For the 16th year in a row, The 50 Best Bars in the World Announced on October 22 Handshake Speakeasy from Mexico City clinched the coveted top spot. Celebrating the mixology world’s best movers and shakers, the event also spotlighted some of Madrid’s best bars during a cocktail-filled week.

Madrid: Bar and Restaurant Mecca

This year’s glitzy gala was held in Madrid, famous for its exciting food and drink culture and amazing nightlife; brought bartenders, cocktail enthusiasts and thousands of drinking media to Spain’s capital.

“Spain has been well placed on our list since the first edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2009,” said Emma Sleight, Content Manager at 50 Best, adding that two Barcelona bars have seen Sips triumph in recent years. and Paradiso, each holding the top spot in consecutive editions.

“Madrid has long been famous for its outstanding hospitality and incredible gastronomic scene,” Sleight continued. “It felt like a great place to celebrate the achievements of those pioneering the beverage industry around the world and bring the global community to another home of cocktails and cuisine.”

And The Best Cocktail Bar…

The winner of this whole affair, North America’s Best Bar and the world’s number one bar of 2024, can be found across the pond in Mexico City. Handshake Speakeasy is a two-story Gatsby-like venue located in the trendy Colonia Juárez neighborhood. The innovative drinks are run by a multinational team led by Dutch-born head bartender Eric Van Beek, whose preparations sometimes take up to 48 hours and often feature unexpected textures.

As for the rest of the list, this year’s most praised cities were London and New York City; both finished in the top 50 with an impressive four bars. Mexico City and Buenos Aires each have three bars, while Barcelona (home to last year’s number One, Sips) is the only city in the top 10 to have two bars.

The Best Bars in Madrid

Although Madrid may be less famous as a cocktail destination, Sleight argues that the city’s drinks scene has plenty to match.

“Many of Madrid’s bars have a beautiful and rich history, and it’s fascinating to see bars of different ages coming together in the same spaces,” said Sleight, arguing that Madrid is particularly interesting because of its mix of bars located in historic buildings with beautiful architecture. interiors, as well as a number of innovative new high-tech bars.

“It’s a testament to the culture of the city and its approach to drinking that for me, this tradition of celebrating and honoring the old while welcoming the new is what defines the scene in Madrid,” he concluded.

Here are some of Madrid’s best drinks and where to try them on your next trip to Spain.

Salmon Guru

Diego Cabrera, owner of Salmón Guru, is known to say, “Only dead fish go with the current.” He likes to compare his bar to a salmon swimming upstream. Madrid’s highest-rated bar (currently ranked 23rd on the World’s 50 Best Bars list), it’s known for big personalities and even bigger flavours.

What to order: Salmón Guru is a loud, bright, high-energy bar, and its drinks are as unapologetically cheerful as the venue itself. Pantera Jackson is a milk cocktail of 1615 Italia Pisco with mango juice and fish sauce.

angelita

Ranked #65 in the world, Angelita is part street-level wine bar, part secret basement cocktail lounge. It’s also well stocked, with over 1,000 different wines and spirits adorning its colorful shelves. The cocktail menu uses lots of homegrown ingredients, resulting in delightfully simple drinks, often served with interesting glassware.

What to order: Bloody Angelita is a great example of Angelita’s love for local and homemade ingredients, blending celery-infused vodka, spicy sherry, and homegrown tomato juice.

Long live Madrid

Open since 1856, this bar-restaurant in the Las Letras neighborhood has been attracting enthusiasts since before your great-grandmother was born. Today, this historic gin joint with its Roaring Twenties music and retro-chic interior is run by Argentine mixologist Diego Cabera, famous for Salmón Guru.

What to order: Nowhere are gin-based classics better than at Viva Madrid. Try Media Combinación, a contemporary take on a gin-and-sweet vermouth-based Spanish recipe from the 1920s that was once allegedly sipped here by the likes of Salvador Dalí and Ava Gardener.

1862 Dry Stick

If you think the year this bar was founded was 1862, think again. In fact, this is a reference to the year of publication of the first cocktail book written by Jerry Thomas. This beautiful bar in the artistic Malasaña district is expertly managed by owner Alberto Martínez, who lets his significant collection of spirits do the talking.

What to order: Specialty drinks like the Cantaloupe Gibson, made with pisco, melon, manzanilla sherry, grapefruit bitters and rose water, pack a boozy but deliciously refreshing punch.

Someone to Watch: Devil Cut

Devil’s Cut, designed by mixology master Shingo Gokan, who was recently listed as one of the most influential names in the industry in Drinks International’s Bar World 100 list, is a brand new cocktail venue in Las Letras. The new bar is about an angel transforming into a devil (inspired by Gokan’s life and his professional journey from Angel’s Share in New York to bars in Asia and now Europe). In addition to Gokan’s best-selling products over the years, the bar also serves new Devil’s Signatures, created especially for Madrid and inspired by his long-standing passion for sherry.

Numerous Sherry and Vermouth Bars

To experience the best bars in Madrid at their most authentic, look no further than the countless vermuterias (vermouth bars), tabernas and tascas (taverns) serving wine, beer, sherry, vermouth and, of course, tapas. These range from popular hot spots (like Hermanos Vinagre, Tabanco La Santa, La Hora del Vermut) to centuries-old drinking dens (including La Venencia, Bodegas Ricla, Casa Camacho, Casa Paco), and they all promise fun. Having a good time Madrid style.