North America’s 50 Best — finally

THERE’s a list for the World’s 50 Best Bars, and even Asia’s 50 Best Bars, but 2022 is the year North America will get its first-ever 50 Best Bars list.

The list, North America’s 50 Best Bars (drawn up by William Reed Business Media and sponsored by Perrier) will be announced on June 7 via Facebook and YouTube, and a splashy event in New York City. While the list will of course include entries from the United States, contenders from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean will also be included.

“New York has been selected as the inaugural host city as it is undoubtedly one of the bar capitals of the world, giving rise to The World’s Best Bar on no fewer than three occasions: PDT was victorious in 2011, The Dead Rabbit in 2016, and Dante in 2019. As a hotbed of emerging bartending talent and ideas, it is the obvious choice to host the celebration in year one, although the event program has the potential to move to other North American cities in future years to shine the spotlight on more bastions of fine drinking,” said the 50 Best Website, where the announcement was posted.

“This launch marks a vital step in 50 Best’s continuous drive to put the spotlight on superb existing and up-and-coming bar talent, showcasing the subtlety, complexity and variety of bar craft from around the world. We believe that the opportunity right now is greater than ever, as the North American bar community emerges from the pandemic and looks for positive news stories around those venues that have survived — and now look to thrive — as the shackles enforced by Covid are removed and guests return to bars.”