Cocktails in the City has returned to London for a series of garden parties featuring some of London’s finest bars. 

Singapore’s Tippling Club, a regular in Asia’s 50 best bars, has announced the appointment of its new head bartender, Arathorn Grey.

Attaboy in New York has been crowned the winer of the inaugural edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier.

The annual list of The World’s 50 Best Bars will this year be unveiled at a live ceremony in Barcelona on Tuesday 4 October.

Bars that opened during the pandemic took many of the gongs at the returning CLASS Bar Awards last night, highlighting the bar industry's resurgence.  

Masahiro Urushido of Katana Kitten in New York City has been named the Altos Bartenders' Bartender at the inaugural North America's 50 Best Bars awards.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has announced the launch of its first-ever scholarship, the winner of which will be awarded with expenses-paid internships at London’s Connaught Bar and New York’s Katana Kitten.

New York City’s Overstory has been announced as the winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award ahead of the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Bars ceremony on 7 June.

Keith Motsi has carved a truly unique path through the hospitality industry. Having been born in Zimbabwe and raised in Leeds, UK, he now finds himself at the reins of one of Asia’s top luxury hotel bars.

Coa of Hong Kong retained its title as Asia’s Best Bar at the seventh edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars in a ceremony held at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.

Asia’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, has announced the 51-100 list for 2022 ahead of next Thursday’s live ceremony at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.

Keith Motsi, head bartender at Charles H in Four Seasons Seoul, has won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2022.

A group of Ukrainian spirits industry professionals have launched a fundraiser calling on bartenders around the world to create a cocktail dedicated to Ukraine.

Barcelona’s Two Schmucks, number 11 in The World’s 50 Best Bars, will host a ‘Schmuck Street Party’ on 27th March in collaboration with some of the UK’s best bars.

Several high profile bars around the world have launched initiatives to raise funds for the victims in Ukraine following its invasion by Russian troops.

London Cocktail Week 2022 will run from 13-23 October 2022 - now encompassing two weekends, following two years of extended month-long activities.

Drinks International has announced the appointment of Shay Waterworth as its new editor to replace the outgoing Martin Green from April onwards.

The Scandinavian chic approach has had a huge influence on the modern bar scene. Thin glassware, no garnishes and plain interiors have become the norm for a lot of top bars around the world and to fit this aesthetic many have reduced their spirits offering.

London Cocktail Week founders Siobhan Payne and Hannah Sharman-Cox, alongside Global Bartending’s Dan Dove, have announced the launch of the Pinnacle Guide, a new one, two and three ‘Pin’ recognition system for the world’s best bars.

Mexico City’s Hanky Panky has announced a takeover series that will see the bar play host to some of the world’s most celebrated bars before embarking on their own world tour.

The World’s 50 Best Bars reflects travel restrictions and spotlights neighbourhood bars, says Nick Strangeway.

In the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars list, Athens claimed as many bars as Tokyo and Milan, and more than Paris, Madrid, and Seoul. For anyone who has kept an eye on global bar lists, this will come as no surprise, but the Greek capital’s rapid ascension to hospitality powerhouse has been remarkable.

There wasn’t a huge amount to celebrate last year, but it doesn’t take much of an occasion for champagne corks to fly in the world’s best bars – almost 90% of our bars stock the French sparkler. Three-quarters have two champers and two-thirds have three or more.

High-end bars rarely allocate bar-top space to draught systems, meaning the bestselling list is a battle of the bottles.

Cocktail Bitters are evocative of the Golden Age of cocktails – of brown and stirred-down drinks, braces, waistcoats and fine moustaches which went on to make an implausible comeback in the early 21st century.

Believe it or not, cachaça is the third most popular spirit in the world. In its homeland of Brazil, there are some 5,000 registered brands, with many more unregistered, and 40,000 distilleries.

The glow up that the tequila category has undergone in recent years must be the envy of the wider spirit world.

Barsol reigns supreme in the pisco category. The Peruvian brand took a whopping 31% of the first-choice votes and 23% of the top-three pours in the World’s Best Bars.

No brand has had a more dominant performance over the 13 years of the Brands Report than that of Hennessy.

Just as Ketel One was on the precipice of completing the perfect 10, in swoops Grey Goose to snatch the vodka crown.

If you had to bet your house on one brand topping a list, it would probably be Jameson in the Irish whiskey category.

Topping gin for seven of the last nine years, Tanqueray is once again king gin. The Diageo brand, famed for its juniper forward Tanqueray London Dry and Tanqueray No. Ten gins, was the house choice in 25% of the world’s best bars.

The usual crowd have populated this year’s bestselling rum list. In fact, nine of the 10 brands remain a constant, with the first seven in the ranking identical to the previous year. 

Brands Report editor Hamish Smith explains the methodolgy behind the report's polling system.

Norway has banned alcohol sales in bars and restaurants for a month in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Drinks International's Global Bar Edition, which includes the official guide to The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021, has launched in digital form.

COP26 littered newspaper headlines throughout November. The focus was supposed to be on resolving the climate change crisis, but predictably turned into a game of political chess. In the absence of any authoritative leadership, our industry needs to set an example.

Lynnette Marrero, the co-founder of Speed Rack and bar manager of Llama Inn, New York, has been named the winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2021 at The World’s 50 Best Bars.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has released the shortlist for its inaugural Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu award.

Famed Singapore bar 28HongKong Street will host a series of celebrations throughout the year to commemorate a decade of operation.

Taking over the reigns of The World’s 50 Best Bars would be a daunting experience for many, but not French duo Pom Modeste and Juliette Larrouy.

London Cocktail Week has once again been extended to the whole month of October for 2021 and the full trade schedule has been released.

Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour swapped bar teams with Barcelona’s Two Schmucks to host guest shifts in their respected venues.

DoorDash is taking on Uber and Instacart by launching an alcohol delivery service in the United States, Canada and Australia.

The sheer scale of China’s population and geography is almost incomprehensible to the western world and second-tier city Shenzhen, located in the south east, is being bookmarked as a potential future giant of the bar trade.

Milan bar Officina is set to host Officina Cocktail Week with bartenders from some of the World’s Best Bars set to attend the inaugural event.

Wristbands are now available for London Cocktail Week 2021 which will once again be extended for the entire month of October.

The recent launch of Martinez members’ cocktail bar on Soho’s Greek Street struck a chord with me.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has created the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award which will be announced at the live awards ceremony on 7 December at London’s Roundhouse.