A new recognition system based on the Michelin Guide, has been announced for the world’s best bars, and is set to become one of the bar industry’s most respected accolades of excellence.
Drinks industry nobility – London Cocktail Week founders, Siobhan Payne and Hannah Sharman-Cox, alongside Global Bartending’s Dan Dove – have announced the launch of The Pinnacle Guide – a new one, two and three ‘PIN’ recognition system for the world’s best bars.
Inspired by The Michelin Guide in the world of restaurants, the new guide will look to award its first PINs in 2023, operating in eight key markets (provisionally planned to be the UK, US, France, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Spain and Mexico), before rolling out to 50 markets in 2025.
Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne state:
“We have been working behind the scenes on actualising The Pinnacle Guide for many years. We truly believe that the creation of such a system will help advance the interests of the bar industry and bring luxury drinking experiences to a wider consumer audience. We have been championing and promoting hospitality to the general public for well over a decade and believe we can continue this work on an even bigger scale.
We approached Dan Dove to collaborate with us on The Pinnacle Guide a few years ago. We have been friends and colleagues for many years on many different projects but through his most recent work – Global Bartending – he will provide a solid foundation and infrastructure -ensuring this project is a real success for the whole bar community.”
The Pillars of The Pinnacle Guide – Purpose, Process, and Promise
Hannah explains that the purpose of The Pinnacle Guide is to “create an authentic, reliable and trusted recognition system that elevates the bar industry underpinned by fair and visible processes”.
Siobhan adds that “something we feel incredibly strongly about […] is that The Pinnacle Guide offers transparency at all stages, so venues are in no question as to what they should be working towards if they want to win a PIN.” Therefore, before launch, The Pinnacle Guide will conduct a “six-month consultancy phase”, with all members of the global drinks trade invited to shape the way bars are measured and rewarded. There will be a series of fortnightly open forums and panel Zoom discussions, alongside one-to-one video calls with the three founders, to help define the criteria.
Dan concludes by promising that the guide will “uphold sustainable values and […] champion excellence without prejudice […] there is absolutely no barrier to entry.”
The Pinnacle Guide will also make the most of the opportunity to gather valuable data around the top echelon of the global drinks trade – an area that is currently in short supply. The first roundtable will be held on 3rd March 2022.
The full schedule and links to sign up to these sessions will be available on: https://www.thepinnacleguide.com/be-part-of-the-process/