The recent release by Top 500 Bars, of its list of the best bars in the world has also highlighted that the global cocktail bar industry is coming through its toughest of times with renewed dynamism.
The Top 500 Bars list featured a remarkable number of new entrants, showcasing the ever-evolving cocktail landscape. Also the 2024 list saw 129 cities represented, compared to 122 last year, highlighting the expansion and diversification of the global cocktail bar scene.
Anthony Poncier, the Founder of Top 500 Bars said: “The past few years have been a test of resilience for the bar industry.
“But now we’re witnessing an incredible resurgence of creativity and innovation.
“Our ranking captures this effervescence and highlights the most influential establishments on a global scale, that are shaping the global drinks scene.”
The scope of the cocktail bar evolution was highlighted in the Top 100 bars listed for 2024, which showed 30 per cent of different bars compared to last year.
Top 500 Bars said that these rising stars “represent diverse styles and approaches, each bringing unique flavours and experiences to the table”.
Alongside the new bars, the ranking also welcomed several new cities, highlighting the growing global reach of cocktail culture. These destinations include Malmö in Sweden, Auckland in New Zealand, Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, and Tainan in Taiwan underlines this trend towards internationalisation.
This internationalisation of bars was highlighted by the Top 100 bars coming from all over the world with Sydney joining Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi in Asia Pacific, New York and Miami in the US, Latin America represented by Mexico, Brazil and Colombia and obviously all around Europe with UK, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Norway.
If Europe was the most important continent (with 50 per cent of the Top 100) of the ceremony, especially represented by London, this should not hide that Asia is growing more and more with Singapore which is the second most important city in the whole ranking and Hong-Kong the fourth.
The Top 500 Bars says its list is compiled using data aggregated from over 2000 sources across the internet, and in more than 20 languages. The opinions of experts, journalists and influencers are used rankings, reviews on platforms, social media and search engines to complete the data set.
Top 500 Bars says its algorithm is “about finding a complementary ranking with existing selections to highlight the daily work of individuals who drive this industry”.