WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 2011 BARS 50 BEST WORLD’S 2011 ISSUE 3 SUPPLEMENT SPONSOR DRINKS INTERNATIONAL facebook.com/stoli AS VOTED BY BAR INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS DRINK WITH CARE. STOLICHNAYA® Premium vodka. 40% Alc./Vol. 100% Grain Neutral Spirits. © 2010 Best Bars cover 2011.indd 4 27/10/11 10:05:45 47769_Stoli_Ad_Tumbler_700ml_230x285.indd 1 25.10.11 14:05 How we did it. The mechanics of the Drinks 2011 poll INTERNATIONAL 5 November 2011 www.drinksint.com Who’s top of the pops this year? The number one bar is profiled by Tom Lucy Britner Sandham Supplement Editor SuppLEMEnT EdITor 7 LuCy BrITnEr +44 (0)1293 590046 Lucy Britner looks at a handful of bars [email protected] that nearly made the list ConTrIBuTorS campEr EngLISh 49 The best ToM SAndhAM Camper English profiles the 2011 voting MAnAgIng EdITor bar none Christian DavIS panel – The Academy +44 (0)1293 590047 [email protected] 50 elcome to the World’s 50 produCTIon EdITor Best Bars 2011. This year, JAq BAyLES Co-founder of bar number one Jim +44 (0)1293 590048 Meehan shares the key to his success voters have walked through [email protected] 56 with Lucy Britner W phone booths and wardrobes, CoMMErCIAL dIrECTor rung bells on unmarked doors and called Justin SMITh to book appointments in order to file their +44 (0)1293 590041 [email protected] nominations for the World’s 50 Best Bars. The list seems to pay homage to the speakeasy- SEnIor accounT MAnAgEr CArMEn poEL FrAnCESCh style bar, which goes hand-in-hand with +44 (0)1293 590042 knowing how to create the classics, [email protected] unearth old recipes and recreate forgotten SEnIor accounT MAnAgEr ingredients. rogEr BETríu +44 (0)1293 590043 At the same time, voters are romanced [email protected] by exquisitely decorated hotel bars that puBLIShEr serve beautifully prepared drinks, made by ruSSELL dodd immaculately turned-out bartenders. +44 (0)1293 590052 The wealth of diversity and expertise in the bar scene makes this one of the most drinks International exciting lists to date. We changed the way Zurich house East park we organised the voting for 2011 (see page Crawley 5) and I hope our Academy of experts will West Sussex rh10 6AS vote again for many years. united Kingdom I struggled at first with the word TEL: +44 (0)1293 590040 ‘academy’, but the definition is ‘a society of FAx: +44 (0) 1293 474010 learned persons’ or ‘a body of established EMAIL AddrESSES ArE: [email protected] opinion widely accepted as authoritative in a particular field’. So it’s settled, Academy it is. And thanks to everyone who voted. For those who were too busy or who we didn’t manage to catch, there’s always next year. Supplement sponsor THE WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 03 Shutterstock/Orla How we did it ast year we commissioned a research of this nature. Each voter was asked to elect the what the industry thinks, all individual votes will company to poll 700 bartenders from around best three bars in the world, in their professional remain anonymous. In other words, we will publish a the world, but we felt we were missing out opinion. They were not allowed to vote for their list of bars and a list of voters but we will not disclose Lon the opinions of some of the top bar brass own establishments, they had to have recently who voted for which venue. This way, we aim to – so we have changed our method. visited the venues and the establishments must still ensure the longevity of this survey and its growth for This year, the first stage of the voting process be trading. years to come. was to create a list of the most influential and The academy includes a further 100 bar We think the quality of judges means this year’s knowledgeable people in the global bar industry. professionals from bars around the world, who survey is the most definitive we have published to This academy features leading bartenders, brand featured in last year’s list or voted in last year’s poll. date. If you would like to be considered for next ambassadors, consultants and authors including Countries included Australia, Russia, United Arab year’s academy, drop us an email at lucy.britner@ the likes of Salvatore Calabrese, Dale de Groff, Emirates, Brazil and the Nordic nations. drinksint.com. Gary Regan, David Wondrich, Phil Duff, Dre Masso, The aim of this was to get a wide geographical The World’s 50 Best Bars is intended to celebrate Tomas Estes, Ann Tuennerman (Tales of the Cocktail spread and attempt to paint a picture of how the bar the work that goes into making this industry so great founder), Hidetsugu Ueno and Ian Burrell. You can scene perceives itself. All answers have been collated and recognising those at the top of their game. read more about the voters on pages 50-54. to form a broad consensus, which is the list as you The survey was conducted by award-winning US We believe our academy is the most authoritative see it. drinks writer Camper English and Drinks International group of industry leaders ever assembled for a project In order to create a list that is representative of deputy editor Lucy Britner. NOVEMBER 2011 DRINKSINT.COM THE WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 05 OVERALL WINNER 2011 PDT Of the pretenders to the stuffed animal throne, PDT 113 St Marks Place Noah Kalina New York, US has a bear on the wall, and that takes some beating pdtnyc.com DT stands for Please Don’t Tell, but the instant acclaim from trade and consumers, This part of New York was once the domain of the he has made his own mark with some sumptuous combined with the procession of awards beatniks and a draw for students after cheap rents. seasonal selections. Pthis bar has earned over its years, makes it Not quite the state of play these days, with the area Meehan is a global jetsetter these days, a pretty difficult to shut up about it. massively gentrified and flipping expensive, but Crif missionary on a drinks mission, not to mention Jim Meehan is the man behind the project and, retains some of the more rustic charm. author of his own cocktail book, so his status at the while he isn’t one to necessarily go for the ‘speakeasy’ PDT is a bit more upmarket of course – it’s a bar is one of overseeing. But he selects his team with tag, it’s easy to see why some place it in this genre. cocktail bar after all – but thanks to the hotdog shop care and his stamp is still on the menu. For a start it’s very well hidden, something that annex it promises an unaffected atmosphere. While It’s a team effort to take the number one spot of proved a prerequisite for anyone selling booze during all the hallmarks of the modern speakeasy – a modest course, and to earn it in this poll a bar has to tick a lot Prohibition. 43 seats, sultry lighting, cozy leather booths, exposed of boxes beyond that. Perhaps most important is a At PDT the novel twist on finding it (in case no one brickwork and low hum – remain, you can eat your consistent recognition from a wide range of industry has told you) is that you enter via a phone booth in dog at the bar and that’s fairly cool. players – something that can only be achieved if a Crif Dogs hotdog shop. The taxidermy is also worth a mention. There are bar has enjoyed some longevity. Crif is an awesome little place in its own right and plenty of pretenders to the stuffed-animal throne PDT has only been open since 2007 but bar years stakes a claim as offering New York’s number one but PDT has a bear on the wall, and that takes some are like those of a dog and this remains a decent stint, ‘wiener’. That’s not an accolade for this magazine to beating. particularly considering the economic climate. contest. There’s undoubtedly a magazine out there Drinks are worthy of recognition. Jim Meehan Add to this the fact that it has been picking up that could, probably one entirely devoted to wieners directs here and he knows his onions having worked awards since its doors open and you have long-term and called Sausage Monthly. Either way, the hot under the über-talented Audrey Saunders and Julie success. dogs here fire flavours into your chops and are well Reiner. This is testament to the excellent team and the worth a taste, while décor, staff and arcade machine His stints at Pegu and the Gramercy Tavern have fact that they make a tasty Manhattan as well as the combine to offer a bit of East Village hip. obviously influenced his path to enlightenment but chili sauce on the hotdog. 50 Noah Kalina NOVEMBER 2011 DRINKSINT.COM THE WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 07 50 2 connaught bar the connaught, carlos Place the drinks here are lovingly cared for and the Mayfair, London, uK garnishes and glassware are exquisite the-connaught.co.uk he accolades speak for themselves when it at the Savoy is an iconic venue, no doubt, but the to the retirement home. So it’d be a bit daft if there comes to this hotel bar. Its former senior interior decorators played it very straight there. Had wasn’t one here.