The 36 best cocktails in the world (and where to drink them)

The Clumsies, Athens, Greece

Greece is currently experiencing a cocktail revolution, with a raft of young bartenders experimenting with local products such as tsikoudia, raki, mastika, local herbs, honey, and even olives and yoghurt. Started by Nikos Bakoulis and Vasilis Kyritsis in a run-down neoclassical building in the midst of the Greek recession, The Clumsies is a paean to these fresh products and local-specific flavours. Its subtly explosive Aegean Negroni is as blue as the glittering Aegean sea, and uses the bar’s own spiced gin plus white vermouth, Martini bitters and Martini Ambrato. Fennel seeds and fragrant dittany (a herb which only grows on the island of Crete) gives this refreshingly bitter cocktail its distinctive, unmistakably Mediterranean savour. Heidi Fuller-Love

Native, Singapore

We’re pretty sure there’s no other bar in the world like Native. Head bartender Vijay Mudaliar showcases spirits and ingredients from around Southeast Asia, capturing the taste of its myriad cultures in a cocktail. Take the Peranakan as an example. Named after the Straits-Chinese ethnic group of Chinese immigrants who settled down or were born in the British colonies of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, the cocktail uses common ingredients found in the local cuisine, including laksa leaves, candlenuts and gula Melaka (palm sugar). Mudaliar ties it all together with jackfruit rum and a garnish made from locally sourced goat’s milk. Nicole-Marie Ng, Time Out Singapore

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Singapore.

The Baldwin Bar, Boston, USA

Self-taught bartender Ran Duan grew up getting his hands dirty and learning the hospitality business at his father’s Chinese restaurant. Nowadays he’s one of Boston’s most decorated mixologists, and the visionary behind the city’s most inventive cocktails – including the Thai-inspired Tuk Tuk and the colourfully-named After School Snack, which incorporates roasted peanut oil, horchata, cacao and a whole egg. But none of his creations is as spectacular as All Hail The Queen, created and named in honour of modern soul goddess Erykah Badu. Combining Tanqueray 10, olive oil, lime, chestnut and egg white, it’s as smooth as the queen herself. Eric Grossman, Time Out Boston

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Boston.

The Aviary NYC, New York, USA

The classics are important, but we’re always in the mood for creative, original libations. The Aviary simply serves New York’s most innovative cocktails, and this spectacular drink is its most perennially popular classic. Searching For The Emerald Sea is a gin-based cocktail served in a see-through porthole and filled with changing seasonal ingredients, from peaches to beet slices to celery curls. It’s meant to be sipped, because you’ll be mesmerized by how the color changes as it sits. This is a visual feast: the cocktail equivalent of a mood-ring, it’s as easy on the eye as on the palate. Bao Ong, Time Out New York

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The SG Club, Tokyo, Japan

This effervescent cocktail by Tokyo’s best bar is a riff on two classic drinks: the single-serve sake often found at local izakaya (the Japanese equivalent of gastropubs), and the famous British summer cocktail Pimm’s. First, the bar creates its own Pimm’s-inspired liqueur with gin, clove and cinnamon, citrus and Earl Grey tea. Then it tops it with sake and soda and serves it in a glass that looks just like the famous one-cup sake. It’s a refreshing cocktail that showcases the Japanese’s adeptness at taking something from the world and putting their own spin on it. Chee Wah Lim, Time Out Tokyo

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Hotel Casa Awolly, Mexico City, Mexico

Ramón Tovar, head bartender at Mexico City’s Hotel Casa Awolly, believes in the power of spirituality and cosmic forces, and his Botánica Oculta menu incorporates flora and natural ingredients into magical drinks. The Omiero cocktail is supposed to open the gates of healing and protection, with rum added to creamy, salty, homemade Castilla pumpkin butter, omiero (an aromatic blend of herbs like that made by practitioners of the Santería religion) and lime. Before taking a sip, make sure to call upon the path you desire, whether it’s health, money, love or protection. Take a mouthful of smoke, clean your hands with the peel and clap three times. ¡Salud! Regina Barberena, Time Out Mexico City

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Hacha, London, UK

Can this be real: a Margarita that’s completely see-through? This transparent take on Mexico’s most popular export is being whipped up at low-key east London ‘agaveria’ Hacha, and despite its uncharacteristic appearance, it still has the exact same sourness and salinity you’d hope for from the classic version. It’s been put together by Hacha owner Deano Moncrieffe, a tequila ambassador by trade – and as a result, it tastes like the best Marg of your life. Surely the Margarita was always destined to sparkle in the sunlight like this. Laura Richards, Time Out London

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in London.

Red Frog, Lisbon, Portugal

You’ll have to buzz to enter the Red Frog speakeasy on Avenida da Liberdade, where co-owner Paulo Gomes has created a signature cocktail that perfectly embodies Lisbon’s blend of the very old with the very new. Challenged to develop a new way of drinking typical Portuguese tipples such as ruby port wine and Lisbon’s signature ginjinha (wild cherry liqueur), Gomes embraced centuries-old conservation methods to produce an acidic cherry shrub: the perfect wingman to ginjinha’s sweetness. A generous splash of Venezuelan rum ramps up the booze content, while chocolate bitters and smoked cinnamon add spice to the Portuguese party in your mouth. Lucy Bryson

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Lisbon.

Cantina OK, Sydney, Australia

You’ll find one of the world’s best Margaritas down an unassuming Sydney laneway, at a friendly mezcaleria housed in a repurposed single-car garage with standing room for only 20 tipplers. What makes it so special? The tequila-mezcal one-two punch (made with spirits purchased by the owners on their travels through Mexico) does most of the talking, with nothing more than fresh lime and orange oil on back-up duty. And it dilutes just beautifully thanks to a hearty measure of shaved ice from the bright yellow, hand-cranked machine that doubles as the bar’s bright centrepiece. This is peak refreshment: just the ticket in a Sydney summer. Matty Hirsch, Time Out Sydney

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Sydney.

The Old Man, Hong Kong

This May, The Old Man was named Asia’s number one bar: another feather in the cap for the Hemingway-inspired hideaway that has shaken up Hong Kong’s cocktail scene. This standout drink isn’t just named after one of the writer’s novels: it’s also as clean, strong and inventive as his prose. Sweet vermouth, prepared sous-vide (a classic The Old Man twist) with pandan leaves, provides a foil to curry leaf-infused gin, coconut oil-washed applejack and kaffir lime. Spicy, subtly tropical and an almost luminescent green, it’s just the thing to carry you through to daybreak after a night out in bustling Hong Kong. Craig Sauers, Time Out Hong Kong

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Eatery Social Taqueria, Malmö, Sweden

Inspired by eco-minded former head bartender Geoff Barraclough, the team at at the Eatery Social Taqueria inside Malmö’s Clarion Hotel has taken sustainable boozing to a whole new level by scooping up whatever unused ingredients they can find in the kitchen and reinventing them with incredible imagination. Take the Tequilini, made with foam from leftover cava that’s gone flat, powder from lime wedges that have been squeezed dry, and aquafaba (foaming chickpea water; the chickpeas themselves are deep-fried and served as a bar snack). It’s good for the planet and it tastes incredible. Derek Robertson

Sweet Liberty, Miami, USA

The Piña Colada was a favourite cocktail of the late John Lermayer, head bartender and co-owner of pioneering bar Sweet Liberty. Lermayer elevated and balanced Puerto Rico’s ubiquitous poolside drink with a signature blend of unusual ingredients you won’t find in any other Piña Colada. It starts with coffee beans, blended in for extra depth of flavour and astringency. Then there’s the house blend of aged Panamanian rum, coconut rum and spiced rum, giving an incredible range of notes, and a Pedro Ximénez sherry topper that changes the cocktail’s flavour as it mixes in. Order several and raise a toast to a cocktail genius. Virginia Gil, Time Out Miami

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Miami.

Dukes Bar, London, UK

Ian Fleming used to come to Dukes Hotel for his Martini fix, and if it’s good enough for the creator of 007, it’s good enough for us. Despite the passing of the years, this classic St James’s hotel bar is still just as much about the service, with world-famous bartender Alessandro Palazzi and his white-suited team pulling out all the stops. You can order gin or vodka; either way, it’ll come extra-chilled, extra-dry (just a vermouth-washed glass) and with a twist of Amalfi lemon. Poured from a trolley and served so stiff you can officially only order two, this is as good as classic Martini drinking gets. Laura Richards, Time Out London

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in London.

Wildflower, Perth, Australia

The global trend of putting insects on the menu has hit the cocktail world. And although Native in Singapore no longer pours its famous Antz cocktail, in the Australian city of Perth, a century-old Italian classic has been given a creepy-crawly antipodean makeover by rooftop restaurant Wildflower. The Green Ant Negroni features Adelaide Hills Green Ant Gin, which is distilled using (you guessed it) green ants, hand-harvested by the Northern Territory’s Larrakia people. The cocktail is garnished with two more indigenous bush foods: a desert quandong and finger lime pearls, giving it a complex botanical profile. It’s a uniquely Australian national treasure. Jo Stewart

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Perth.

Clooney Kitchen and Bar, Melbourne, Australia

Here’s a drink that captures Melbourne’s effort-free cool and multicultural mélange in one. The precise composition of the Tequila Verde varies each day depending on what greenery catches the eye of Clooney’s veteran bartenders at Footscray Market: a bustling produce bazaar that’s the heart of inner Melbourne’s migrant community. Recently it’s been Vietnamese mint, parsley, paddy herb and ‘a couple of herbs there wasn’t an English translation for’, blitzed and strained into lime juice before being shaken with Tapatio Blanco tequila. It’s a great example of a cocktail that doesn’t rely on bells and whistles but personality and a sense of place. Juliana Yu, Time Out Melbourne

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Melbourne.

OAK Long Bar + Kitchen, Boston, USA

Way before the current trend for Instagrammable drinks served in a cloud of smoke, the Smoked Chai Manhattan was warming Bostonians through the city’s frigid winters. It’s been the signature cocktail at the OAK Long Bar + Kitchen for five years, and it’s not just smoke and mirrors: a perfect balance of chai rum, rye whiskey and bénédictine, it’s poured into a snifter filled with smoke from cedar wood, and blowtorched on the bar or tableside, bringing enough theatre to jazz up any boozing session. Make like a Boston Brahmin and order this spirit-forward sipper inside the city’s historic Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. Fiona Chandra

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Boston.

Musso & Frank Grill, Los Angeles, USA

Forget ‘shaken, not stirred’ – at LA’s century-old steakhouse Musso & Frank Grill, the Martinis are only ever made their way. The restaurant is just as much at the heart of Hollywood as that British spy who can’t get the cocktail right: its red leather booths and dark wooden bar have been no stranger to celebrity sightings through the decades. But the real star is the stiff, classic drink that’s now synonymous with the place. Made with your choice of gin or vodka and (take note, 007) stirred vigorously by a red-jacketed barkeep, the Musso Martini gets served with a sidecar on ice for a drink that keeps on giving. Stephanie Breijo, Time Out Los Angeles

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Frankie's Tiki Room, Las Vegas, USA

Often referred to as ‘the ninth island’ because it’s so popular with Hawaiian tourists, Las Vegas loves a good Pacific cocktail. So skip the Strip, step out of the harsh desert sunlight and lose an afternoon to rum, cigarettes and surf music inside the impossibly dark Frankie’s Tiki Room. To really get the combination of Vegas kitsch and island cocktail expertise at this divey, 24-hour tiki bar, you need to order the Tiki Bandit: a refreshing blend of rum, passion fruit, pineapple and blue curaçao, memorably served in a slot machine-shaped mug designed by tiki-obsessed artist Dave ‘Squid’ Cohen. Krista Diamond

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Las Vegas.

Mace, New York, USA

Having recently moved to a new, more spacious location a few blocks down from its original East Village site, Mace has become the grand host it always wanted to be. The bar takes its name from the nutmeg-like spice rather than the eye-burning pepper spray, but still packs the same potency, with ingredients that don’t get watered down. The Kimchi cocktail brings savoury ingredients behind the bar, embodying both NYC’s playful spirit and its diverse food offerings. That aesthetically-pleasing lavender colour is created by ube (purple yam) with kimchi-infused Ouro cachaça, toasted coconut, egg and smoked salt. Alcoholic soup? I think we’ve got a new invention on our hands… Emma Orlow, Time Out New York

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in New York.

Florería Atlantico, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Created by Argentine mixologist extraordinaire Tato Giovannoni, this cocktail made its first appearance in 2013 on the inaugural menu of his Florería Atlántico, considered by many to be the best bar in Buenos Aires. As an ode to Argentina’s substantial Italian heritage, Tato decided to combine the classic Italian aperitifs Cynar with his own brand of gin, Príncipe de Los Apóstoles – itself made from several Argentinian botanicals, mainly the local yerba mate plant. Simply adding tonic water (plus a eucalyptus branch for garnish), Cyn Tonic is a delicious taste of the country’s multicultural roots. Pedro Camacho

Loos American Bar, Vienna, Austria

Any cocktail at Vienna’s Loos American Bar is a memory worth making. Open since 1908, this former gentlemen’s club is tiny, but the onyx, marble and brass interior feels way bigger thanks to the clever use of mirrors. If you’ve only got time for one drink, make it the signature Loos Coffee: the house take on an Espresso Martini, made with white chocolate instead of sugar. It’s a unique and appropriate take on Vienna’s renowned café culture, best sipped while sat in conversation with other patrons – an almost inevitable pastime in this charismatic watering hole. Natalie Marchant

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Vienna.

Presidente Bar, Buenos Aires, Argentina

A self-proclaimed tiki cocktail enthusiast, Argentine bartender Gon Cabado had always wanted to make a version of the classic Zombie cocktail that could also work as an homage to Buenos Aires nightlife. And so the Buenos Aires Zombie was born. Served in a ceramic mug shaped like the city’s iconic Obelisco monument, the drink retains its tiki roots in the form of three different rums and a mix of tropical fruits. But it’s given a local spin with the addition of Triple Seco Carajo and Pineral: the oldest of old-school Argentinian liquors. Pedro Camacho

Smoke & Mirrors, Singapore

The Singapore Sling has come a long way since it was first concocted at the Raffles Hotel Long Bar by Ngiam Tong Boon. Created for ladies who couldn’t consume alcohol in public back in the 1910s, it calls for a sweet mix of pineapple juice, bénédictine and cherry liqueur, among other ingredients. While you can still try it at its birthplace – complete with the throw-your-peanut-shells-on-the-floor experience – our tip is the modern take at Smoke & Mirrors, on the rooftop of the grand National Gallery Singapore. Renamed Robbery At The Museum, this Sling is made using local gin, sour cherry and fermented pineapple, topped with fizzy foam. Nicole-Marie Ng, Time Out Singapore

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Le Syndicat, Paris, France

You can’t say you know Paris if you’ve never been to Le Syndicat. Hidden away in the hip Strasbourg Saint-Denis neighbourhood, it only uses French-made spirits, some rather rare (Bonal, Byrrh…). Inside, it’s a chic paradise with glossy marble, kitschy golden curtains and Olafur Eliasson mirrors. And here’s what to order: the well-named Explosive, a tribute to France’s revolutionary roots. With Noilly Prat Dry, pastis, rhubarb, green tea, citric solution and dill paint, it’s a long drink that sings of summer. And don’t forget the garnish: a mini fireworks display that refers to the French Fête Nationale, commemorating the day in 1789 that Paris went full-on ‘Game of Thrones’. Tina Meyer, Time Out Paris

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Paris.

Omakase + Appreciate, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Back in 1973, Jeffrey Ong Swee Teik created the Jungle Bird at Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur. While the hotel is now gone, the cocktail lives on as an internationally-recognised Malaysian classic. Most bars in KL will serve it, but for the best in the city, head down a flight of stairs from the Ming Annexe building along Jalan Ampang and open the door that looks like it houses the building’s electrical switchboard. Instead, you’ll find a tiny hidden bar, where bartender and co-owner Karl Too makes the Jungle Bird with Angostura 7 Year Old Rum, pineapple, fresh lime juice, sugar – and Campari, which gives the Bird a uniquely bitter kick. PohNee Chin

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Stravinsky, Barcelona, Spain

The brainchild of expert mixologist Antonio Naranjo, Dr Stravinsky isn’t just a superb bar (although yes, now you mention it, it has been named one of the world’s best). It also boasts an almost alchemical lab where it distils its own premium spirits. The resulting house gin comes together in Naranjo’s Camp Nou cocktail with dill, thyme and coriander syrup, lime and sherry, creating a concoction that’s as unforgettable as watching FC Barcelona romp home in the cocktail’s namesake stadium, and as green as the turf on the pitch. Just a sip will have you feeling like you’ve won La Liga. Ricard Martin, Time Out Barcelona

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Punch House, Chicago, USA

You know what they say: go big or go home. It’s a fitting motto for Punch House, a sultry subterranean cocktail den in the Pilsen neighbourhood. Here, drinks are poured by the glass, carafe or bowl – the latter designed to be shared with a table full of thirsty friends. Perhaps the ultimate crowd-pleaser, Space Juice For Jered is an otherworldly, Margarita-like blend of tequila, grapefruit juice, lime, Luxardo Bitter, black pepper, sparkling wine and sage: the perfect nightcap after dinner upstairs at Michelin-starred restaurant Dusek’s. And who can resist the old-school crystal punchbowl and teacups? Morgan Olsen, Time Out Chicago

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Angelita, Madrid, Spain

Ah, our old friend the Bloody Mary: a hangover remedy that spans generations. But now Mario Villalón of Madrid’s Angelita has raised the bar on this classic. Villalón mixes vodka with coriander, tomato juice from his garden (mixed with katsuobushi, red wine and ponzu sauce) and a totally homemade – and very Spanish – seasoning made from Jerez fino sherry, roasted garlic, essence of ox beef and shellfish, anchovy, miso, barbecue sauce, soy and habanero chilli. And to serve: a wink to Andy Warhol. Gorka Elorrieta, Time Out Madrid

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Swift, London, UK

When a drink comes with a spoon on the side, you know it's going to be pretty damn indulgent. Swift in London’s Soho has singlehandedly made the Sgroppino, a practically forgotten treat of a classic cocktail, popular again around the world, such has been its impact on the bar scene’s movers and shakers. The idea is simple: a frothy, prosecco-based drink with a scoop of lemon sorbet bobbing around in its depths. As the sorbet melts, your drink gets all the sweeter – that’s if you can resist shovelling it all down in one. Laura Richards, Time Out London

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Bar Veloso, São Paulo, Brazil

Small, homely and located in the fairly inconspicuous neighbourhood of Vila Mariana, Bar Veloso has earned ‘local legend’ status for two reasons: its award-winning snacks (give the coxinhas a try) and its many unique takes on São Paulo’s signature drink, the Caipirinha. There’s one here for every palate, and it’s well worth trying one of the house’s own off-menu inventions, like a mix of cachaça, two types of grapes, lemon and passion fruit. But if you’re looking to try the real deal, you can’t go wrong with Três Limões: a mix of lemon, lime and the Indian citrus fruit rangpur, muddled with the traditional cachaça base for what could be the ultimate take on this Brazilian classic. Biju Belinky

Cravan, Paris, France

In 1927, the Paris-based American writer Erskine Gwynne founded a literary magazine named Boulevardier. Although it was fairly short-lived, his other invention – a cocktail by the same name consisting of equal parts whisky, Campari and sweet vermouth – has stood the test of time. For the finest take on this classic today, head to vintage jewel Cravan in the swanky 16th arrondissement, where Franck Audoux – restaurateur and expert on interwar cocktails – has reinvented the Boulevardier using cognac, Dubonnet and Dolin Bitter. Served with no ice or garnish, it’s so pure and so very Parisian. Tina Meyer, Time Out Paris

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Bar Basso, Milan, Italy

Legend has it that this cocktail happened by mistake. In the 1960s, barman Mirko Stocchetto took over the unassuming Bar Basso in eastern Milan and turned it into the city’s first standalone cocktail bar, catering both to Milan’s burgeoning expat population and to the existing crowd of locals. One hectic night, in the bustle behind the counter, Stochetto accidentally made a Negroni with prosecco, rather than the usual gin. The customer, allegedly, was more than satisfied with this lighter, crisper take, and now the Negroni Sbagliato (‘Mistaken Negroni’) is as much of a cocktail-bar staple as the original. Bar Basso is run by the Stochetto family to this day, and still serves the Sbagliato in its custom-made, thick-stemmed glasses. Angelica Frey

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Operation Dagger, Singapore

Salted egg, a mainstay in Chinese cooking, is having a major moment in convenience store snack aisles and restaurants across Asia – and you’ll find a clever, boozy play on the flavour behind an unmarked door on Ann Siang Hill, Singapore. Operation Dagger is one of the world’s best bars, and The Egg is among its most popular drinks. This delightful dessert cocktail uses egg yolks cured with rum, sugar, sea salt and vanilla under a vacuum overnight. The creamy, sweet concoction is chilled before being shaken with ice, smoked with star anise and served inside a ceramic egg, gently nestled on a bed of hay. As for the taste: think salty, sweet, delicious eggnog. Trust us, one won’t be un oeuf. Katie Lockhart

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Arthur's Pub, Dublin, Ireland

Think of Dublin and, in all likelihood, you’ll think of a creamy pint of Guinness. But a pint of black isn’t the only way to enjoy the city’s famous stout. Head to Arthur’s Bar in the Guinness Storehouse, and order a Black Velvet: an intriguing blend of Guinness and champagne. Legend has it that the cocktail was created in 1861 after the death of Prince Albert, when a London barkeep decreed that even his establishment’s champagne should be cloaked in black. The result: a smooth, ever so slightly smoky cocktail, best enjoyed at the source – and with killer city views to boot. Nicola Brady

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in Dublin.

Peppi's Cellar, New York, USA

There may be no phone booth to walk through or secret doorknob to twist, but Peppi’s Cellar, located underneath Nolita restaurant Gran Tivoli, still feels like a speakeasy. With no street-facing entrances or windows, the clandestine cavernous spot with live music feels like a set from ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’. And what would a speakeasy be without an off-menu highball? Ask for the Boozy Apple, an ode to New York’s namesake fruit. It’s made with crushed fresh Granny Smith green apples – juiced before your eyes – and your choice of tequila or whiskey: perfectly simple and tasting extraordinarily freshly-picked. Emma Orlow, Time Out New York

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Buena Vista Cafe, San Francisco, USA

Did you know it was San Francisco, not Dublin, that made the Irish coffee famous? In 1952, The Buena Vista – an old-school saloon in the city’s North Beach neighbourhood – first combined Irish whiskey, coffee, sugar and cream into a semi-sweet, creamy concoction perfect for warming up in SF’s foggy climate. Nowadays the drink is so famous that the Buena Vista’s bartenders craft more than 2,000 of the signature cocktails each day, making the bar the single largest consumer of Irish whiskey in the world. The bar estimates it’s made 5 million of these in the last 40 years. Why not make it 5 million and one? Sarah Medina, Time Out San Francisco

Want another drink? Check out the best bars in San Francisco.