There’s a list for just about everything. But there’s one out there that mixologists look to every year that it’s dropped. We’re talking about the aptly-named World’s Best Bars list and this year’s inclusions paint a picture of the state of cocktail culture in 2026.
The list has run long enough now that we can usually count on a few things. Giant destinations like Hong Kong (Bar Leone was the overall number one pick) and London tend to do pretty well. New York City, with its plethora of fantastic watering holes, is also usually a safe bet for at least a few bars on the list.
This year, some new themes emerged. Established cities like Barcelona flexed their muscles, but so too did other European hotspots. An Albanian town featured, Asian cities did quite well, and a Sydney bar called Maybe Sammy made the grade, a place with theatrical pours by bartenders oft-clad in pink suits.
Here are some cool themes that stood out to this writer on the ’26 list.
Continued rise of South American bars
At first, all we seemed to hear about was the drinks scene in Lima. Now, we’re being told that mixology is going next-level everywhere from Buenos Aires to São Paulo. Lima’s Sastrería Martinez did make the list, placing 33rd, as did Lady Bee (13th place), also in Peru’s bustling capital city. But others joined the party, including Tres Monos in Argentina and Tan Tan in Brazil.
There’s a cool mix of new and old in South America these days, with age-old spirits of the area being utilized in inventive ways. Be it brandies or spirits like Cachaca, they’re being realized in new ways. And on top of that, they’re being paired up with great local snacks and views of historic plazas and endless beaches.
The cool Athens scene
Greece is where it’s at. Three bars from Athens made the list, which is pretty impressive given that the ancient city is home to about 3 million people, including the metro area. What bars? For starters, Line, a bar in an ex-art gallery that placed an impressive eighth overall. Interestingly, one of the most popular pours their involves the bar’s house-made fruit wines. Elsewhere in Athens, Baba au Rum finished 27th, a watering hole that loves its rum. The Bar at the Front of the Bar placed 47th, a bar with a sustainable push and great people-watching opportunities, not to mention fetching cocktails.
Shapeshifting Scandinavia
Scandinavia seems to always show up on these culinary lists, whether its foraging for something to plate or put in the shaker tin. This year, Himkok placed 14th, a cool Oslo bar that very much reflects the city’s cutting-edge approach to drinks. What ends up in the glass is equal parts artistic and reflective of the intriguing Nordic distillery scene. Svanen also made the list, another Oslo joint houses in an old pharmacy.
Stockholm’s Röda Huset is on this year’s list too, coming in at 35th. There, you’ll find both a lively restaurant bar and a smaller on up a spiral staircase where you can do a fixed menu. The drinks stress the bright fruits on the Swedish landscape, mixed beautifully.
America underrepresented?
Now, New York had four bars make the list but aside from Superbueno (12th place), they all finished 39th or lower. The only other domestic inclusion, certainly one of the best American bars out there, goes to New Orleans and Jewel of the South.
So, what about all of those great Los Angeles bars, or the speakeasies of Chicago or Detroit? The tiki bars of Hawaii or the bustling establishments of Atlanta? Well, they didn’t show up this year but that’s not all bad. In fact, it points to the increasingly international-ness of the scene at large and how its reflecting its surroundings, whether that’s a hotel bar in Singapore or a waterfront bar in Dubai.
Now, we have our opinions and think perhaps the states was a little unfairly done this year. But we’re more excited about how wide-ranging the list is. While there’s an elevated nature to it all (perhaps to a fault), it’s also come down to earth a bit in years of late, likely echoing our collective urge toward not just expensive-as-hell cocktails in fancy-ass bars, but well-made drinks in cool buildings with down-to-earth crowds.
Michelin Stars used to only grace white table cloth restaurants in giant European cities. Now, they’re handed to barbecue joints in Texas and taco stands in Mexico City. Perhaps the same is at least starting to happen with the drinks awards doled out to the bars and bartenders of the world. And that’s exciting. We’ll pull put to our favorite barstool in our favorite town and sip on something while we wait to see what developments take place next.
