Tales of the Cocktail, the world's largest and best-known cocktail conference, is coming up in New Orleans in mid-July. Apart from days of seminars and debauchery, one of the biggest draws of the event is the Spirited Awards, considered some of the most important in the bartending community. Over the weekend, Tales of the Cocktail released the finalists for this year's awards, and quite a few L.A. bars are in the running. 

Bestia is up for Best American Restaurant Bar, which is a testament to the talents of Julian Cox, who oversees the drinks here as well as at Bill Chait's other restaurant projects. In the Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar, L.A. has two finalists: Harvard & Stone, and Honeycut, which only opened in October. The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is up for Best American Hotel Bar. 
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So that's the good news. The bad? Los Angeles has no finalists in the Best American Cocktail Bar or Best American Bartender categories. The Varnish has fallen off the list of nominees altogether, which is odd because it (and its fearless leader Eric Alperin) was up for both of these awards last year, making it to the top three in both categories. There's also no love for L.A. in the new category, Best American Bar Team, though it's nice to see the awards recognize teamwork. 

You can see the full list of American nominees below – for the whole list, including international nominees, check out the Tales of the Cocktail website. 

[UPDATE] We somehow missed earlier that Scopa Italian Roots is up for World's Best Drinks Selection in the international category. Quite the accomplishment – congrats, Scopa!

2014 Spirited Awards Finalists

American Bartender of the Year
Jeff Bell (New York)
Erick Castro (San Diego)
Marcovaldo Dionysos (San Francisco)
Bobby Heugel (Houston)
Sean Kenyon (Denver)
John Lermayer (Miami)
Ryan Maybee (Kansas City)
Ivy Mix (New York)
Jeffrey Morgenthaler (Portland)
Pamela Wiznitzer (New York)

Best American Brand Ambassador
Brooke Arthur (House Spirits)
Colin Asare-Appiah (Bacardi)
Elayne Duff (Diageo Reserve)
Jamie Evans (Oxley gin)
Bernie Lubbers (Heaven Hill Distilleries)
Freddy May (Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky)
Chris Patino (Pernod Ricard USA Portfolio)
Nick van Tiel (Plymouth Gin / Beefeater)
Neyah White (Suntory Japanese Whiskies)
Angus Winchester (Tanqueray Gin)

Best American Cocktail Bar
Anvil Bar & Refuge (Houston)
The Aviary (Chicago)
canon: whiskey and bitters emporium (Seattle)
Cure (New Orleans)
The Dead Rabbit (New York)
Noble Experiment (San Diego)
Prizefighter (Emeryville)
Smuggler's Cove (San Francisco)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)
Williams & Graham (Denver)

Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar
Employees Only (New York)
Flatiron Lounge (New York)
Harvard & Stone (Los Angeles)
Honeycut (Los Angeles)
The NoMad (New York)
Polite Provisions (San Diego)
Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago)
Saxon + Parole Restaurant (New York)
Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)

Best American Restaurant Bar
320 Main (Orange County)
Bestia (Los Angeles)
Clyde Common (Portland)
Gramercy Tavern (New York)
No. 9 Park (Boston)
The NoMad (New York)
nopa (San Francisco)
OAK at fourteenth (Boulder)
The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange (Kansas City)
The Silver Dollar (Louisville)

Best American Hotel Bar
Bellocq (New Orleans)
Bemelmans Bar (New York)
The Broken Shaker (Miami)
Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone (New Orleans)
Clyde Common (Portland)
The Hawthorne (Boston)
The Regent Cocktail Club (Miami)
Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago)
The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (Los Angeles)
Vesper Bar (Las Vegas)

Best New American Cocktail Bar
Attaboy (New York)
Cane & Table (New Orleans)
Celeste (Chicago)
Golden Cadillac (New York)
Half Step (Austin)
Kimball House (Atlanta)
Mockingbird Hill (Washington, D.C.)
Multnomah Whisk{e}y Library (Portland)
Three Dots and a Dash (Chicago)
ZZ's Clam Bar (New York)

Best American Bar Team – New Category
Attaboy (New York)
Clyde Common (Portland)
The Dead Rabbit (New York)
Drink (Boston)
Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks (Boston)
Employees Only (New York)
The NoMad (New York)
The Regent Cocktail Club (Miami)
Trick Dog (San Francisco)
Williams & Graham (Denver)

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