The list for the world’s 50 best bars for 2021 has been revealed, with London’s Connaught Bar bagging the top spot. India made a comeback to the ranking, after over a decade, with Delhi’s Sidecar featuring at No. 47. Check out the full list here.
In the world of mixology, there’s no greater honour than making it to the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars. The annual ranking recognises the hard work and consistency of distinguished drinkeries around the world, and the 2021 edition announced on Tuesday night at a live awards ceremony saw London bagging the top two spots, with Connaught Bar taking the crown.
India made a comeback to the list after over a decade with Delhi’s Sidecar
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Located in Delhi’s Greater Kailash, Sidecar’s impressive menu of cocktails has earned it the 47th spot on the coveted list. The place’s creations are flavourful with a lot of the extractions made in-house right from the syrups to the bitters. The drinkery has its own take on the classic Sidecar with six different variations and adds a twist to most classics like gin and tonic and old-fashioned.
The bar has several feathers in its cap. It had bagged the 40th spot in the list of Asia’s Best 50 Bars in 2020, according to a report by India Today. This year, it bagged the 16th spot in the coveted list as well as the title of the best bar in India.
The bar’s mixologist, Yangdup Lama, had also made it to the 73rd spot in the Bar World 100 list in 2020, a roundup of 100 most influential people in the global industry by Drinks International, A UK-based magazine. Commenting on the change in drinking behaviours in the country, Lama had said, “One key thing is that the young crowd is more experimental. There was a time when people never trusted their drink with a bartender. These days they connect with the bartender, ask questions — what whisky are they drinking, what’s the flavour profile of gin, where’s the wine from. The Indian consumer is truly coming of age, ” according to a report by Times of India.
Two other bars in India made it to the top 100 of the list, with South Goa’s Tesouro by Firefly coming in at No. 65 and New Delhi’s Hoots securing a spot at No. 95.
London’s Connaught Bar is at the top of the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars
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The world-renowned bar in the UK capital is known for its Martini trolley, where bartenders give guests a personalised drinks experience and serve their creations in engraved crystal glasses on a black lacquer trolley.
The London drinkery has bagged the top spot in the list as well as the crown of Europe’s best bar for the second consecutive year in a row. Speaking to Forbes, Agostino Perrone, director of the mixology at Connaught Bar expressed his joy at the honour. “It feels still unreal…it’s something you do for a living and you wake up in the morning and you try to be a better person. We’re very proud of what we do. Sometimes words don’t come to the lips, but the heart is beating very fast at the moment,” he said.
Following close are London’s Tayēr + Elementary and Barcelona’s Paradiso in second and third place, respectively.
The 2021 list is based on votes from mixology experts around the world
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The annual list is curated based on votes by over 600 participants around the world, including bartenders, drinks writers, and cocktail connoisseurs who visited the said drinkeries between March 2020 and September 2021.
The voting guidelines and requirements took into account the limited travel opportunities during the pandemic. For instance, this year, the voters did not have to name international bars in their votes, whereas in the past, at least three of a voter’s seven named bars had to be international, according to a report by Bloomberg. 17 countries made it to the top 50 list this year, with 18 new entries, including India’s Sidecar and Moscow’s Insider Bar. Here are all the bars across the world that have the best boozy creations:
1. Connaught Bar, London
2. Tayēr + Elementary, London
3. Paradiso, Barcelona
4. The Clumsies, Athens
5. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires
6. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
7. Coa, Hong Kong
8. El Copitas, St. Petersburg
9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore
10. Katana Kitten, New York
11. Two Schmucks, Barcelona
12. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
13. Insider Bar, Moscow
14. Baba au Rhum, Athens
15. Manhattan, Singapore
16. Atlas, Singapore
17. Zuma, Dubai
18. The SG Club, Tokyo
19. Drink Kong, Rome
20. 1930, Milan
21. Presidente, Buenos Aires
22. Maybe Sammy, Sydney
23. Cantina OK!, Sydney
24. Salmón Gurú, Madrid
25. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
26. No Sleep Club, Singapore
27. Camparino in Galleria, Milan
28. Cafe La Trova, Miami
29. Little Red Door, Paris
30. Dante, New York
31. Kwānt, London
32. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
33. Tres Monos, Buenos Aires
34. Attaboy, New York
35. Lucy’s Flower Shop, Stockholm
36. MO Bar, Singapore
37. Sips, Barcelona
38. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
39. Sober Company, Shanghai
40. Tjoget, Stockholm
41. Epic, Shanghai
42. Charles H, Seoul
43. Tippling Club, Singapore
44. Above Board, Melbourne
45. Galaxy Bar, Dubai
46. Re, Sydney
47. Sidecar, New Delhi
48. Union Trading Company, Shanghai
49. DarkSide, Hong Kong
50. Quinary, Hong Kong
This story first appeared on Travel+Leisure India.
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