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Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
World's Best Bars: The Nominees For The 2025 Spirited Awards
There ought to be a few of drinks on the house tonight at the best bars in the world as the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation announced its nominees for the 2025 Spirited Awards. Launched in 2007 and considered to be among the hospitality industry's highest honors, the Spirited Awards are part of the annual Tales of the Cocktail festival held in New Orleans in July, honoring the top bars, bartenders, brand ambassadors, and spirits journalists from around the world. The awards are selected by a jury of hospitality peers—acclaimed bartenders, bar owners, and journalists and authors. (Forbes is the official media partner of the Spirited Awards.) Once again, there are many familiar watering holes among this year's nominees. Hong Kong's Bar Leone (named Best New International Cocktail Bar at the 2024 Spirited Awards) built on its early success and received three nominations: Best International Bartender, Best Bar Team and Best International Cocktail Bar. And Mexico City's Handshake Speakeasy, which won Best International Bar Team in 2024 and whose cofounder, Eric Van Beek, was named International Bartender of the Year last year, was also nominated for Best International Cocktail Bar. In the United States, Denver's Yacht Club, which was named Best U.S. Cocktail Bar last year, received a nomination for Best U.S. Bar Team and McClain Hedges picked up a nomination for U.S. Bartender of the Year. And Allegory, at Washington, D.C.'s Eaton Hotel, which was named Best U.S. Hotel Bar last year and is home to 2024's U.S. Bartender of the Year, Kapri Robinson, was also nominated for Best U.S. Bar Team. New York continued to flex its cocktail muscle. Three of the four nominees for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar can be found in Manhattan: Bar Snack, Clemente Bar and Sip & Guzzle. (The fourth nominee, ViceVersa, is in Miami). And Overstory, in the Financial District, was nominated again for Best U.S. Cocktail Bar. For those who want an atlas of nominees, Tales of the Cocktail built an interactive map of the world's best bars in 2021. Most nominees will have to wait until July 24 to learn if they actually won a Spirited Award, but there are at least two bars (The Bar at Keens Steakhouse in New York and Madrid's Bar Cock) and two bartenders (Lynette Marrero and Ian Burrell), who can raise a glass in celebration tonight. Both Keens and Bar Cock will be celebrated as Timeless bars for their decades of innovation and service. Burrell, who began his career as a bartender in London in the 1990s, reinvented himself as a 'global rum ambassador' some 20 years ago, will be presented with the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award at the Spirited Awards. The charismatic Burrell has represented many different rum brands over the years—and cofounded Equiano rum in 2020—and is renowned in the industry for a presentation style he calls 'edutainment.' Marrero, meanwhile, is a veteran New York bartender who was named Best Bar Mentor at the 2019 Spirited Awards, and will be honored with the Tales Visionary Award. In addition to cofounding Speed Rack, an international bartending competition for women, she is the mixologist behind Delola, Jennifer Lopez' line of bottled cocktails. 2025 Spirited Awards Nominees New York's Overstory is nominated again for Best U.S. Cocktail Bar. Hong Kong's Bar Leone is nominated for Best International Cocktail Bar Harry N. Abrams Veteran rum ambassador Ian Burrell will be awarded the Helen Lawrenson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Time Out
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Canada tops North America's 50 Best Bars List 2025
In its fourth edition, the list of North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 was announced at a live ceremony in Canada. The 2025 list of North America's 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, was revealed on April 29 at a live awards ceremony hosted at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. Marking the first time the event was held in Canada, the celebration underscored the region's growing influence in the global cocktail scene. (Have you checked out these delicious cocktails named after Montreal's favourite neighbourhoods?) The annual ranking highlights standout bars from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This year's list includes 26 U.S. bars, 14 from Mexico, 8 from Canada and 2 from the Caribbean. What is the best bar in North America? For the second consecutive year, Mexico City's Handshake Speakeasy claimed the top spot as the Best Bar in North America and the Best Bar in Mexico. Now located inside the NH Hotel in Colonia Juárez, the acclaimed bar continues to deliver a refined and unforgettable cocktail experience. Under the direction of head bartender Eric Van Beek, Handshake Speakeasy offers a minimalist menu packed with complex, boundary-pushing creations—including draft cocktails and multi-day preparations that elevate flavour and presentation. Since its 2023 debut, the bar has made a global impact, topping both the 2024 North America's 50 Best Bars and The World's 50 Best Bars lists. New York City's Superbueno took second place, once again earning the title of Best Bar in the Northeast USA. Coming in at No.3 is Mexico City's Tlecān. Where are the best bars in Canada? Bar Pompette (No.7) from Toronto was named The Best Bar in Canada. Other bars from Canada include Toronto's Civil Liberties (No.21), Botanist Bar (No.26) and The Keefer Bar (No.28) from Vancouver as well as Cloakroom and Atwater Cocktail Club from Montreal at No.31 and No.36, respectively. Toronto's Mother re-entered this year's list at No.44. Toronto's Civil Works has earned the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award for its innovative and imaginative use of water to elevate and highlight the flavours of featured spirits. Ranked No. 55 on this year's extended 51–100 list, the bar was selected by the global Academy Chairs for its standout creativity. Introduced in 2021, the award honours bars that push the boundaries of cocktail innovation, design, craftsmanship, and storytelling through their menus. What are North America's best 50 bars? For a complete list of all 50 bars, see below: How does the voting work for North America's Best Bars? The ranking for North America's 50 Best Bars reflects the best bar experiences as voted by members of the Academy—anonymous industry experts from across the USA, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The voting body is composed of over 300 members, evenly split between bartenders and bar owners (33%), drinks writers and educators (33%), and well-travelled cocktail enthusiasts (33%). A 50/50 gender balance is maintained among voters. This updated structure was introduced to ensure broader representation and to amplify diverse voices across the continent. In line with other 50 Best lists—for restaurants, bars, and hotels—at least 25% of Academy members are rotated each year to maintain fresh perspectives and reflect ongoing industry changes. Importantly, members of the 50 Best organisation do not vote and have no influence over the list's composition. Bars cannot apply for inclusion, and sponsors hold no sway over the outcome. The North American Academy is divided into seven regions: USA Northeast, USA Midwest, USA West, USA South, Canada East, Canada West, and Mexico & the Caribbean. Each region is overseen by an Academy Chair who assembles a panel of voters, ensuring a balanced and diverse group. Each Academy member casts up to seven votes: a maximum of five for bars within their home country (or state, in the case of the USA), and up to two for bars outside their home region, all based on experiences from the 18 months preceding the vote. The North America's 50 Best Bars and The World's 50 Best Bars rankings are determined through separate voting processes by two distinct Academies, covering different regions and timelines. As a result, each list is compiled independently and features unique rankings. Voting is conducted individually and securely via a confidential online system. All votes remain private until the official announcement of the list. Academy Chairs are not informed of the votes submitted by their region's members and do not act as representatives of the 50 Best brand. Ultimately, the North America's 50 Best Bars list is the result of a straightforward vote count from over 300 bar industry experts across the continent, each selecting the venues where they've had their best experiences over the past year and a half.
