
Hidden Glasgow cocktail bar named among best in the world
The Absent Ear, situated in the Merchant City, has been named on the prestigious Top 500 Bars list for the first time.
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The Absent Ear in Glasgow has been named on the Top 500 Bars list
Credit: Supplied
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The bar is inspired by artist Vincent Van Gogh - with drinks and themes celebrating his legacy
Credit: Supplied
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In December last year, they introduced a new art inspired immersive menu
Credit: Supplied
The bar opened in 2021 and is inspired by artist Vincent Van Gogh - with drinks and themes celebrating his legacy.
In December last year, the bar introduced a new art inspired immersive menu.
The bar overhauled its drinks menu with two distinct sides - minimalist and maximalist.
In a unique UK first, drinkers peruse their cocktail choices in a digital gallery where art and cocktails collide.
Each artwork on the menu has a corresponding drink, some of which are simple and minimalist and some of which are crazy, maximalist concoctions.
Two years in the making, chief creative Liam Grogan has created cocktails like Roobarb & Custard, which looks like a delicious ice cream sundae, and there's even one with flavours of Thai green curry.
The Absent Ear bagged a spot at number 466 on the prestigious world list.
Introducing the 2025 rankings, the Top 500 Bars team said: "This year the industry has started to boom again with a lot of new bars around the world. For 2025, the Top 500 bars ranking involves 125 different cities in 53 different countries.
"The ranking is quite different from last year with more countries and new bars.
"We hope that this list will help bartenders and customers discover bars wherever they visit."
Hidden bar in England named one of the world's best - the only one in the UK to make the list
The list is currently being released in stages with bars ranked from 400 to 500 announced on July 5 and 6.
The full list and the ceremony for the top 100 is set to be held in Florence, Italy, on November 10.
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