Tales of the Cocktail, America’s largest and longest-running cocktail conference, has named Adiõs to its list of top 10 regional semifinalists for its 2023 Spirited Awards. Founded in 2007, the Spirited Awards recognize the craft of the best bars, bartenders, spirits media, and bar industry luminaries from around the world.

Adiõs is a semifinalist for best new cocktail bar in the central region, which Tales of the Cocktail divides into 18 states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas (The full list of states is available here).

The Best New Cocktail Bar award recognizes two recently opened cocktail bars — one international bar and one in the United States— “that made an immediate impact on cocktail culture and set new high standards for the industry,” according to a description on the Tales of the Cocktail website.

Considerations for the Best New Cocktail Bar award include creativity, décor, service, and execution of drinks. To qualify for this year’s award, the bar must have opened between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022.

Other Southern contenders for Best New Cocktail bar in the U.S. central region include Bandista at the Four Seasons in Houston, Dovetail Bar at the Schaeffer Hotel in New Orleans, and In Plain Sight in Austin.

Tales of the Cocktail will announce the top 10 nominees for each category of the Spirited Awards in June, and the top four finalists will be announced on June 21. The Tales of the Cocktail foundation will announce the winners of the 2023 Spirited Awards at a ceremony on July 27 during its annual conference.

Adiõs opened its doors last November. The cocktail bar from Jesús Méndez, José Medina Camacho, and Vinh Tran focuses on a repertoire of cocktails and spirits inspired by Mexico City. Located in an art-deco building at 2218 1st Ave N, the walls of Adiõs are lined with art such as antique stained glass from a chapel in Mexico and prints from Oaxacan artist and architectural designer Pedro Pablo Ramírez Pérez Huerta. The team behind Adiõs initially planned for Adiõs to be a margarita bar that would feature tequila-focused drinks, but they decided to expand the concept.

“Growing up we never had mezcal or tequila,” Medina Camacho told Soul-Grown in an interview late last year. “It was cognac, blended whiskey, vodka. I felt the need to create a space where we can showcase different flavors in the Mexican cuisine.”

Adiõs has racked up accolades since it debuted on the scene with features in Garden & Gun, Imbibe Magazine, and Food & Wine.

Bars in Birmingham are no stranger to Tales of the Cocktail nominations. In 2022, the team at Automatic Seafood, including Media Camacho, was on the list of nominees for Best U.S. Restaurant Bar. Automatic didn’t win the honor, but an Alabama-born chef and bartender did land a top award when New Mexico bar Happy Accidents won Best New Cocktail Bar. Adrienne Miller, who runs the culinary team at Happy Accidents, is a native of Prichard.

During its tenure, Birmingham’s renowned Atomic Bar & Lounge garnered three nominations for Tales of the Cocktail awards— two for Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar and one for Best American Cocktail Bar.