The Bartender Spirits Awards is thrilled to announce Miranda Breedlove, an acclaimed industry expert and National Director of Bars at Hyatt Hotels Lifestyle Operations, as a judge for the 2025 edition of the competition. With over 15 years of experience in the bar and spirits industry, Miranda brings a wealth of knowledge and an innovative approach to cocktail creation and beverage program management.

Miranda Breedlove has earned a stellar reputation for her leadership in curating exceptional bar programs and her commitment to elevating the craft of bartending. Her work at Hyatt Hotels, combined with her vast experience across the U.S. cocktail scene, makes her an invaluable addition to the judging panel. As a judge, she will play a critical role in evaluating spirits based on their quality, value, and packaging, bringing her keen eye for detail and industry insights to the competition.

As a bartender since 2009, Miranda has worked behind with beverage programs all over the world. Native to Minnesota, she moved to Chicago in 2006 to attend Loyola University and soon after began her bartending career. Miranda proceeded to learn as much as possible through tastings, extensive training,  watching her peers, and traveling - all while attempting to become as well-rounded of a bartender as possible. With bartending, management, and director experience at dive bars, sports bars, and craft cocktail spots,  Miranda continues to push the industry forward and strives to build knowledge and foster positivity within the bartending community. 

Through many restaurant and bar openings including Broken Shaker and Bad  Hunter in Chicago, and currently as the National Director of Bars for Hyatt’s Lifestyle Division, she especially enjoys watching programs and people grow and finds cocktail research, beverage program development, and systems/organization to be very rewarding parts of her job. Miranda focuses a lot of energy on wellness within the workplace, working towards giving teams the tools to take care of themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Thompson Savannah (Hyatt hotel properties) serves their own delicious beverage as part of the Zero Proof, Zero Judgment beverage menu

Her biggest career priority at this time is the Zero Proof, Zero Judgment program she launched in 2021 with Hyatt that brings Zero Proof cocktail menus to Lifestyle properties in tandem with mental health seminars for hotel teams. She hopes this will help destigmatize the conversation around mental health and addiction in the service industry. Miranda is BAR Ready having successfully passed the BAR 5 Day Exam in January of 2023, is cicerone certified, and has earned the WSET 2 Wine Certification. 

She has competed in multiple national competitions  - her favorite of which has been Speed Rack - and has been a member of the prep teams for the San Antonio  Cocktail Conference, Kansas City PoP Fest, and Tales of the Cocktail where she has also been a panelist on seminars. She looks forward to continuing to work with these organizations in the future.

The Bartender Spirits Awards aims to celebrate spirits that are relevant for the on-premise market, including bars, restaurants, and hotels. With Miranda's expertise and passion for the industry, she will help identify and reward spirits that stand out to bartenders and consumers alike.

For more information about the 2025 Bartender Spirits Awards and to see the full list of judges, visit here.

[[relatedPurchasesItems-31]]

About Bartender Spirits Awards

The Bartender Spirits Awards is an international spirits competition that recognizes spirits that excel in the on-premise industry, focusing on quality, value, and packaging. The competition brings together top bartenders and beverage directors to evaluate products, helping to shape trends and influence bar menus globally.

 

Also Read:
Introducing Anna Thorn, Director of Bar & Spirits at Hogsalt to the 2025 Bartender Spirits Awards
Mike Ryan, Global Beverage Director, Acurio International Joins 2025 Bartender Spirits Awards Judging Panel
2024 US Tastemaker of the Year at the USBG, Kiki Avalos Joins 2025 Bartender Spirits Awards