From sea to shining sea, the United States is filled with high quality cocktail bars as part of the great cocktail revolution. But at the recent Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, the Columbia Room in Washington, D.C. took the Spirited Awards honor as Best American Cocktail Bar.

The award recognizes the American bar that set the highest standards in the industry and influenced national cocktail trends over the past year. Considerations for the award include menu, bar teams, atmosphere, and cocktail quality.

The Columbia Room is located in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood. Over the last year, it has also received "best" recognition from both Esquire and Bon Appetit magazines.

"To be the best cocktail bar, in some ways, nobody knows what that means," said co-owner of the Columbia Room, Derek Brown, in a recent article with DCist. "But it becomes clear when you go to a place and have a great time, and drink a great cocktail, and have great service - when you have that experience you know you've been in a great cocktail bar."

That bar includes a casual outdoor garden, a "spirits library," and a tasting room with food pairings from chef Johnny Spero. It's created some dedicated guests.

"Awards are cool, don't get me wrong, but the best single thing a person can do is become a return guest," Brown said. "That's when you've really won."

For Perlick, it is truly an honor to have our Tobin Ellis Signature Cocktail Station as part of the Columbia Room’s repertoire. Because the Tobin Ellis Signature Cocktail Station was designed by a bartender for bartenders, it was always our hope to see these units help the finest establishments in America achieve their lofty goals. Congratulations to the Columbia Room, from your friends at Perlick.

Learn more about the Tobin Ellis Signature Cocktail Station. See what America's bartenders are saying about it in this short video.