NEW YORK STATE — New York Bartender Week (NYBW) will take place November 17-23. The festival celebrates bartenders, bar owners and barbacks, and this year’s event will feature the Bar Star Awards.

NYBW is a week-long festival that promotes cocktail tourism and economic development in the Empire State by celebrating the bar community and locally produced spirits. The festival salutes storytelling as the common thread that ties the drinks community together, showcasing the compelling narratives of its people, products and places, a press release reads.

Each participating bar will create and serve a New York State-themed cocktail for the festival that incorporates at least one locally produced spirit. 

This year, the festival will include the first-ever Bar Star Awards. The awards will be judged by a panel of noted national and international media members, the press release continues. Each applicant will submit a short story on why they chose the bar world for their profession and the obstacles they overcame along the way. The most inspiring storytelling will determine the winners.

The festival is sponsored by Hanna Lee Communications. For more information, visit www.hannaleecommunications.com/new-york-bartender-week.