1. Overview
Singapre hosts the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars list for 2023, showcasing the top mixologists globally. The awards emphasize innovation and excellence in the cocktail industry.
2. Location and Significance
For the first time, this awards ceremony took place in Asia, reflecting the growing diversity in the global bar sector. Singapore is celebrated for its culinary landscape and hospitality.
3. World’s Best Bar
This year, Sips in Barcelona secured the title of World’s Best Bar, becoming the youngest bar ever to achieve this honor, underlining the evolution of the bar scene.
History was made in Singapore today. Thousands of the world’s most illustrious mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts gathered in the Lion City as the World’s 50 Best Bars list for 2023 was revealed during a spirited live awards ceremony.
Marking its 15th year, the prestigious annual ranking honors excellence across the international beverage industry, with an Academy of 680 experts—including renowned mixologists, drinks writers, and bar owners—casting their anonymous votes based on the best, and most consistent, overall experience.
So which watering hole took top honors this year? Sips in Barcelona won the coveted title of World’s Best Bar, making it the youngest bar in the history of the awards to bring home first place. Industry titans Simone Caporale and Marc Álvarez only opened Sips in 2021—just over two years later, it’s named The Best Bar in Europe and The World’s Best Bar.
The innovative “drinkery house” in Barcelona’s Eixample district immediately shook up the cocktail world with its molecular mixology and ever-changing menu of theatrical creations served in fanciful drinking vessels such as the Primordial—a blend of Scotch, port, and Asian pear that’s presented in a lifelike metal cast of two hands.
Caporale and Álvarez share in an exclusive on-site interview: “Wow, we are very glad to be here in this position; this is a very beautiful moment for us. We have wanted to do something together for more than five years, and this has all been the result of very hard work. This is a really nice recognition … every day we are striving to make people happy in our bar and have them understand the experience of our concept.”
Moreover, the duo continues to innovate. “We are adding on to the experience of Sips with a second place called Sips Esencia—a very small bar within the same space, for only 14 people, which is completely the opposite of Sips,” they added. According to Caporale and Álvarez, Esencia (meaning “essence”) will open shortly.
New York City is well-represented on the newly released World’s 50 Best Bars list, with the Lower East Side’s Double Chicken Please earning second place honors, the Financial District’s Overstory coming in at No. 17, and the West Village’s Katana Kitten taking 27th place. Other American bars featured include Miami’s Café La Trova (No. 24) and new entry Jewel of the South (No. 49), bringing New Orleans back on the list for the first time since 2014.
Consequently, Barcelona stands out with two entries in the top five, including the champion, Sips, and Paradiso at No. 4 (last year’s winner). In Singapore, Jigger & Pony was named No. 14, followed by Sago House (No. 32) and Atlas (No. 48).
London had an impressive five bars on the list, more than any other city, particularly featuring Connaught Bar (No. 5) and Tayēr + Elementary (No. 8), alongside Satan’s Whiskers (No. 28), A Bar with Shapes for a Name (No. 35), and Scarfes Bar (No. 41).
Finally, several standout individuals and establishments received accolades for their contributions to the global cocktail community. GN Chan from Double Chicken Please won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender award, while the Buenos Aires bar, Tres Monos, earned the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award.
See the full list of 2023 winners here.
