Takuma Watanabe, co-founder and beverage director of Martiny’s in New York, has been named the winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2026, part of The 50 Best Bars 2026. The award is the one honor on the calendar chosen not by an academy but by the bartenders of the 50 Best list themselves, each asked to name the peer who most embodies excellence in the craft.
It marks the second of two special awards announced ahead of the live ceremony in Milan on October 7, 2026, and it lands on one of the sharpest résumés in modern bartending.
From Tokyo to Angel’s Share
Watanabe started behind the bar in Tokyo at age 20 and honed his craft under his first mentor, Shuzo Nagumo. A standout run at Diageo World Class in 2012 put him on the international stage, and a year later Shingo Gokan, founder of SG Group, persuaded him to move to New York and join Angel’s Share, where he worked until 2021.
Martiny’s and the Omotenashi Blueprint
In 2022 he opened Martiny’s, bringing his vision of Japanese cocktail hospitality, rooted in the principles of omotenashi, to a townhouse in Manhattan.
The bar’s rise has been fast: Martiny’s ranked No. 75 on The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and sits at No. 23 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026.
A Peer-Voted Recognition
“I am so grateful that my peers recognise my passion and dedication to this industry over the last 20 years,” Watanabe said. “I may be the person who is receiving this award, but it is also for my team, my customers, my peers, my mentors and everyone who has supported me.”
Emma Sleight, director of content and creative for The 50 Best Bars, called him “a generous and influential figure among his peers” who has “redefined excellence in modern cocktail culture,” adding that the peer vote makes the recognition especially meaningful.
Joining a Defining Line of Winners
Watanabe joins a line of winners that reads like a history of the modern bar world: Monica Berg, Renato Giovannoni, GN Chan of Double Chicken Please, Iain McPherson of Panda and Sons, and most recently Uno Jang of Jigger and Pony in 2025.
What’s Next
The full countdown of The 50 Best Bars 2026 will be revealed in Milan on October 7 and broadcast live on The 50’s YouTube channel.
