Tales of the Cocktail, a foundation and annual conference supporting education in the beverage industry, released its honorees for its 13^th Spirited Awards yesterday, and a local bar is among them. Merchant & Trade was honored as one of the Best American High Volume Cocktail Bars. The categories are broken up into region, and to be considered for the high volume category, a bar must have a minimum 100-person capacity and outstanding service and cocktails.

The bar on the rooftop of The Kimpton is helmed by Henry Schmulling. The winners for the award will be announced at The Spirited Awards event on July 20^th. Other honorees in the category include Jack Rose in Washington, D.C., The Tippler in New York, and Yvonne’s in Boston.

Merchant & Trade is the only North Carolina nominee. —Kristen Wile

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