This year we have five Japanese, four Canadian and a Taiwanese – the whiskies of the likes of India, Australia and Scandinavia have yet to make inroads in the global bar channel. This category (in its present form) has also only ever produced one winner. Nikka – the stable of which includes eponymous brands, such as Nikka from the Barrel, and sub-brands Yoichi, Miyagikyo and Taketsuru – has…

Hennessy is impossible to dislodge from its thrown – it is the only brand in the history of this report to top its table 11 years in a row. At more than 7m 9-litre cases globally, this brand makes up 40% of the cognac sales and is almost three times the size of the next biggest brand. And though the bar world has a…

Yet when it comes to high-end bars, these are the states that dominate, Kentucky in particular. The Bluegrass state’s famous old brands carry trust in international circles and are mostly part of a big-group portfolio offering. Bulleit, having slipped to second last year, makes it four wins in five years, underlining its consistency. With a high rye content in its bourbon – something of a…

Johnnie Walker is the big beast of these parts- it’s topped our poll 10 of the past 11 times. As the biggest-selling scotch globally and backed by Diageo’s distribution and bar-world contacts, it’s no surprise this grand old brand is dominating. In about a quarter of bars, Johnnie Walker was found to be the house pour, and a top-three choice in a third. So while Walker…

More than any other brand, Jameson is likely to be one of them. In half of the bars polled, it was found to be the house Irish whiskey and in 80% it was among the top-three sellers. We shouldn’t be surprised: Jameson makes up a two-thirds share of its category. And, while it has classic status, the Irish Distillers/Pernod Ricard brand keeps things interesting with…

The two brands have almost identical records over the 11 years we’ve been polling elite bars, making it almost impossible to say one is dominant over the other in this channel. But this year, Tanqueray was found to be the top seller in more than a quarter of bars polled, and a top-three seller in two thirds. The brand has its standard edition for volume, Tanqueray Ten for…

We’re interested in branded products, but also the classic cocktails that elite bartenders are making and the spirits categories they make them with. Our rankings are the result of a poll of more than 100 global bars. The field is narrow for good reason – the object is not to gain a wide and vague insight but to target the world’s best bars. Which are…

The multi-distillery colossus Bacardi, led by its Superior expression, has taken top spot this year, with just under a third of our polled bars making it their house rum. In more than half the sample, Bacardi was on the podium. Though the Mojito and – more importantly at this end of the pyramid – the Daiquiri call for light rum, Bacardi’s new expression Cuatro has found…

In an industry whose stars regularly jump from job to job, whose bars open and close with frequency, and whose creativity seemingly knows no bounds, the anchoring role of the classic cocktail has never been so important. These routine serves are the bar industry’s foundations – the thread that connects modern bartenders to their occupational ancestors, and to each other around the world. Wherever you…

The Bacardi Legacy UK champion – who has worked at some of Bristol’s most acclaimed bars, including Filthy XIII, Red Light and Milk Thistle – will join the Hoxton basement bar as general manager in February, replacing Gian Jesus who leaves for New York. Bailey told DI: “Happiness Forgets has been my favourite bar in the world since the moment I walked in. When I…