Time to grab a cocktail.
The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023 team tapped 680 drinks experts to determine the absolute finest watering holes on the planet. And with the top honors covering bars in 28 cities, these must-try spots are literally all over the map. This year, London topped the list with six establishments, including Connaught Bar at #5. Three bars made the list in New York City, with Double Chicken Please coming in at #2. The East Village spot was also named Best Bar In North America after edging out Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City. But the top honors reside in Barcelona for the second consecutive year as Sips, a “playful drinkery house” by bar gurus Simone Caporale and Marc Álvarez, was voted World’s Best Bar. Here is the list of the World’s 50 Best, plus some additional info about the process from the press release.
The Voting Process
The list is compiled by votes from The World’s 50 Best Bars Academy, which comprises 680 drinks experts with 50/50 gender parity, including renowned bartenders and consultants, drinks writers and cocktail specialists from around the world. The Academy of voters is spread across 28 global geographic regions, each headed by an Academy Chair who selects their region’s voters, with the distribution of voters designed to reflect the relative development and sophistication of the drinks sector, and the concentration of quality bars, in each region. Each voter casts seven votes based on their best bar experiences of the previous 18 months, although if they have been unable to travel, they are welcome to provide five votes from their home country or SAR. Voters are required to remain anonymous and voting is confidential, secure and independently adjudicated by Deloitte.
About The World’s 50 Best Bars
The World’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, provides a definitive list of the world’s best drinking venues, voted for by an Academy of 680 experts worldwide. The World’s 50 Best Bars list has been published annually since 2009 and has become the most anticipated ranking for drinks professionals and cocktail aficionados across the world, with the awards the highlight of the bar industry calendar. The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars has been published since 2016, while the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars was launched in 2022. William Reed, which owns the 50 Best brand, is entirely responsible for the organisation of the awards, the voting system and the respective lists.
John McCarthy is a spirit, travel, and lifestyle journalist, managing editor, and author of The Modern Gentleman and Whiskey Rebels: The Dreamers, Visionaries & Badasses Who Are Revolutionizing American Whiskey. McCarthy is also editor of Barleycorn Drinks and Director of Judging of the John Barleycorn Awards.
