New York Pretty Much Ran the Table at the Spirited Awards

In a fit of Gatsby-themed revelry on Saturday night at the Hyatt Regency, New York?with some notable exceptions?was confirmed as the best city to visit if you're looking for a really good drink. The 11th annual Tales of the Cocktail festival culminated with the disbursing of the Spirited Awards, which were created seven years ago to do exactly what they did Saturday night: honor 18 luminaries of the cocktail industry, including bartenders, authors, brand ambassadors, and the alchemists behind the spirits we all enjoy with such unabashed decadence.

True to its Great Gatsby theme, the award ceremony (hosted by Simon Ford and Tom Caltabiano) featured a New York-sized crowd of over 1,000 people, and lavished awards a small regiment of New Yorkers, most notably Jack McGarry, who came away with three awards, including the extremely cosmopolitan-sounding International Bartender of the Year and the World's Best New Cocktail Bar for the The Dead Rabbit, a Manhattan bar he co-owns. Other New York-notables: Brooklyn's Clover Club took Best American Cocktail Bar and Saxon + Parole nabbed Best Restaurant Bar.

Check out NOLA.com's coverage (including all the very Gatsby photos) for a complete list of winners not in the 212, 646, or 917 area codes.

· Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards [NOLA.com]
· New York Wins Big at This Year's Tales of the Cocktail [Eater NY]