The list is expertly compiled by the bar industry. Hundreds of bartenders, managers and drinks experts from across the UK have been polled to curate the list, which has something in it for every type of drinker.
The awards also include Bar Team of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, One to Watch, and Sustainability Award.
UK recognition
Chris Lowe, publisher of Top 50 Cocktail Bars, said: “We have created Top 50 Cocktail Bars to help people find the best bars, which are often hidden, around the UK.
“London still has more bars on the list than any other city, but having almost all of the UK’s major cities represented showcases the explosion of great venues on the cocktail scene.”
Alphabetical list
The cocktail bars in the running for the Top 50, alphabetically, are:
- American Bar, London
- Artesian, London
- Bar Termini, London
- Below Stairs, Leeds
- Berry & Rye, Liverpool
- Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh
- Callooh Callay, London
- Couch, Birmingham
- Coupette, London
- Disrepute, Carnaby
- Filthy XIII, Bristol
- Gungho!, Brighton
- Hacha, London
- Happiness Forgets, London
- Hedonist, Leeds
- Hey Palu, Edinburgh
- Homeboy Bar, London
- Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Leeds
- L’Atelier du Vin, Brighton
- Lab 22, Cardiff
- Laki Kane, London
- Little Mercies, London
- Lucky Liquor co., Edinburgh
- Lyaness, London
- Mother Mercy, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Nightjar, London
- Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
- Opium Cocktails & Dim Sum Parlour, London
- Oriole, London
- Panda and Sons, Edinburgh
- Pennyroyal, Cardiff
- Present Company, Liverpool
- Public, Sheffield
- Publiq., London
- Roland’s Leeds, Leeds
- Satan’s Whiskers, London
- Scarfes Bar, London
- SCHOFIELD’S BAR, Manchester
- Speak in Code, Manchester
- Swift Soho, London
- Tayēr + Elementary, London
- The Absent Ear, Glasgow
- The Cocktail Trading Co, London
- The Connaught Bar, London
- The Hideout, Bath
- The Milk Thistle, Bristol
- The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
- Three Sheets, London
- Trailer Happiness, London
- A bar with shapes for a name, London
Top 50 Cocktail Bars is sponsored by associate partner Proximo Spirits with its brands 1800 Tequila and Kraken Rum, as well as brand partners Bibendum including Tito's Vodka, The Italian Seltzer Company and Disaronno with Tia Maria.