Drinks International has announced the appointment of Shay Waterworth as its new editor to replace the outgoing Martin Green from April onwards.

The Scandinavian chic approach has had a huge influence on the modern bar scene. Thin glassware, no garnishes and plain interiors have become the norm for a lot of top bars around the world and to fit this aesthetic many have reduced their spirits offering.

London Cocktail Week founders Siobhan Payne and Hannah Sharman-Cox, alongside Global Bartending’s Dan Dove, have announced the launch of the Pinnacle Guide, a new one, two and three ‘Pin’ recognition system for the world’s best bars.

Mexico City’s Hanky Panky has announced a takeover series that will see the bar play host to some of the world’s most celebrated bars before embarking on their own world tour.

The World’s 50 Best Bars reflects travel restrictions and spotlights neighbourhood bars, says Nick Strangeway.

In the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars list, Athens claimed as many bars as Tokyo and Milan, and more than Paris, Madrid, and Seoul. For anyone who has kept an eye on global bar lists, this will come as no surprise, but the Greek capital’s rapid ascension to hospitality powerhouse has been remarkable.

There wasn’t a huge amount to celebrate last year, but it doesn’t take much of an occasion for champagne corks to fly in the world’s best bars – almost 90% of our bars stock the French sparkler. Three-quarters have two champers and two-thirds have three or more.

High-end bars rarely allocate bar-top space to draught systems, meaning the bestselling list is a battle of the bottles.

Cocktail Bitters are evocative of the Golden Age of cocktails – of brown and stirred-down drinks, braces, waistcoats and fine moustaches which went on to make an implausible comeback in the early 21st century.

Believe it or not, cachaça is the third most popular spirit in the world. In its homeland of Brazil, there are some 5,000 registered brands, with many more unregistered, and 40,000 distilleries.

The glow up that the tequila category has undergone in recent years must be the envy of the wider spirit world.

Barsol reigns supreme in the pisco category. The Peruvian brand took a whopping 31% of the first-choice votes and 23% of the top-three pours in the World’s Best Bars.

No brand has had a more dominant performance over the 13 years of the Brands Report than that of Hennessy.

Just as Ketel One was on the precipice of completing the perfect 10, in swoops Grey Goose to snatch the vodka crown.

If you had to bet your house on one brand topping a list, it would probably be Jameson in the Irish whiskey category.

Topping gin for seven of the last nine years, Tanqueray is once again king gin. The Diageo brand, famed for its juniper forward Tanqueray London Dry and Tanqueray No. Ten gins, was the house choice in 25% of the world’s best bars.

The usual crowd have populated this year’s bestselling rum list. In fact, nine of the 10 brands remain a constant, with the first seven in the ranking identical to the previous year. 

Brands Report editor Hamish Smith explains the methodolgy behind the report's polling system.

Norway has banned alcohol sales in bars and restaurants for a month in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Drinks International's Global Bar Edition, which includes the official guide to The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021, has launched in digital form.

COP26 littered newspaper headlines throughout November. The focus was supposed to be on resolving the climate change crisis, but predictably turned into a game of political chess. In the absence of any authoritative leadership, our industry needs to set an example.

Lynnette Marrero, the co-founder of Speed Rack and bar manager of Llama Inn, New York, has been named the winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2021 at The World’s 50 Best Bars.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has released the shortlist for its inaugural Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu award.

Famed Singapore bar 28HongKong Street will host a series of celebrations throughout the year to commemorate a decade of operation.

Taking over the reigns of The World’s 50 Best Bars would be a daunting experience for many, but not French duo Pom Modeste and Juliette Larrouy.

London Cocktail Week has once again been extended to the whole month of October for 2021 and the full trade schedule has been released.

Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour swapped bar teams with Barcelona’s Two Schmucks to host guest shifts in their respected venues.

DoorDash is taking on Uber and Instacart by launching an alcohol delivery service in the United States, Canada and Australia.

The sheer scale of China’s population and geography is almost incomprehensible to the western world and second-tier city Shenzhen, located in the south east, is being bookmarked as a potential future giant of the bar trade.

Milan bar Officina is set to host Officina Cocktail Week with bartenders from some of the World’s Best Bars set to attend the inaugural event.

Wristbands are now available for London Cocktail Week 2021 which will once again be extended for the entire month of October.

The recent launch of Martinez members’ cocktail bar on Soho’s Greek Street struck a chord with me.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has created the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award which will be announced at the live awards ceremony on 7 December at London’s Roundhouse.

Flor de Caña has launched a global initiative called ‘Zero Waste Month’ for July which invites eco-conscious bars, restaurants and consumers to reduce food waste.

For the first time, London Cocktail Week has announced a one-off Warm-Up festival, taking place 05-11 July 2021.

Coa of Hong Kong has been crowned Asia’s Best Bar in 2021 following a virtual awards ceremony of Asia’s 50 Best Bars on Thursday, 6 May.

While the pandemic has been felt universally, the unevenness of lockdown restrictions has lent wildly different experiences to bar owners and cocktail drinkers around the globe.

Nick Strangeway on how bars must adapt to a new and improved hospitality sector as we emerge from lockdown.

MO BAR at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore has been awarded the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award from the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy.

London Cocktail Week has announced that the 2021 festival will once again be extended to the full month of October and not host The Cocktail Village.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has released a statement praising the ‘great starting place’ created by the senate’s passage of a $28.6bn relief package for hospitality.

The sixth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will be announced in a virtual ceremony on 6 May.

In May 2020, when the lockdown was still at its strictest in India, Sidecar bar in New Delhi received the good news that it was the only Indian bar to have made it to the coveted 50 Best Bars in Asia list.

Ibiza-based mobile bar company Southside Bars is now offering online cocktail masterclasses.

Restaurants and bars in the US added 192,000 jobs in October, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni has won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2020 after building up an iconic reputation among his peers.

Galaxy Bar in Dubai has been named this year’s Campari One to Watch by the World’s 50 Best Bars.

A private barrel selection bottling of Michter’s 10 Year Old bourbon has sold for a record £166,000 ($209,462) at a charity auction in London.