London hotel bar The Artesian has cemented its stronghold as the best watering hole in the world by snagging the title for the second year in a row at a major international cocktail event in New Orleans this week.
The bar at London boutique hotel The Langham was named the World’s Best Bar at the 8th edition of Tales of the Cocktail festival, one of the most highly anticipated events for the cocktail and bartending world.
Bartender Simone Caporale also snagged the title of International Bartender of the Year, while The Artesian scooped up two more awards in categories such as Best International Hotel Bar and Best International Bar Team.
Under the direction of head bartender Alex Kratena, the upscale lounge elevates cocktails into a sensory, artistic and gastronomic experience that has included everything from opium incense to inflated pillows, smoke and mirrors.
Other major international winners at the event include 28 Hong Kong Street in Singapore, which took the title of Best International Cocktail Bar; The Aviary in Chicago for World’s Best Cocktail Menu; and The Dead Rabbit in New York, which took the title of World’s Best Drinks Selection.
Meanwhile, earlier this month The Artesian launched a new cocktail menu under the theme “Unfolding and Exploring,” that includes gemstones, larch, leather mushrooms and parsnip.
Cocktails are designed to ‘unfold’ throughout the drinking experience.
The ‘Will of the Woods,’ for instance, is described as a liquid forest, made with Glenlivet, Vermouth, larch, mushrooms, citrus and honey, served in a wooden drinking bowl.
And the ‘Selfie Compatible’ is a vaporized cocktail that contains Ron Zacapa 23 Floc De Gascogne, Verjus, Beer and Bitters.
The Artesian is also the reigning champion for the second year running on the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
Meanwhile, Caporale appears on Jamie Oliver’s Drinks Tube channel on YouTube, where the charismatic Italian bartender shares make-at-home cocktail recipes like the Cosmopolitan, Aviation and Sangria. Watch below:
The Times-Picayune has the full list of Tale of the Cocktail winners here.
