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The annual World's 50 Best Bars ranking just dropped and New York leads the charge in North America with four entries on the global list.
Before we get into the specifics, let's dive into the methodology behind the much discussed annual compilation.
The list is generated by votes given out by the World's 50 Best Bars Academy, which is comprised of 700 drink experts like bartenders, writers and consultants, among others.
The polls aren't really based on any sort of pre-determined criteria, but voters do have to abide by strict rules.
"Voters must have visited the bars they vote for during the voting period, and they cannot self-nominate or nominate a bar in which they have any financial interest," reads an official release. "Guest bar shifts and pop-ups do not qualify for votes."
Although Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City tops the global mentions, New York certainly holds its own across the overall list.
Trendy Lower East Side destination Double Chicken Please is the highest local mention at number 14, followed by Overstory in the Financial District at number 15 (don't forget to take in the views from the the 64th-floor deck), Japanese cocktail bar Martiny's at number 24 and the "perpetually full and poppin’," according to our Food and Drink Editor Morgan Carter, Superbueno at number 27. The latter two destinations are actually completely new entries to the global ranking.
If you're anything like us, you'll use the World's 50 Best Bars list as a guidebook of sorts, dictating your next local outing and, perhaps, your next vacation (we're itching to visit Mexico City's Handshake Speakeasy, at the moment).
The 50 best bars in the world according to World's 50 Best Bars:
1. Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City
2. Bar Leone in Hong Kong
3. Sips in Barcelona
4. Tayēr + Elementary in London
5. Jigger & Pony in Singapore
6. Line in Athens
7. Tres Monos in Buenos Aires
8. Alquímico in Cartagena
9. Zest in Seoul
10. Paradiso in Barcelona
11. Himkok in Oslo
12. BKK Social Club in Bangkok
13. Connaught Bar in London
14. Double Chicken Please in New York
15. Overstory in New York
16. Lady Bee in Lima
17. Baba au Rum in Athens
18. Coa in Hong Kong
19. The Cambridge Public House in Paris
20. Tlecān in Mexico City
21. Caretaker's Cottage in Melbourne
22. CoChinChina in Buenos Aires
23. Salmon Guru in Madrid
24. Martiny's in New York
25. Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo
26. Maybe Sammy in Sydney
27. Superbueno in New York
28. Nutmeg & Clove in Singapore
29. Satan's Whiskers in London
30. Panda & Sons in Edinburgh
31. Tan Tan in São Paulo
32. Licorería Limantour in Mexico City
33. Drink Kong in Rome
34. Jewel of the South in New Orleans
35. Byrdi in Melbourne
36. Locale Firenze in Florence
37. Scarfes Bar in London
38. Moebius in Milano
39. Bar Nouveau in Paris
40. Mimi Kakushi in Dubai
41. Bar Us in Bangkok
42. Virtù in Tokyo
43. Atlas in Singapore
44. La Sala de Laura in Bogotá
45. Röda Huset in Stockholm
46. Florería Atlántico in Buenos Aires
47. Analogue Initiative in Singapore
48. El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara
49. Danico in Paris
50. 1930 in Milan