Spirited Awards nominate Mirror Bar top 10, twice
The 18th annual Spirited Awards just released their regional top 10 honourees in each category on April 18, 2024, and excitement has swept through bars across the world - not least in Bratislava, Slovakia. Mirror Cocktail Bar in the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel placed among the top 10 in two categories, Best International Bar Team - Europe and Best International Hotel Bar - Europe.
Since undergoing renovations in 2019, both in the building and in concept, Mirror Bar has been a rising figure on the international bar scene.
The team at Mirror Bar has worked hard to achieve ever higher levels of professionalism, and it shows. But recognition hasn’t come by chance. “Since we have started to increase our travels around the world and presenting Mirror Bar, and also bringing international people to Slovakia, that’s probably the key, that people are able to experience the passion and hard work of our team,” says Stan Harcinik, global ambassador for the bar. Guest shifts are a part of increasing visibility, as well as activities such as hosting Mirror Hospitality Expo, Central Europe’s leading bar show that is packed with educational material.
Increasing visibility on a global scale needs to be a purposeful activity when you are based in Slovakia. To put it simply, not a lot of movers and shakers hang around the country. “I was surprised by the top 10 honoree placement, in a huge way,” he says. “You know, you always hope that something like this will happen, but at the same time we have a lot of doubts, we are from a small city in a small country, what are the chances? Even when we know that we are trying to do more and push even further with what we do at Mirror Bar. And I’m not even speaking about getting into two categories.”
The Spirited Awards are given out by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a non-profit platform seeking “to act as a catalyst to Educate, Advance, and Support the communities we touch. Since its founding in 2007, the Spirited Awards have become one of the industry’s most revered awards, recognizing beverage professionals, products, establishments, journalists, and media across every facet of the spirits and cocktail industry on a global scale.”
Coming from a small country also means the tight-knit community across the country is also excited for you, as can be seen by the comments on the bar’s social media. “Being recognized globally as a Regional Top 10 Honoree by Spirited Awards in two categories, as Top 10 Best International Bar Team - Europe and Top 10 Best International Hotel Bar - Europe, is something unexpected and I’m not able to describe with words how much it means to us - to our team, our bar, and our bar community in both Bratislava and Slovakia. We are glad that our hard work and passion with what we do here at Mirror Bar was recognized. It’s a huge motivation and at the same time responsibility for us.”
Recognition and achievement of a bar is never the work of one individual but always a collective effort.
“First I would like to thank our dedicated Team, each one of them is a great individual that is willing to always make one step more for Mirror Bar and I want to express how proud I am of them. An immense thank you goes also to all of our friends around the world and all the professionals that recognized us either in the nomination or voting that got us to this place. We will keep pushing, that’s a promise,” concludes the global ambassador for Mirror Bar.
The Spirited Awards ceremony will take place on July 25, 2024 in New Orleans, USA, at the Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s leading cocktail conference. Click here to see the full list of honorees.
