Spring has well and truly sprung, and we’re into the final stretch of drinks and bar openings and new menu launches for 2026 — and that means, folks, that entries are now open in the 2026 Boothby Drink of the Year Awards.
It’s the fifth annual instalment of the Drink of the Year Awards, in which we highlight the great work of the Australia’s best bartenders over the course of the last 12 months. Last year’s awards saw Kitty Gardner and Darren Leaney (and their drink, Doublethink) jointly nudge out Michael Chiem’s ever popular Africola from number one spot on the list, having previously taken it out in 2022 and 2024.
Who will take the number one spot this year?
You can see last year’s list right here.
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 cocktail party in Sydney on Monday 30 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 seven major awards:
- The Drink of the Year presented by Bacardi;
- The People’s Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory;
- Bartender of the Year presented by Glenfiddich;
- Breakout Bartender of 2025 presented by Hendrick’s;
- Drinks List of the Year presented by Belvedere;
- Martini of the Year presented by Sunchaser;
- and Non-Alc of the Year presented by Re'al.
And this year, each of the major award winners will be featured in Boothby magazine, as will the full list of the Top 50.
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.
Here’s how it works:
- From Monday 28 September 2026, 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 — you can see what you need to do in the form below.
- Entries close 11:59PM AEDT Friday 16 October 2026.
- The entries are then winnowed down to the Top 50 Drinks of the Year by Boothby and a select panel of industry advisors. These will be showcased online at boothby.com.au from Monday 26 October, when invites to the awards will be sent to the Top 50.
- The public is then invited to cast their votes for the People’s Drink of the Year presented by Club Suntory, while a 150-person panel of industry experts casts their votes to determine the order of the Top 50, the winner of Drink of the Year, and the winner of Drinks List of the Year presented by Belvedere. Bartenders with a drink on the Top 50 will cast their votes for the Bartender of the Year presented by Glenfiddich, while the Breakout Bartender of 2026 presented by Hendrick’s goes to an up and coming bartender on the list who shows the most promise, is gaining more attention, and has shown they’ve arrived. Two new awards in 2026, Martini of the Year presented by Sunchaser and Non-Alc of the Year presented by Re'al will go to the highest placed example of those styles on the list.
- Next, get ready to party at the exclusive, invite-only Boothby Drink of the Year Awards cocktail party in Sydney, on Monday 30 November. That's the night when we'll count from 50 all the way down to number one, handing out each of the seven 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 2026? You can enter now at boothby.com.au/drinkoftheyear.
