The 2020 Scottish Bar & Pub awards blazed a trail by going virtual for the first time in 25 years on Wednesday 25th November in what could be a world-first. From Applecross to Dumfries, hundreds of industry operators, staff, and for the first time members of the public tuned in live to gather on a virtual red carpet, before taking their seats at virtual tables to watch the ceremony, rounding off the evening with entertainment in several other rooms.
A record 9,000 people voted this year and host showbiz journalist Beverley Lyons presented a total of 20 awards with unsuspecting recipients surprised by a knock at the door and a socially distanced congratulations from one of the awards team – among them entrepreneur Alan Tomkins, the man behind Glasgow’s Vroni’s Wine Bar, Vodka Wodka, and latterly Ralph & Finns who was surprised at home by wife Hazel with a Lifetime Achievement award.
Scotland’s longest-running industry ‘Oscars’ are organised by publishers of DRAM magazine and this one was determined to honour the fighting spirit and resilience of the people that make up Scotland’s hospitality industry during this heavy Covid weather as well as their all-round excellence as they usually do.
Ayrshire-based Buzzworks Holdings took the Cellar Trends Independent Pub Group accolade for the second year running with owner Kenny Blair accepting the award, while licensee Gillian Kirkland of Glasgow’s Piper Whisky Bar walked away with Sunday Mail Pub of the Year. Gordon & MacPhail Whisky Bar of the Year went to Frank Murphy (pictured) of The Pot Still in Glasgow.
Antos Dog-Friendly Pub of the Year is now officially The Brig & Barrel in Dunbar and the award blew owners James and Sarah Hughes and Labrador Fozzie away, as did Jamie Duffy’s Carling Community Pub of the Year gong that he received in his pub, The West End Bar in Blantyre. Broughty Ferry’s Fort Hotel boss John Black is now the proud owner of the Kopparberg Best and Most Improved Outside Area accolade.
New gongs for 2020 included Wm Grant & Sons Local Licensed Trade Hero, awarded to Stuart McPhee of Siberia Bar & Grill in Aberdeen, DRAM Inspirational Woman of the Year, which went to Louse Maclean of Edinburgh-based signature Pubs, with Hold Fast Entertainment boss Donald MacLeod picking up the Open Ear Lionheart of the Industry Award.
All went and continue to go above and beyond for Scotland’s hospitality industry during these challenging times.
Said organiser and DRAM publisher Susan Young, “If you’d have told me all those years ago that we would be celebrating our 25th anniversary virtually and with no physical venue or audience, I’d have said there’s more chance of us doing it on the moon. But here we are 25 years on and what a year it’s been and we couldn’t have hoped for a more action-packed and energised live virtual event.
“I take my hat off to everybody in this industry who has worked night and day to keep pubs and restaurants open safely and responsibly and people in jobs despite the day-to-day challenges of Covid.
“I wanted these awards to not only honour the finalists and the winners but everybody in Scottish hospitality that makes it such a great industry be part of and support – and that is what happened. It was the shot in the arm our industry badly needed. Here’s to the next 25 years.”
All the 2020 Scottish Bar & Pub awards winners:
Antos Dog-Friendly Pub of the Year, The Brig & Barrel, Dunbar
BII Customer Service – The Auldhouse, East Kilbride
Buzzworks & Montpeliers Family Endeavour award – McKenzie Family, Cathedral House, Glasgow
Carling Community Pub – The West End Bar, Blantyre
Cellar Trends Independent Pub Group – Buzzworks Holdings, Ayrshire
Deanston Whisky Guru of the Year – Flora Grant and Marion McKinnon, The Ardshiel Hotel, Campbeltown
DRAM Cocktail Bar/ Cocktail Initiative 2021 – The Glasgow Cocktail Collective
DRAM Inspirational Woman of the Year – Louise Maclean, Signature Pub Group, Edinburgh
Fatbuzz Social Media Awards – The Thornwood, Glasgow
Gordon & MacPhail Whisky Bar of the Year – The Pot Still, Glasgow
Kopparberg Best and Most Improved Outside Area – The Fort Hotel, Broughty Ferry
Open Ear Lionheart of the Industry Award – Donald MacLeod, Glasgow
Sea Change Evolution Award – Billy Milligan, Finsbay Flatiron, Glasgow
Wee Guide Restaurant of the year – Garden Room, Cairn Lodge Hotel, Auchterarder
Wm Grant & Sons Young Hero Award – Sarah Allan, Louie Browns Dalgety Bay
Wm Grant & Sons Local Licensed Trade Hero – Stuart McPhee, Siberia Bar & Grill, Aberdeen
Scottish Bar and Pub Awards Licensed Trade Champion – Stephen Montgomery, Townhead Hotel, Lockerbie
2020 Covid Pivot Award – The Georgian Hotel, Coatbridge
Sunday Mail Pub of the Year – The Piper Whisky Bar, Glasgow
Lifetime Achievement – Alan Tomkins, Glasgow