The Cocktail Lovers

Rather fittingly for 2026 The 50 Best Bars which took place in Milan last week, featured bars from 26 countries. Which is not only neat as far as numbers go but also makes us think just how global this whole cocktail malarkey has become.

We remember when the list was dominated by bars from two cities: namely London and New York. These days it’s exciting to see representation from all kinds of venues – from fancy five-star hotels to unapologetic dive bars – from all corners of the globe – we’re talking from Buenos Aires to Bratislava and Sao Paulo to Seoul as well as Tirana, Lima, Guangzhou and Medellin.

So on to the meat and potatoes of this year’s newly branded, The 50…

In total, there were 14 new entries on this year’s list, all of which deserve a huge shout out
Angelia from Madrid at number 50
Bar Snack from New York at no 49
Gokan, Hong Kong at 41
Barro Negro, Athens 40
Bar Carmen, Medellin, no 39
Montana, no 36
Waltz, London 32
Victor Audio Bar, Buenos Aires, no 31
Schmuck, New York, no. 11
Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok, no 27
De Vie, Paris 23
Mamba Negra, Medellin, 22
Eximia, Sao Paulo, no 20
schmuck, New York, 11
Bar Mauro, Mexico City, 10

And just as worthy of a mention are the re-entries:

Martiny’s at no 46
Argo, Hong Kong 25

We also have to highlight this year’s Special awards which went to some of our favourite people in some of our favourite bars. Congratulations to
Shingo Gokan, Roku Industry Icon
Takuma Watanabe, Altos Bartenders’ Bartender
Panda & Sons, EdinburghSiete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu
Alquimico, Cartegna, Michter’s Art of Hospitality
Line, Athens, Ketel One Sustainable Bar
Seven rooms Best Bar Design, Saikindo, Abu Dhabi
Three Horse, Melbourne Campari One to Watch
The 50 Best Bars Scholarship, Isa Mejia
Paradiso, Remy Martin Legend of the list award

For the full list, see thecocktaillovers.com but if you haven’t already heard who made the top 10
the rundown goes as follows:

10. Bar Mauro, Mexico City
9. Lady Bee, Lima
8, Connaught Bar, London
7. Zest, Seoul
6. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
5. Line, Athens
4. Bar US, Bangkok
3 Alquimico, Cartegna
2. Moebius Milano
1.Bar Leone, Hong Kong

We caught up with the winners, good friends Lorenzo Antinori and Paola Mariotti from Bar Leone Hong Kong; brothers Ricardo and Eduardo Nava, and their proud mum, of Bar Mauro, winners of the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, and husband and wife team Giacomo Gianotti and wife Margarita Sader, owners of Paradiso, Barcelona, recipients of the Remy Martin Legend of the List award. Which goes to prove: work with people you know, love and trust, and ideally

For more, see The 50 Best Bars 2026
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We make no secret of the fact that the Martini is our favourite cocktail. It’s a classic that been around and enjoyed for well over 100 years. But, right now, it seems that everyone is getting in on the Martini action with all kinds of variations taking star billing on cocktail menus around the world. So rather than wait for World Martini Day to roll around in June, we couldn't think of a better time to celebrate this truly iconic drink.

We open the episode by highlighting some of our favourite gins and vodkas for making our Martinis at home. Then, as well as our bar review, which sees us heading to the recently opened Brutes of Mayfair, we highlight some of our top spots for enjoying a Martini in London. One of which is Hawksmoor St Pancras & Martini Bar, where we meet this week's guest, Liam Davy. As Beverage Director of the Hawksmoor Group he's the man behind the dedicated Martini menus across all of the sites in the UK, Ireland and US and one of the nicest people to share our favourite cocktail with.

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

For the products featured in this episode, see websites below:

Liam's Ultimate Home Martini Batch (for a 700ml Bottle)

450ml Good Quality Gin or Vodka (we love Fords or Finlandia)
100ml Vermouth (Dolin Dry is our house pick)
150ml Filtered Water (unless you live somewhere with great tap water!)
Optional extra: replace 50ml of the water with preserved lemon brine.

Beefeater Crown Jewel
Beluga Gold Line Vodka
Brutes of Mayfair
Connaught Bar
Claridge's Bar
Donovan Bar
Dukes Bar
Gordon's Export Strength Gin
Fords Gin
Hawksmoor Group
Hawksmoor St Pancras & Martini Bar
Jo Vodka
Stolichnaya Elit Vodka
Rules
Sacred Gin
Sipsmith Gin
Tanqueray Gin
Twenty8 NoMad
X Muse Vodka

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Other than Negronis, there is an ever-so slight connection to the featured items in this week's episode and it's cities beginning with the letter 'c'… First there's our recent visit to Copenhagen where we went specifically to visit Victory, a bar that’s as cosy as it is creative and one that we think you'll be hearing much more about in the future.

We’ve also got something of an Irish angle or two, thanks to a recent visit to Cork for the Jameson Hosts Global Summit. We start by opening up a bottle of the rich and oh-so-smooth Jameson Black Barrel Irish Whiskey and continue with a chat with three of the global champions of this year's Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series Competition .

What we're drinking:

Old Pal

30ml Rye Whiskey
30ml dry vermouth
30ml Campari
Orange or lemon twist to garnish

Method:
Stir ingredients over ice. Pour into chilled cocktail glasses and garnish with an orange or lemon twist.

Jameson Black Label
Jameson Black Bartender Barrel Series
Victory, Copenhagen

Diary dates:
25 & 26 Sep: Drink Japan (London)
drinkjapan.uk
For trade tickets, register here (accreditation required)

25-27 Sep: Kolkata Cocktail Weekend (Kolkata)
@30bestbarsin

Until 27 Sep: Barcelona Hotel Bar Week (Barcelona)
barcelonahotelbarweek.com

Until 27 Sep: Negroni Week (Global)
negroniweek.com

Until 18th Oct: Artesian x Seventy One Gin
Artesian Bar at The Langham (London)
@artesianbarlondon

Until 30 Sep: House of Negroni at Brooklands Bar, The Peninsula (London)
houseofnegroni.com

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nothing is new, not really. Things are simply reimagined, refined – given a reboot if you will, all with the aim of making our lives just that little bit easier. Or a tastier, as is the case with everything we’re talking about this week.

We start by looking at two hotels that have jooshed up their cocktail cabinets with own-label products – not novel granted, but purposely created to elevate the guest experience. We have a tasting of The Krasnapolsky Thai Blend Geneva from Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam, and explore the range of bespoke products on offer at Virtú at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi.

Eve Bar in London’s Covent Garden has done much the same by focusing on three classics: Champagne, Caviar and Cocktails – each of which they showcase in a fabulous selection of in-house products and an array of clever serves

And last but by no means least, on to this week’s guests: Maura Lawrence Milia and Liana Oster. We talk to them about how what was the old American Embassy has taken on a new lease of life as the luxury five-star Chancery Rosewood and their respective roles as the dream team heading up two very distinct spaces at Eagle Bar.

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

For the products featured in this episode, see websites below:

What we're drinking:

Apple Blossom

45ml calvados
45ml sweet vermouth
3 dashes Orange Bitters
Dehydrated apple or slice of apple to garnish (optional)

Method:
Stir ingredients over ice. Garnish with the dehydrated apple or apple slice and pour into chilled cocktail glass.

Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam
Eagle Bar Upper East at Chancery Rosewood
Eagle Bar Upper West at Chancery Rosewood
Eve Bar
Virtù at Four Seasons Otemachi

Diary dates:
3 Sep-30 Oct: A Man Under The Influence: 63 Days of Steven Soderbergh’s Selects at Everyman at The Whiteley
6-8 Sep: The Cambridge Global Series at the Cambridge Public House, Paris

Guest shifts at Cambridge Public House
(from 5.30-8.30pm)
6 Sep: True Laurel, Donna NYC and Smoke & Bitters
7 Sep: Bar Gabriel, Mius and Tres Monos
8 Sep: Mirror Bar, Alquímico and Angelita

Seminars at Bonnie Club
7 Sep: (from 12- 4pm)
On Education: Bar Gabriel, Mius and Tres Monos.
On Environment: True Laurel, Angelita and Smoke & Bitters,
On Community : Mirror Bar, Alquímico and Donna NYC.

14-20 Sep: Aperitivo Week
21-22 Sep: Tales on Tour at the Square Washington. For tickets and details

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s more than a dash of elegance in the mix in this episode, and we make no apologies for that. In fact, we positively applaud ourselves that we've made a feature of it.

We start by opening up a very distinctive bottle to unveil the unique taste of Bitter Cedrino – a very special Italian liqueur, blended from Mediterranean herbs with a touch of Sardinian sea water.
Then we head off to Ma/Na, an ever-so stylish, incredibly hot new spot in London’s Mayfair - to experience Japanese inspired precision, rhythm and heat in an exceptionally aesthetic space, serving equally exceptional cocktails.

We’ve also news of cocktail glassware innovations, which are as chic as they are functional. Hardly surprising when one is the creation of Giorgio Bargiani, of the Connaught Bar. While the other comes from Lorenzo Antinori of Bar Leone, with another two from bartenders creating barware in gorgeous ceramics.

And our guest is elegance personified, it's Minakshi Singh who shares her story from the challenges she faced as a young, female bartender in India 20 years ago, up to the present day, where she’s now one of the driving forces on the country’s bar scene, as the co-founder of five venues.

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

For the products featured in this episode, see websites below:

What we're drinking:

Lillet Rose Spritz

50ml Lillet Rose
100ml tonic water
Grapefruit wedge to garnish

Method:
Add the Lillet Rose to an ice-filled wine glass. Top with tonic water and gently combine. Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.

Amar The Maker
Ariane Fine Porcelain x Whyte Tales Barware
Bar/Giani x Nude
Bar Leone x BOBO Glassware
Bar Stormy
Bitter Cedrino
Ma/Na
Nine Lives
Sidecar
The Standard, London

Diary dates:
20th August, 5pm-9pm: Sprout Sessions x A for Athens, Templeton Garden, 1-15 Templeton Place, London SW5 9NB

1st September, 5.30pm-11pm: Equal Measures Charity Auction, Nancy's Cocktail Bar, Coelchurch House, Bridge Walk, London SE1 2SX
Tickets and more info available here
Online auction opens 23rd August

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.