The interactive map of the best cocktail bars in the world (nine are Spanish)

Winning a coveted Spirited Award has put hundreds of cocktail bars around the world on the map. Now Tales of the Cocktail, the 19-year-old New Orleans-based organization that established the awards in 2007, has brought the metaphor to life by building the definitive interactive map of the world's best bars.

The Spirited Awards, which are held annually every summer, have been the usual closing ceremony of the Tales of the Cocktail conference, which has taken place in New Orleans (United States). Among the prestigious categories recognized over the years are some such as the best international cocktail bar or the best cocktail menu in the world, which have served to propel their winners to success.

“After winning the Best Bar in the World award at the Spirited Awards in 2019, we immediately saw an increase in business,” says Linden Pride, owner of Dante, a bar in Greenwich Village, New York, USA. renowned for its Negronis. “There was a crowd outside the restaurant during rush hour. It was humbling to receive such recognition from our peers and definitely helped open the doors to new business opportunities and partnerships within the industry."

This year's Spirited Awards will take place on September 23 with new categories that recognize how difficult the past year has been for the hospitality industry. To celebrate 15 years of the Spirited Awards, Tales of the Cocktail has now made it easy for spirits enthusiasts to get up close to all the award-winning bars - and finalists - via their easy-to-use map.

“There was no interactive tool to help consumers identify and visit the best bars in the world. And we wanted to create one that would highlight the best in the industry,” says Eileen Wayner, newly appointed CEO of Tales of the Cocktail. “And when we reflected back on fifteen years of the Spirited Awards, we realized we had a fabric of over 900 bars, so we were excited to offer consumers and the industry an interactive way to discover bars and plan trips. ».

Whether searching for the perfect Manhattan in Manhattan, a fantastic French 75 in Paris or a classic Singapore Sling in the island nation for which it is named, TOTC's new custom tool has you covered.

“We've been working on this for about a year now,” Wayner continues. “We knew this was an anniversary year for us and so we wanted to do something to recognize that legacy. We extracted the data, checked and compared, and determined which bars were still open. And we make sure to investigate the correct websites or Instagram handles or addresses. We've been collecting this data for fifteen years, so we wanted to present it in a way that was a little more user-friendly than a spreadsheet marathon.”

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The world map of cocktail bars is divided into regions, allowing users to click on a country, city or individual bar and see all the accolades it has received over the years. For example, if you want to see which establishments have won the award for Best High Volume International Cocktail Bar, you'll be offered a full list. And TOTC will update you regularly as news about closures and reopenings comes in.

Due to the pandemic, of course, many Spirited Award winners have closed, but the foundation made the decision to keep them all on the map. "Covid has had a devastating impact on our industry and we must acknowledge the tremendous devastation," says Wayner. “Part of our rationale for keeping the bars closed there is as a recognition to the communities. We wanted to keep those bars on the map because they were amazing, they were founded by talent, and they were important to the industry. It is an important part of the legacy of their local communities.”

Of the 932 bars that have been honored with Spirited Awards since 2007, more than 80 are permanently closed. And of the thirteen top winners, establishments that have won World's Best Cocktail Bar or World's Best Bar, three are temporarily closed (Drink in Boston, Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco and The American Bar at the Savoy in London).

Two major award winners have also closed permanently: Milk & Honey, Sascha Petraske's influential New York speakeasy, which closed several years ago. And another Manhattan institution, Pegu Club, founded by Audrey Saunders and revered as a breeding ground for bartending talent (such as PDT founder Jim Meehan and Violet Hour's Toby Maloney), closed after nearly 15 years in 2020. due to covid-19.

But there are still over 800 world-class bars to choose from, and alpha cities are a good place to look. London has 73 locations on the map and Manhattan is right behind with 72 (if you factor in Brooklyn's bars on the map, New York would be number one). Two California cities are as follows: Los Angeles has 38 cocktail bars nominated and San Francisco has 32.

In Spain there are nine in total. Madrid has two: the 1862 Dry Bar, at 27 Calle del Pez; and Salmon Guru at number 21 Echegaray street. For its part, Barcelona has seven: the Dry Martini, at 162 Calle Aribau; Boadas Cocktails, at 1 Tallers Street; Two Schmucks, at 52 Joaquín Costa Street; Boutique Bar at Ohla Hotel, at 49 Vía Laietana; Punch Room of The Barcelona EDITION, at 14 Avenida Francesc Cambó; Dr. Stravinsky, at number 5 Mirallers street; and Paradiso, at number 4 Rera Palau street.

Wherever the spirits take you to drink, there's a world of possibilities, and now an easy way to find them.