Last night, 26th of November, the drinks industry gathered to honour some of its more outstanding members at the 4th edition of the Irish Craft Cocktail Awards (ICCA), during a ceremony that took place at Number Twenty Two.
The winners were chosen by a combination of cocktail enthusiasts and industry experts who came together to celebrate the brightest bartenders, bars and teams. Veteran bartender Paul Lambert was honoured with an Industry Legend accolade, while Andy Ferreira, from Cask, in Cork, won the highly coveted prize of Best Bartender 2017.
Cask took home a remarkable number of awards, earning also Best Overall Cocktail Bar, Outstanding Cocktail Menu, Best Bar Team, Best New Cocktail Bar and Best Bar Munster.
Every year the awards hold a charity auction, and this year the chosen charity was Samaritans Ireland. On the night they raised €6842 through their auction and raffle, with the record breaking lot being an extremely rare bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 year bourbon for €875, donated by Hi-Spirits.
Below, the winners of the Irish Craft Cocktail Awards (ICCA) 2017:
Industry Legend 2017
Winner: Paul Lambert
Best Overall Cocktail Bar 2017
Winner: Cask, Cork
Outstanding Cocktail Menu
Winner: Cask, Cork
2nd: Vintage Cocktail Club, Dublin
3rd: Liquor XXX, Belfast
Shortlisted: The Blind Pig, Dublin; Cask, Cork; The Liquor Rooms, Dublin; Peruke & Periwig, Dublin.
Best Bar Team
Winner: Cask, Cork
2nd: Vintage Cocktail Club, Dublin
3rd: Peruke & Periwig, Dublin;
Shortlist: 37 Dawson St, Dublin; The Liquor Rooms, Dublin; Zozimus, Dublin.
Best New Cocktail Bar
Winner: Cask, Cork
2nd: Hang Dai, Dublin
3rd: Little Pig @ The Blind Pig, Dublin
Shortlist: The Blind Tiger, Sligo; Liquor XXX, Belfast; Salt, Galway
Best Hotel Cocktail Bar
Winner: The Sidecar Bar @ The Westbury, Dublin
2nd: The Cocktail Bar @ The Merchant Hotel, Belfast
3rd: Cask @ Hotel Isaacs, Cork
Shortlist: Bert’s Jazz Bar @ The Merchant Hotel, Belfast; Lemuel’s @ The Conrad, Dublin; Sophie’s @ The Dean, Dublin
Best Restaurant Cocktail Bar
Winner: Hang Dai, Dublin
2nd: The Sitting Room @ Delahunt, Dublin
3rd: Cask, Cork
Shortlist: 777, Dublin; The Blind Pig, Dublin; Peruke & Periwig, Dublin
REGIONAL AWARDS
Best Cocktail Bar Connacht
Winner: The Blind Tiger, Sligo
2nd: Salt, Galway
3rd: Tribeton, Galway
Shortlist: An Púcán, Galway; Tigh Nora, Galway; The Universal, Galway
Best Cocktail Bar Munster
Winner: Cask, Cork
2nd: House, Limerick
3rd: Soho Bar and Restaurant, Cork
Shortlist: Bar Pigalle, Cork; Cliff House Hotel, Waterford; Edison, Cork
Best Cocktail Bar Leinster (not including Dublin City)
Winner: Candlelight Bar, Dundrum
2nd: The dylan Whiskey Bar
3rd: The Sky & The Ground, Wexford
Shortlist: Angelina’s, Dublin 4; Brickyard, Dundrum; The Left Bank, Kilkenny
Best Cocktail Bar Ulster
Winner: The Cocktail Bar @ The Merchant, Belfast
2nd: Liquor XXX, Belfast
3rd: A.P.O.C., Belfast
Shortlist: Bert’s Jazz Bar, Belfast; Bootleggers, Belfast; Love & Death, Belfast
Best Cocktail Bar Dublin
Winner: Vintage Cocktail Club
2nd: The Blind Pig
3rd: The Sitting Room @ Delahunt
Shortlist: Hang Dai; The Liquor Rooms; Peruke & Periwig
Best Bartender 2017
Winner: Andy Ferreira, Cask
2nd: Richie Delahoyde, Vintage Cocktail Club
3rd: Martin Holec, The Sitting Room @ Delahunt
Shortlist: Andrew Ennis, Peruke & Periwig; Anne Gilhooley, Formerly Peruke and Periwig; Carl D’Alton, Cask; Conor Myers, Formerly The Exchequer; Daniel Mulligan, Zozimus; Darren Geraghty, Candlelight Bar; Dave Mulholland, Liquor XXX; Pat Thomas, Zozimus; Stephanie Shen, Chelsea Drug Store.
More information: irishcraftcocktailawards.com
