It has become easier for residents of the world’s major cities to find the best drinks in town.
The 50 Best Bars in the World were announced on November 5 in London at a virtual awards ceremony, with the city’s Connaught Bar taking the top spot. The bar – which ranked No.2 last year – traded places with 2019’s best slot machine, New York’s Dante, which rose to second place this year.
The awards list is curated by William Reed Business Media, which also produces the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Published for the first time in 2009, the annual list of bars is intended as a “survey of tastes and [is] a credible indicator of the best places to drink around the world, ”according to the company’s website.
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2020 winners
This year’s list includes bars from 23 countries, with 11 new entries.
The UK posted the best performance, with London bars making up eight of its nine rankings. Europe took 21 places in total, more than 15 in Asia and double that of the Americas – North and South America accommodated 10 in total.
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The Connaught Bar is known for its martini trolley, which allows waiters to prepare drinks at guests’ tables.
Courtesy of the 50 Best Bars in the World and the Connaught Bar
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Singapore topped Asia’s rankings, with four bars named among the world’s best – a disproportionate spectacle for the city-state of nearly 5.7 million people. Tokyo scored three bars on the list, while Hong Kong and Taipei scored two each.
Sydney represents Australia’s three rankings, while Dubai’s Zuma bar awarded the Middle East its only prize.
The full list includes:
- Connaught Bar, Londres
- Dante, New York
- The Clumsies, Athènes
- Atlas, Singapore
- Tayer + Elementary, Londres
- Kwant, Londres
- Atlantic Flower Shop, Buenos Aires
- Coa, Hong Kong
- Jigger & Pony, Singapore
- The SG Club, Tokyo
- Maybe Sammy, Sydney
- Attaboy, New York
- Nomad Bar, New York
- Manhattan, Singapore
- The old man, Hong Kong
- Katana Kitten, New York
- Licorería Limantour, Mexico
- Native, Singapour
- Paradise, Barcelone
- American Bar, Londres
- Carnival, Lima
- Salmon Guru, Madrid
- Zuma, Dubai
- Little red door, Paris
- 1930, Milan
- Two Schmucks, Barcelona
- El Copitas, St. Petersburg
- Cantina OK !, Sydney
- Lyaness, London
- Himkok, Oslo
- Baba Au Rum, Athens
- Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
- Swift, Londres
- Three Sheets, Londres
- Le Bamboo Bar, Bangkok
- Tjoget, Stockholm
- Buck and Breck, Berlin
- Employees only, New York
- Bulletin Place, Sydney
- Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
- Artesian, Londres
- Sober Company, Shanghai
- Indulge Experimental Bistro, Taipei
- Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur
- Drink Kong, Rome
- House by Le Kief, Taipei
- Alchemical, Cartagena
- High Five, Tokyo
- Charles H., Seoul
- President, Buenos Aires
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How the list is created
This year, the voting process has changed to highlight emerging bar scenes around the world, said Mark Sansom, content editor for the World’s 50 Best Bars.
The 50 Best organization has appointed an external chair in 20 geographic regions around the world. Each president then chose a voting group for each region, which cumulatively formed the organization’s voting “academy”.
“The 540-person Academy is made up of beverage experts including bartenders, bar managers, beverage consultants, brand ambassadors, beverage writers, historians, and cocktail aficionados who are selected for their knowledge of the international bar scene, ”Sansom said.
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A cocktail from Galaxy Bar, winner of this year’s Campari One to Watch award.
Courtesy of the 50 Best Bars and Galaxy Bar in the World
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Normally, Academy members cast seven votes, in order of preference, for the bars they liked the most in the previous 18 months. This year, however, the voting period ended in March, around the time “the majority of the world went into lockdown,” Sansom said.
As to what makes a bar one of the “best”, that is left to the judgment of each voting member.
“There are no defined criteria for each expert voter to assess… although there are strict voting rules,” Sansom said. “Voters must have visited the bars they are voting for during the voting period, and they cannot introduce themselves or name a bar in which they have a financial interest. “
Each member must also vote for three bars outside of their home country or, if in the United States, their home country.
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More best bars in the world
Last week, the 50 Best organization released the bars named in an extended 51-100 list. It included 26 new entries, including 11 in Asia.
Individual awards were also presented last month. Renato Giovannoni from Florería Atlántico (No.7) from Buenos Aires won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award for 2020.
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Renato Giovannoni from Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires presented the award for Altos Bartenders’ Bartender pour 2020.
Courtesy of the 50 Best Bars in the World and Florería Atlántico
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Dubai’s Galaxy Bar won the Campari One to Watch Award and Sydney’s Maybe Sammy – which was named by the top 50 ‘Australia’s Best Bar’ nine months after opening – won the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award.
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Help for a struggling industry
To help the bar industry recover from the global pandemic, the 50 Best organization has raised more than $ 1.2 million, which it is distributing to nonprofits and private businesses.
So far, more than 200 bars and restaurants in 53 countries have received grants from the organization’s turnaround fund, according to the company’s website.
“We hope that the announcement of the 50 Best Bars in the World 2020 is a show of force for the global bar community,” said Sansom. “It shows the world that even in the face of the ever-changing challenges and restrictions placed on them, bars are still doing all they can to continue to provide great hospitality experiences.
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