London triumphs as bar capital

LONDON has cemented its position as the cocktail capital of the world, taking the largest number of spots on The World's 50 Best Bars list including the top spot for American Bar at the Savoy Hotel.

At the 2017 edition of the gala event, which took place at London's Southwark Central Thursday night, top mixologists from speakeasies, local watering holes and hotel bars gathered to hear where they came in on the ranking which aims to highlight the best bars around the world.

This year, The Savoy Hotel's American Bar in London knocked last year's winner The Dead Rabbit in New York off its perch to nab bragging rights to the title of world's best bar 2017.

With a legacy that stretches back more than a century, the storied hotel bar was one of the first to introduce Londoners to the fashionable American-style “cocktail” drink which gained popularity in the late 19th century with the opening of transatlantic travel.

Erik Lorincz is the bar's 11th bartender and no stranger to accolades with titles like the Best International Bartender 2011 at another major industry event, Tales of the Cocktail.

The current drinks menu “Coast to Coast” is a liquid journey across Britain, from South to North, developed to evoke the island's verdant landscape, folklore, history and characters.

Cocktails are inspired by the Garden of England in Kent, the Sherwood Forest, London's Art Deco era, The Pennies, Castle Rock and Edinburgh Castle.

But liquid poetry doesn't come cheap.

The Arthur's Seat, for instance, is a £30 (RM165) cocktail made with Royal Brackla 16-year-old malt whisky, wild honeysuckle Cocchi Rosa aperitif, wine, honey water, raspberry vinegar and blossom bitters.

Regionally, Europe landed 19 addresses on the top 50 list, while the United States nabbed 13 spots and Asia 12.

The highest ranked bar for North America is New York's The NoMad (No.3), while Singapore's Manhattan bar is the best bar in Asia.

Melbourne's Black Pearl was named Best Bar in Australasia; Licoreria Limantour in Mexico City the best bar in Latin America, and Tel Aviv's Imperial Craft the best in the Middle East and Africa.

This year's ranking includes addresses from 24 cities in 19 countries, and is based on the votes of 500 Academy members from 55 countries.

Here are the top 10 bars 2017

1. American Bar, London

2. Dandelyan, London

3. The NoMad Hotel, New York

4. Connaught Bar, London

5. Dead Rabbit, New York

6. The Clumsies, Athens

7. Manhattan Bar, Singapore

8. Attaboy, New York

9. Bar Termini, London

10. Speak Low, Shanghai – AFP Relaxnews

The Dandelyan in London is No.2 on the global watering holes list 2017.

Bartender Erik Lorincz at The American Bar, Savoy Hotel, London, the world’s best bar. — Photos: AFP

g Thi Bich Thien, 16, helping her mother in the family’s rice paper business.

er members of her family make rice paper at their home in Thuan Hung Village.

paper being rolled onto a mat for drying in Thuan Hung Village.

The Kentish Cob cocktail (left) and the Sapphire Jubilee Fizz at The American Bar, at the Savoy in London.

Manhattan Bar at the Regent Singapore is Asia’s best. — Filepic