Entries are now open for the second annual Boothby Drink of the Year Awards

The October long weekend has come and gone, and the footy is done for the year, which means I’m now turning my attention to the last big Boothby event for 2023 — the Boothby Drink of the Year Awards.

That’s right, they’re back — which is a rather wonderful thing to write. It’s the second instalment of these annual awards, in which we highlight the great work of the nation’s best bartenders over the course of the last 12 months. Last year’s awards saw Michael Chiem’s Africola rightly take out the number one spot — and the title of Drink of the Year — on the Top 50 Drinks of the Year (you can see last year’s list right here).

If you missed last year’s event, here’s a quick primer on what to expect.

The Boothby Drink of the Year Awards is designed to put bartenders front and centre in the conversation around our bars, and to highlight the great drinks they make, night in and night out.

It’s a list of the 50 best drinks from bartenders across Australia, which will be announced at an exclusive invite-only party for the Top 50 bartenders at Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern on Sunday 19 November (so save the date now!).

On the night, in addition to counting down the Top 50 Drinks of the Year, we’ll hand out four major awards:

• The Drink of the Year presented by Patrón Tequila;
• The People’s Drink of the Year presented by Orlando;
• Bartender of the Year presented by The Exchange;
• and Drinks List of the Year presented by Perrier.

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 props to the person who did.

Here’s how it works:

1. From October 3rd 2023, 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 20th. Visit boothby.com.au/drinkoftheyear to enter now.
2. The entries are then 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 October 25 2023.
3. The public is then invited to cast their votes for the People’s Drink of the Year presented by Orlando, and a 120-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 Patrón Tequila, and the winner of Drinks List of the Year presented by Perrier. Bartenders with a drink on the Top 50 will cast their votes for the Bartender of the Year presented by The Exchange.
4. Next, get ready to party at the invite-only Boothby Drink of the Year Awards at Ramblin' Rascal Tavern, Sydney, on Sunday 19 November. That's the night when we'll count from 50 all the way down to number one, and hand out each of the four major awards along the way. There will be great drinks, good tunes, and a room of the best and brightest bartenders in Australia.

Are you ready to put your drink in the mix for 2023? Click here to go to the entry page now.