Information Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tues. June 24, 2025: Puerto Rico’s culinary scene is celebrating a serious triumph as Identidad Cocktail Bar in San Juan has been topped the 2025 James Beard Award winner for Excellent Skilled in Beverage Service — one of the crucial prestigious honors within the meals and beverage world.
The coveted accolade acknowledges a service skilled who not solely curates and serves distinctive wine, cocktails, or different drinks in a restaurant or bar setting but additionally units the very best requirements for creativity, consistency, and hospitality. The award additionally celebrates professionals who foster sustainable work cultures and function mentors throughout the business.
Identidad, recognized for its cutting-edge cocktail program rooted in Puerto Rican id, has quickly gained international consideration for mixing innovation with deep respect for native substances and tradition. The bar’s expertly crafted menus usually function native fruits, spices, and spirits, paying homage to the island’s wealthy heritage whereas delivering world-class beverage experiences.
In awarding Identidad, the James Beard Basis highlighted the bar’s unwavering dedication to excellence, its creativity in beverage design, and its function in shaping a extra inclusive, sustainable, and impressed hospitality atmosphere.
The win solidifies Identidad Cocktail Bar as not solely a pacesetter in Puerto Rico’s dynamic bar scene however as a worldwide instance of beverage innovation at its most interesting.
The Identidad Cocktail Bar is owned by Puerto Rican mixologist Edrick Colón and Stephen Alonso. Colón has constructed a profession that masterfully blends Caribbean taste with inventive expression — crafting not simply cocktails, however immersive experiences steeped in Boricua id and soul.
Since launching his bartending journey in 2006, Colón has develop into a defining drive behind San Juan’s most iconic bars, incomes a fame for creativity, precision, and cultural delight. His first enterprise, Antillano, showcased his dedication to elevating native flavors and spirits whereas celebrating Puerto Rican heritage.
That journey developed in 2024 with the opening of Identidad, the place each pour, garnish, and ingredient displays the island’s essence. At Identidad, Colón reimagines mixology as a celebration of Puerto Rican excellence, weaving ancestral flavors and modern strategies into every drink.
Below Colón’s management, Identidad has develop into greater than a bar — it’s a vibrant area the place tradition, craftsmanship, and group collide, providing patrons an unforgettable style of Puerto Rico’s wealthy spirit.
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