Barcelona bar Sips named best bar in the world followed by New York and Mexico

If you’re looking for not just a good bar but a great bar, the best in the entire world, be prepared to dip into your savings.

Kiwis will have to shell out around $2500 to get a drink at the world’s best bar and that’s even before you’ve paid for the drink itself.

Even to get a cocktail at one of the top 100 bars in the world will cost you at least a few hundred dollars, for a similar reason: you’ll have to fly there.

Not a single bar in New Zealand made this year’s list of The World’s 50 Best Bar awards, which has been extended to include the top 100.

Sips, in Barcelona, took out the top spot. So, if you’re keen to try it, you’ll need to cough up $2500 to fly there, round trip.

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This is the second year Barcelona has been the home of the world’s best bar. In 2022, the award went to Paradiso but this year Sips claimed the gold medal, despite opening only in 2021.

Second place went to Double Chicken Please in New York and third place went to Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City.

Bars in London, Paris, Cartagena (in Colombia) and Oslo rounded out the top 10.

Australia showed up in 15th and 23rd place thanks to Sydney’s Maybe Sammy and Caretaker’s Cottage in Melbourne.

So, where did New Zealand fall in the top 50?

Well, we didn’t. What about the top 100? Nope, not there either.

Unlike many “hot take” lists, these awards are thoroughly researched and ranked by The World’s 50 Best Bars Academy, which comprises more than 680 experts in the drinks industry. Judges include cocktail specialists, esteemed bartenders and specialist consultants.

New Zealand’s failure to make the cut is not unprecedented: it didn’t make the list in 2022 either.

Barcelona is a long way to go, even for the world’s best bar, and while Sydney and Melbourne are a little more accessible, there are still some top-notch spots to grab a drink in Aotearoa.

With their finger firmly on the pulse of what’s hot, the team at Viva have done Kiwis a favour and rounded up a comprehensive list of chic wine bars where the vibes are immaculate and the food is even better.

For a celebrity take, check out Six60 bassist Chris Mac’s suggestions. Not only is Mac a talented musician but a bar owner himself, making him an expert on where to go. From Mangawhai Tavern to Pomeroy’s in Christchurch, he reveals his favourite Kiwi haunts.

With summer around the corner, it’s also time to check out the North Island’s best outdoor and rooftop bars where you can make the most of the long, warm evenings.