It’s official: these are the best bars in the world right now

The World’s 50 Best Bars awards are an essential event in the yearly boozing calendar, and the 2022 edition, held last night (October 4) in Barcelona, reveals a ranking as international and varied as ever. 

Topping the list this year was Paradiso in Barcelona, which was up from third last year. It marks the first time a bar that isn’t in London or New York has appeared at Number One. Hidden behind a pastrami shop, Paradiso boasts a curved wooden interior and wacky scientist-esque concoctions featuring stuff like lasers, fermented mushrooms and ‘supercooled’ gin. Fancy stuff indeed.

Tayēr + Elementary in London came second, holding the same place as last year, while third was Barcelona’s Sips, which climbed a whopping 34 places in the list. In fact Barcelona was the real star city of this year’s awards, boasting three drinkeries in the top ten.

As for the rest of the list: New York had the most entries of any city in the world, with six bars making the top 50. London was second with five bars, while Mexico City was third with four. The biggest surprise of the night was that London’s Connaught Bar, having taken top spot for the previous two years, fell to eighth place.

The annual World’s 50 Best Bars list is voted for by a group of 650 drinks experts from around the world, including bartenders, journalists and cocktail aficionados. Each expert ranks the seven best bars they’ve been to in the past year and the results are compiled in an official overall ranking.

Here are the full top 50 bars in this year’s ranking.

1. Paradiso in Barcelona, Spain
2. Tayēr + Elementary in London, UK
3. Sips in Barcelona, Spain
4. Licorería Limantour in Mexico City, Mexico
5. Little Red Door in Paris, France
6. Double Chicken Please in New York, USA
7. Two Schmucks in Barcelona, Spain
8. The Connaught Bar in London, UK
9. Katana Kitten in New York, USA
10. Alquímico in Cartegena, Colombia
11. Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, Mexico
12. Jigger & Pony in Singapore, Singapore
13. Hanky-Panky in Mexico City, Mexico
14. Bangkok Social Club in Bangkok, Thailand
15. Salmon Guru in Madrid, Spain
16. Drink Kong, Rome, Italy
17. Coa in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
18. Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires, Argentina
19. The Clumsies in Athens, Greece
20. Baba au Rum in Athens, Greece
21. Cafe La Trova in Miami, USA
22. Attaboy in New York, USA
23. Satan's Whiskers in London, UK
24. Tropic City in Bangkok, Thailand
25. Kumiko in Chicago, USA
26. Sidecar in New Delhi, India
27. Carnaval in Lima, Peru
28. HIMKOK in Oslo, Norway
29. CoChinChina in Buenos Aires, Argentina
30. Cantina OK! in Sydney, Australia
31. Red Frog in Lisbon, Portugal
32. Locale Firenze in Florence, Italy
33. Zuma in Dubai, UAE
34. A Bar With Shapes for A Name in London, UK
35. Dante in New York, USA
36. 1930 in Milan, Italy
37. Overstory in New York, USA
38. Manhattan in Singapore, Singapore
39. Baltra Bar in Mexico City, Mexico
40. Line in Athens, Greece
41. Swift in London, UK
42. Maybe Sammy in Sydney, Australia
43. Argo in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
44. Tres Monos in Buenos Aires, Argentina
45. Galaxy Bar in Dubai, UAE
46. L’Antiquario in Naples, Italy
47. Employees Only in New York, USA
48. Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo, Japan
49. Lucy’s Flower Shop in Stockholm, Sweden
50. Bulgari Bar in Dubai, UAE

You can read the full ranking for yourself here, and start planning your mixological travels.

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