Last week, Drinks International announced its highly anticipated World’s 50 Best Bars Awards 2015. The bars are chosen by an Academy of over 400 members; the strongest, most diverse collection of industry experts ever assembled to express their view on the best bars in the world.
The list represents the ultimate guide to the top bars and drinking destinations around the globe, with restaurant bars, speakeasies, hotel bars, and tiki themed venues all contributing to the diverse and eclectic list. This year’s ranking includes bars from 27 cities in 19 countries, with 14 new entries.
Top 10:
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#1 Artesian, London (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#2 The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, New York (© World’s 50 Best Bars)
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#3 Nightjar, London (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#4 Employees Only, New York (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#5 American Bar, London (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#6 The Baxter Inn, Sydney (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#7 28 Hongkong Street, Singapore (© World’s 50 Best Bars)
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#8 Happiness Forgets, London (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#9 Connaught Bar, London (© World’s 50 Best Bars) -
#10 Black Pearl, Melbourne (© World’s 50 Best Bars)
Overall, Europe continues as the international epicentre for fine drinking, leading the regions’ ranking with 23 of its bars included within the list. Once again, London boasted more bars in the top 50 than any other city with nine bars listed overall. Nightjar, Happiness Forgets, The American Bar at The Savoy, and The Connaught Bar join Artesian in the top ten, with a further four bars, all in the top half of the list.
Elsewhere across Europe, Paris’s Candelaria jumped five places to become the highest ranked European Bar outside London and the Best Bar in France at number 12. Little Red Door returns to the list to bring France’s total to two bars.
Germany boasts three bars in the list, with Buck and Breck in Berlin, Schumann’s in Munich, and Le Lion Bar de Paris in Hamburg, which joins Spain’s only inclusion, Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas in Barcelona, to claim the joint honour of being featured every year since the awards began.
Rome reclaims the position as Italy’s top destination for cocktails, with The Jerry Thomas Project jumping seven places to overtake Milan’s Nottingham Forest. Amsterdam’s two featured bars also swapped places: Tales & Spirits climbing fourteen spots ahead of Door 74.
Athens is represented for just the second time with new entry The Clumsies crashing in at number 22, followed by sole entries from Moscow’s Delicatessen, Copenhagen’s Ruby, and Nicosia’s new entry Lost & Found.
London prevailed once again to retain the Number One spot with Artesian taking the title of The World’s Best Bar for the fourth consecutive year. Located within The Langham Hotel, Artesian is headed up by Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who recently launched their new show-stopping ‘Surrealism’ menu for 2015.
The menu includes creations such as the ‘Spring Into Summer’: poured into a molten dish, the serve is inspired by the concept of ‘landscape’ in surrealism that reveals itself to the drinker. The herbaceous concoction contains an intricate flavour combination of Ketel One Vodka, Shochu, Artichoke, Coffee, Yuzu, Passion and Coriander.
Representatives from the world’s leading bars flew into the capital to attend the Awards at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, along with internationally renowned industry figures and celebrity supporters. The World’s 50 Best Bars is the most influential and respected global survey of its kind. The awards are the result of an international industry survey produced by Drinks International, the leading magazine for the global drinks industry.
The World’s 50 Best Bars 2015
#1 Artesian, London – Ketel One Best Bar in Europe & the World
#2 The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, New York – Botran Rum Best Bar In North America
#3 Nightjar, London
#4 Employees Only, New York
#5 American Bar, London
#6 The Baxter Inn, Sydney – Torres Brandy Best Bar in Australasia
#7 28 Hongkong Street, Singapore – Nikka Whisky Best Bar in Asia
#8 Happiness Forgets, London
#9 Connaught Bar, London
#10 Black Pearl, Melbourne – Torres Highest Climber Awards
#11 Attaboy, New York
#12 Candelaria, Paris
#13 High Five, Tokyo
#14 The Broken Shaker, Miami
#15 Canon, Seattle
#16 Buck & Breck, Berlin
#17 Imperial Craft, Tel Aviv – Highest New Entry & Tanqueray Best Bar in Africa & the Middle East
#18 Lobster Bar, Hong Kong
#19 Le Lion Bar de Paris, Hamburg
#20 Licoreria Limantour, Mexico City – Asahi Beer Best Bar in Latin America
#21 The Jerry Thomas Project, Rome
#22 The Clumsies, Athens
#23 Maison Premiere, New York
#24 Elephant Bar, New York
#25 The Everleigh, Melbourne
#26 White Lyan, London
#27 Beaufort Bar, London
#28 Bulletin Place, Sydney
#29 Aviary, Chicago
#30 Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam
#31 Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco
#32 Delicatessen, Moscow
#33 Door 74, Amsterdam
#34 Ruby, Copenhagen
#35 Manhattan, Singapore
#36 Nomad Bar, New York
#37 PDT, New York – All Time Achiever
#38 Mace, New York
#39 Quinary, Hong Kong
#40 Trick Dog, San Francisco
#41 69 Colebrooke Row, London
#42 Dry Martini, Barcelona
#43 Schumann’s, Munich
#44 Zuma Dubai, Dubai
#45 La Factoria, Old San Juan
#46 Nottingham Forest, Milan
#47 Tommy’s, San Francisco
#48 Lost & Found, Cyprus
#49 Little Red Door, Paris
#50 Dandelyan, London
About 50 Best Bars:
The World’s 50 Best Bars 2015 provides a definitive list of the world’s best drinking venues, voted for by those in the know. Returning for its seventh year, the list has become the most anticipated release for drinks professionals and the awards are the highlight of the bar industry calendar.
The final list is compiled by votes from an academy of over 400 of the most renowned names in the drinks industry including Tony Conigliaro, David Wondrich, Hidetsugu Ueno, Bek Narzi, Dale DeGroff, Salvatore Calabrese, Gaz Regan, Jim Meehan, Erik Lorincz, Jörg Meyer, Sean Muldoon, David Rios, Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown. Votes were cast for 542 bars around the world and whittled down to the top 50 to determine the final rankings.
