New York Bartenders the Best in the Country?

Don't be surprised if your favorite bartender is nowhere to be found next month. For five days each July, bartenders from around the country flock to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, considered by many in the industry to be the world's preeminent cocktail festival. The nominees for this year's Spirit Awards, held on the last night of the festival, have been announced and--not quite surprisingly--Big Apple bars and bartenders are well represented. And the nominees are...

Best American Cocktail Bar
Death & Co., NYC
PDT, NYC
Pegu Club, NYC

World's Best Cocktail Bar
Door 74, Amsterdam
High Five Bar, Tokyo
PDT, NYC
Pegu Club, NYC

World's Best New Cocktail Bar
Clover Club, Brooklyn
Drink, Boston
Quo Vadis, London

American Bartender of the Year
Audrey Saunders
James Meehan
Phil Ward

Oh, and Rainbow Room vet Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail was nominated for best new cocktail book. We can drink to that.