Time Out Bar Awards has announced this year’s nominees for its first ever Melbourne awards and sixth Sydney ceremony.
The awards will be held in Melbourne’s brand spanking new bar, The Emerson in South Yarra, on Monday 25 November from 6.30-10.30pm, and The Island Bar on Cockatoo Island on Sunday 1 December from 1-6pm.
Both awards celebrate the best of what makes Sydney and Melbourne’s bar scenes special and the who’s who in each city will be attending, hoping for a chance at winning one of the coveted awards. The much-anticipated annual Time Out Bar Guides will also be launched at the event.
There are 13 awards up for grabs this year in each city, including Best Bartender, Best Pub, Best Bar Food and Bar of the Year. 11 of the 13 awards have been judged by a crack team of food and drink critics, who have spent countless nights trying the best of what each city has to offer. Ten top industry influencers have chosen the Hot Talent award, and the final award, the People’s Choice, has been judged by Time Out readers.
The Bar of the Year and Hall of Fame awards will be kept under wraps until the awards ceremony, but the nominees for the remaining 11 awards are as follows:
MELBOURNE NOMINEES
BEST BARTENDER
Tom Ambroz- Los Barbudos
Josh Crawford- The Rum Diary Bar
Hayden Lambert- Bar Americano
Evan Stanley- The Black Pearl
Alistair Walker- The Everleigh
BEST BAR FOOD
Bar Di Stasio
The Beaufort Bar
Cumulus Up
Hell of the North
Hihou
BEST ENTERTAINMENT
The Gem
Howler
Local Taphouse
Mr Wow’s Emporium
Shebeen
BEST FIT OUT
Bar Ampere
Bar Economico
The Everleigh
Hihou
Sweetwater Inn
BEST PUB
The Alehouse
The Gem
The Grace Darling
Local Taphouse
The Standard Hotel
BEST COCKTAIL BAR
Bar Americano
The Black Pearl
EDV
The Everleigh
Lily Blacks
BEST SMALL BAR
Bar Ampere
Bar Economico
Hihou
Los Barbudos
Whisky and Alement
BEST NEW BAR
Bar Economico
Bellota
Cumulus Up
Los Barbudos
The Rum Diary Bar
HOT TALENT
Jackson Evans- Misty Bar
Sarah Fulford- Lily Blacks
Lewis Halls- The Black Pearl
Jack Scotti- EDV
Dar Warren- 1806
BEST WINE BAR
Bellota
Cumulus Up
Gerald’s Bar
Hell of the North
Neighbourhood Wine
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
The Alehouse Project
Bar Americano
Bar Ampere
The Beaufort Bar
The Black Pearl
The Carlton Club
EDV
Los Barbudos
The Rum Diary Bar
Whisky and Alement
SYDNEY NOMINEES
BEST BARTENDER
Charlie Ainsbury- Eau de Vie
Jay Gray- Lobo Plantation
Lewis Jaffrey- Baxter Inn
Luke Redington- Hello Sailor
Adi Ruiz- Bulletin Place
BEST BAR FOOD
10 William Street
Mary’s
The Morrison
Rockpool Bar & Grill
Sokyo Lounge
BEST ENTERTAINMENT
Arcadia Liquors
The Beresford
Frankies
Midnight Special
Vic on the Park
BEST FIT OUT
Earl’s Juke Joint
The Henson
Lobo Plantation
Miss Peaches
Monopole
BEST PUB
The Courthouse
The Henson
Local Taphouse
Lord Nelson
The Union
BEST COCKTAIL BAR
The Barber Shop
Bulletin Place
Eau de Vie
Palmer and Co
The Roosevelt
BEST NEIGHBOURHOOD BAR
121 BC
Anchor
Hinky Dinks
Vasco
Wild Rover
BEST NEW BAR
The Barber Shop
Earl’s Juke Joint
Lobo Plantation
Neighbourhood
Wild Rover
HOT TALENT
Mischa Bonova- Rockpool Bar & Grill
Jonathon Carr- Wild Rover
Matt Linklater- Bulletin Place
Michael Nouri- Vasco
Sebastian ‘Cosmo’ Soto, Baxter Inn
BEST WINE BAR
10 William Street
121 BC
Love Tilly Devine
Monopole
Wine Library
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Baxter Inn
Black by Ezard
Gardel’s Bar
Hazy Rose
Hinky Dinks
Lobo Plantation
Mojo Record Bar
Midnight Special
Palmer and Co
Wild Rover
A limited number of tickets for the awards are still available for $50 (plus booking fee). Partygoers will be treated to Havana Club cocktails, Sail & Anchor beers, Rekorderlig Cider and Tempus Two Wines. Melbourne will be treated to music from futuristic synth pop artist Dune (the new project for singer Jade MacRae), while bluegrass/hillbilly rockers The ReChords will take Sydney by storm alongside husband and wife DJs Boonge & Rusty (You Am I drummer Rusty Hopkinson).
Michael Rodrigues, Joint CEO for Time Out Australia, explains: “Time Out's mission is to inspire our readers to try new, interesting and quality experiences. Bar owners and bartenders make this job easy for us night in night out by serving up amazing drinks whose signature ingredient is 'fun'. The Time Out Bar Awards are our way of recognising the awesome job they do and the character they bring to our city. It's our way to say thanks.”
Myffy Rigby, Time Out Australia’s chief food and drink critic and the editor of the annual Time Out Sydney Bar Guide, adds: “Time Out is entering a new phase with the Bar Awards. In six years in Sydney we’ve gone from blackened backrooms, to occupying an entire island. We’ve had the pleasure of having the Snowdroppers, Lanie Lane and the Rubens play to an audience that continues to grow more and more with each passing event. This year we’re also introducing a completely new awards program in Melbourne, which is a very exciting new phase in our history.”
Time Out Melbourne Bar Awards
Monday 25 November, 6.30-10.30pm
The Emerson, 143-145 Commercial Road, South Yarra
Tickets $50 (plus booking fee)
Click here for tickets.
Time Out Sydney Bar Awards
Sunday 1 December, 1-6pm
The Island Bar, Cockatoo Island
Tickets $50 (plus booking fee)
Click here for tickets.