For most of the week, held an easy lead over competitors in our readers' poll for in New London. Then on Friday it suddenly became a horse race. and each started gaining ground, and all three bars appealed to their Facebook followers for one final push before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Ultimately, Hanafin's managed to capture the lead with 338 votes, or 46 percent of the 732 cast. Oasis came in second with 202 (27 percent), followed by O'Neill's with 62 (8 percent). The was fourth with 38 votes (5 percent).
That means these four bars comprised a whopping 86 percent of the total vote. In fact, fifth place was "Other" (30 votes, 4 percent) as people posted comments recognizing individual bartenders not only at the above named bars but at the restaurants and overlooked venues of , , , , , , , , and .
Rounding out the remaining 10 percent of the poll were (21 votes), (11 votes) (8 votes), (8 votes) (7 votes), the (3 votes), the (2 votes), the (1 vote), and High 5's (1 vote).
Pretty good numbers overall, it seems. Alan Green, Jr. praised Dev's and Hot Rod's, but also commented, "But I don't remember the last time I had a bad bartender in New London. We're blessed. And I'm a critic."
Congratulations to Hanafin's, and thanks to everyone who voted!
