada West; Mexico; and the Caribbean. Each region has its own panel of members including a chairperson, called the Academy Chair. The Chairs each then select a voting panel, ensuring a balanced selection. Each North America Academy member will vote for 7 bars, with a maximum of 5 in the home country (or state in the U.S.) where they are based. Voters also have the option to vote for a further 2 (or more) bars located outside of their home country (or U.S. state) up to a maximum of 7.
Voting is carried out individually and strictly confidentially on a secure site and remains confidential before the list announcement. Academy Chairs are not privy to, and have no knowledge of, the votes cast by the voters in their respective regions. They are neither spokespeople for the 50 Best brand.
The list will be the result of a poll of more than 260 experts (all within the North American continent), who each cast votes for the bars where they have had their ‘best experience’ during the last 18 months before the voting deadline. The list is a simple computation of votes by North American voters for bars in North America. Further information on the Academy Chairs and how the voting works is available on the FAQs page here.
About the Award Sponsor: Michter’s
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Michter’s celebrates an extraordinarily rich heritage tracing back to 1753. The Michter’s team spares no expense in its efforts to produce the greatest American whiskey possible, with tremendous attention given to every step in the production process. Michter’s has received extensive critical acclaim for its line of Bourbon, Rye, Sour Mash, and American whiskeys.
Our Partners:
San Miguel de Allende – Official Host Destination Partner
Perrier – Official Water Partner; sponsor of The Best Bar in North America
Michter’s – Official American Whiskey Partner; sponsor of Michter’s Art of Hospitality
Nikka Whisky – Official Whisky of the World Partner; sponsor of Nikka Highest Climber
Ketel One – Official Vodka Partner; sponsor of Ketel One Sustainable Bar
Siete Misterios – Official Mezcal Partner; sponsor of Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu
The London Essence Co. – Official Mixers Partner; sponsor of London Essence Best New Opening
Disaronno – Official Italian Liqueur Partner; sponsor of Disaronno Highest New Entry
Roku Gin – Official Gin Partner; sponsor of Roku Industry Icon
Altos Tequila – Official Tequila Partner; sponsor of Altos Bartenders’ Bartender
Matusalem – Official Rum Partner; sponsor of ceremonial scarves
Naked Malt – Official Scotch Whisky Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Rémy Martin – Official Cognac Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Campari – Official Bitters Partner; sponsor of Campari One To Watch
Tia Maria – Official Coffee Liqueur Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Torres Brandy – Official Brandy Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Scrappy’s Bitters – Official Cocktail Bitters Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Bareksten – Official Aquavit Partner; sponsor of Best in Destination Award
Live Aqua – Official Hotel Partner
Media release and images provided by Hanna Lee, Hanna Lee Communications.
