NEW YORK — Hanna Lee Communications (HLC), global award-winning multimedia PR/marketing agency specializing in hospitality and luxury travel, today announces the first-ever New York Bartender Week, which will take place on November 18-24, 2024. It celebrates storytelling as the common thread that ties the drinks community together to showcase the compelling narratives of its people, products and places.

The annual “Bartender Week” initiative will expand to other cities in the U.S., as well as globally, with localized activations in 2025 as part of Worldwide Bartender Week.

New York Bartender Week, part consumer festival, part tourism initiative and part educational trade/media symposium, salutes and honors bartenders, barbacks, bar/restaurant owners and hoteliers in New York City and across New York State.

Dedicated to celebrating the art of bartending and the unique flavors of the Empire State, it spurs the bar community and cocktail enthusiasts to support local businesses and showcase their rich culinary and drinks heritage.

For Consumers:

● A Week-Long Consumer Promotion - November 18-24, 2024
○ Throughout the week, bars across New York City and New York State will engage in a week-long promotion celebrating the state's vibrant bar culture and local ingredients.

■ Beyond the Big Apple, the state's vibrant cities and towns include Albany, Babylon, Binghamton, Brookhaven, Buffalo, Hempstead, Islip, Ithaca, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Niagara Falls, Oyster Bay, Rochester, Rye, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Southampton, Syracuse, Utica, White Plains, Yonkers and others.

○ Consumers: Guests are invited to visit their favorite bars to enjoy these exclusive cocktails, each one a tribute to the Empire State. This celebration not only promises an unforgettable experience for cocktail enthusiasts, but also provides a significant boost in revenue for local bars.
○ Bartenders: Bartenders from participating bars, restaurants and hotels will showcase their creativity by crafting cocktails that highlight at least one local ingredient, including spirits and modifiers, produced in New York State.
○ Spirits & Beverage Producers: Fine spirits, modifiers and beverages produced in New York State have an opportunity to connect with bars, restaurants and hotels for possible inclusion in special cocktails during New York Bartender Week.

For the Trade & Media:

● Gala Event Kickoff & “Excellence in Storytelling Awards” - Monday, November 18, 2024
○ New York Bartender Week will kick off with a memorable gala event, featuring top bars from New York City and New York State.
○ This exclusive invitation-only gathering will showcase the best of the bartending world, setting the stage for a historic week.
○ Each participating bar will serve cocktails celebrating New York State to our esteemed guests.
○ The Gala Event Kickoff will include the “Excellence in Storytelling Awards” ceremony.
■ These awards invite bartenders, barbacks and bar owners to share their personal stories of perseverance and triumph.
■ Short essays will highlight how they became part of the drinks world and the positive impact they have made on others.
■ A panel of acclaimed journalists will judge these narratives for their inspirational power.
■ Award Categories
● Best Bartender Story
● Best Barback Story
● Best Bar Owner Story

● Media & Trade Panels and Seminars Focusing on the Future - Tuesday, November 19, 2024
○ We will host exclusive seminars and panels led by both prominent journalists and industry experts.
○ These thought-provoking discussions will probe the future of the bar industry, the central role of tourism for New York City and New York State, as well as the rise of the state's spirits and beverages.
○ Attendees will include bar professionals, hospitality experts, travel industry professionals and working journalists.

“To celebrate our agency's 20th anniversary, as proud New Yorkers we decided to launch New York Bartender Week to show our love for our city and state,” says Hanna Lee, President & Founder, Hanna Lee Communications. “This annual event will inspire New Yorkers and visitors alike to expand their travel destinations and explore the amazing hospitality scene across all of New York State. We will also encourage consumers to visit their favorite local bars and support their beloved bartenders and bar teams. Our mission is to bring bars, tourism and economic development together to spotlight our wonderful state and the people who make it special. It is also to salute bartending as a noble career path and celebrate its craft.”

“We believe everyone has a story worthy of sharing,” says Michael Anstendig, Editor in Chief, Hanna Lee Communications and co-author of the award-winning book, The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, with Katana Kitten's Masahiro Urushido. “Whether the personalities behind the bar, producers of fine spirits or owners of bars, their narratives are moving and motivating. Through our 'Excellence in Storytelling Awards,' we want to acknowledge those who make our community so much more spirited and vital. We will also salute the incredible work of journalists who cover our industry and bring these compelling sagas to the wider general public. We are excited to leverage New York Bartender Week as a platform to shine a light on the people behind these incredible stories.”

Worldwide Bartender Week: Expanding Nationally and Globally in 2025

New York Bartender Week will expand to other U.S. states and globally in 2025. Hanna Lee Communications will share the programming of New York Bartender Week, including the week-long consumer promotion, educational symposium and “Excellence in Storytelling Awards.” Together with these local and global partners, the mission is to spur tourism and local economic development, as well as raise a glass to bartending as a profession.

Worldwide Bartender Week confirmed partners include:

● U.S.
○ Colorado Bartender Week - Sean Kenyon, Williams & Graham (Denver, Colorado)
○ D.C. Bartender Week - Deke Dunne, Allegory (Washington, D.C.)
○ Nevada Bartender Week - Tony Abou-Ganim, The Modern Mixologist (Las Vegas, Nevada)
○ New Mexico Bartender Week - Kate Gerwin, Happy Accidents (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
○ Tennessee Bartender Week - Aaron Thompson & Jessica King, Brother Wolf (Knoxville, Tennessee)
○ Wisconsin Bartender Week - JC & Monique Cunningham, PufferFish (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

● Global
○ Colombia Bartender Week - Jean Trinh, Alquímico (Cartagena, Colombia)
○ India Bartender Week - Yangdup Lama & Minakshi Singh, Sidecar (New Delhi, India)
○ Kenya Bartender Week - Richie Barrow & Kelvin Thairu, Hero Bar (Nairobi, Kenya)
○ Ontario Bartender Week - Christina Veira, Bar Mordecai (Toronto, Canada)
○ Philippines Bartender Week - Richie Cruz, a bar consultant and an HLC Global Bartender Scholarship recipient (Manila, Philippines)

About New York Bartender Week

Conceptualized and produced by Hanna Lee Communications, an award-winning multimedia PR/marketing agency specializing in hospitality and luxury travel, New York Bartender Week's inaugural edition will take place November 18-24, 2024. It is a first-of-its-kind annual celebration of the bar community and bar professionals in New York City and across New York State. Its mission is to spur travel and economic development by spotlighting the Big Apple and the Empire State as world-class cocktail destinations and salute bartending as a noble career path. Celebrating storytelling as the common thread that unites the bar community, New York Bartender Week will expand across the U.S. and globally in 2025 as part of Worldwide Bartender Week. For more information, please visit New York Bartender Week on Instagram.

About Hanna Lee Communications (HLC)

Hanna Lee Communications (HLC) is an award-winning multimedia PR/marketing agency specializing in hospitality and luxury travel. The agency, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, only represents products and companies that it believes in and who have a vision of changing the world.

This outlook drives its well-acknowledged excellence that has been recognized with 350+ national and international awards and accolades. They include “Best Branding,” “PR Innovator of the Year,” “Best Travel & Marketing PR,” “Best Social Media Campaign,” “Best Media Relations,” “Best Press Release Writing,” “Marketer of the Year,” “Social Impact Pioneer” and more.

To take global brand building and storytelling to the next level, the agency launched the “HLC Innovation” series consisting of pioneering initiatives that include:

● “Hospitality Forward” Podcast - We Believe Everyone Has a Story to Share!
○ With listeners in more than 160 countries, the agency's Michael Anstendig and Hanna Lee interview top journalists around the world each week.
○ Our distinguished media guests share practical tips and insights on how listeners can get their attention and potentially be featured in their stories.
○ This giving back to the community initiative is designed to help those who do not have a PR agency but have important expertise to share as a news source.
○ Our mission is to help industry professionals get to know these acclaimed journalists and also create a platform to spotlight media members whom we greatly admire.

● “HLC Global Bartender Travel Scholarship” - We Believe Travel Opens Minds and Palates!
○ Our agency's self-funded scholarship helps bartenders attend the cocktail conference of their choice around the world.
○ To date, our scholars have traveled to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, London Cocktail Week and other spirited conventions worldwide.

● “HLC Book Media” - We Believe Everyone Has a Book in Them!
○ HLC Book Media is a groundbreaking division that leverages book publishing, the ultimate long-form storytelling, to help our clients reach wider audiences and create lasting legacies.
○ Our agency's first book, The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, by Katana Kitten's Masahiro Urushido and Michael Anstendig, earned accolades and acclaim that include:
■ Winning a Spirited Award at Tales of the Cocktail
■ Nominations for James Beard Foundation and IACP Awards
■ Amazon Editors' Pick
■ A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2021 (Cookbooks)

● “HLC Meet the Authors” - We Believe in Long-Form Storytelling!
○ The agency's ongoing series of book signings and panel discussions spotlights top scribes we admire.
○ Our mission is to help introduce these worthy authors and their books to national and global media.
○ To date, the agency has supported more than 100 authors whose topics include food, drink, travel, biographies and business.

● “HLC Meet the Media” - We Believe in the Future of Journalism!
○ This series of panel discussions hosted at HLC 2.0 Studio spotlights journalism and is moderated by the agency's Michael Anstendig and Hanna Lee.
○ Topics include:
■ “The Future of Drinks Journalism”
■ “The Future of Food Journalism”
■ “The Future of Travel Journalism”
■ “The Future of Hotel Journalism”
■ “The Future of Print Journalism”
■ “The Future of Broadcast Journalism”
■ “The Future of Podcast Journalism”
■ “The Future of Storytelling”
■ And others

● “HLC Inspiring Leaders” - We Believe in Fearless Leadership!
○ This ongoing series celebrates 300+ intrepid female leaders in the hospitality industry and beyond.
○ Our agency's President & Founder Hanna Lee personally interviewed these noted trailblazers who inspired her personally and shared their business and life mottos.

For more information about our agency, please visit www.hannaleecommunications.com. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X and TikTok.

Media Contacts:
Hanna Lee & Jacob Schiffman
Hanna Lee Communications (HLC)
646-752-1526 (cell)
hanna@hannaleecommunications.com 
jacob@hannaleecommunications.com