The World’s 50 Best Bars list has just announced its winners for 2022, and the results are a doozy.

Since the list was first created in 2009, it has established itself as a who’s-who of the globe’s ritziest, most inventive and off-kilter bars, speakeasies and saloons. Think, “entrance disguised as a freezer door inside a pastrami restaurant,” (that honor would go to this year’s #1 pick).

These bars aren’t just physical locations, but institutions. The inventive cocktails created at these spots have been canonized the world over, reprinted in countless cookbooks and re-created at many a would-be up-and-coming bar.

We thought we’d look at the top five bars from this year’s list, and highlight a signature tequila or mezcal cocktail created at each.

These are attention-stealing drinks worth traveling the world for. But be warned that these are not the most home-mixology-friendly recipes. Given the mystique surrounding these bars, the exact proportions or techniques behind some of these drinks aren’t even public knowledge.

Enjoy the ride.

#5. Little Red Door, Paris.  Cocktail – Pelo del Perro

This speakeasy-style spot in the Paris district of Marais is, unsurprisingly, located behind an inconspicuous little red door.

Cocktails on their menu are named in honor of architectural movements, such as the whiskey, cognac and fermented dates centered Art Deco, or the gin, nutmeg and champagne mixing Modernismo.

Today, we’ll be highlighting the Pelo del Perro, or, hair of dog in English (not an architecture movement that we’re familiar with).

The drink combines mezcal, whiskey and melon cream with various dashes of bitters. This is the signature cocktail of Louis Lebaillif, a Little Red Door bartender originally from Champagne, France. You can see him make the cocktail himself here.

Ingredients

• 25 ml Bruxo Mezcal
• 25 ml Cap Corse Mattei
• 25 ml Merlot Melon Cream
• 2 dashes of Laphroaig Whiskey
• 1 dash Absinthe
• 1 dash Saline solution

#4. Licorerìa Limantour, Mexico City. Cocktail – Margarita Pastor

Licorería Limantour is certainly one of the more laid-back locations on this list. Its cozy appearance serves to elevate its spectacular menu of drinks, created and served by a roster of six international bartenders from Julio Cabrera of Miami to Dario Schiavoni of Dubai.

In 2022, Limantour was the top-ranking bar in North America. Given that they hail from Mexico, it goes without saying that they have one wild tequila cocktail.

One of their most famous drinks, the margarita pastor, is brought to us by bar manager Jose Luis Leon. This is a relatively straightforward take on the margarita with one glaring exception – the inclusion of taco mix. Albeit a particularly gourmet taco mix featuring the likes of coriander, agave syrup and chilies. You can see Leon make the cocktail for himself here.

Ingredients

• 50 ml Tequila Silver
• 15 ml Triple Sec
• 25 ml Lime Juice
• 50 ml Taco Mix (Pineapple Juice, Agave Syrup, Coriander, Mint, Basil and Chile)

#3. Sips, Barcelona. Cocktail – Frida Kahlo

Sips is a modern bar with modern methods. Whether it’s their Brazilian Caipirinha made using a masticator or their Daquiri Heliodora made using a vintage hand-turned shaved ice machine, Sips has a flair for the visually and technically inventive.

Their tequila cocktail, the Frida Kahlo, goes all-in on ingenuity. Within this bright green mixed drink are earthy tomatillos and nixta, an ancestral Mexican corn liqueur. This is a drink that truly goes all-in on greenery.

Ingredients

• Tequila Curado
• Nixta (Corn Liqueur)
• Fino Sherry
• Tomatillo

#2.  Tayēr + Elementary, London. Cocktail – Vetiver

Tayēr + Elementary blends rare ingredients with a balance of modern techniques and traditional methods. Though Tayēr goes to painstaking lengths to include non-traditional flourishes like whey and palo santo wood, there is always an attempt to keep things grounded.

In an interview with Liquor.com, co-owners Monica Berg and Alex Kratena remarked, “We always ask ourselves, Would we serve it to our moms?… If the answer is no, you have to rethink it.”

Their vermouth and mezcal cocktail simply title “Vetiver” embodies this mentality. Named after its central flavor of vetiver liqueur, this isn’t a mezcal-centric cocktail so much as it is a mezcal-inclusive cocktail.

Ingredients

• Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
• Muyu Vetiver Gris Liqueur
• Campari
• Del Maguey Vida Mezcal

#1. Paradiso, Barcelona. Cocktail – The Cloud

This years #1 spot was awarded to Paradiso in Barcelona. It marks the first time a bar outside of London or New York has earned the No. 1 spot since the World’s 50 Best Bars list was first created in 2009.

Judging by its elaborately ornate wooden interior, you would never know that this Mediterranean-style speakeasy is located behind a freezer door within a pastrami shop. Quirky location aside, Paradiso has earned the honor of top spot for good reason.

This is a bar that goes above and beyond, using techniques the likes of which are typically reserved for Michelin-star restaurants.

The cocktail we’ll be looking at today, The Cloud, lives up to that reputation. This cocktail combines the likes of mezcal-infused hibiscus, vermouth, and herbal liqueur with a huge dollop of coffee-flavored cloud on top, courtesy of an edible cloud machine Paradiso keeps behind the counter.

We can tell you all the ingredients inside this recipe, but unless you’ve got a seriously well-stocked home bar, this is one you’ll need to travel to Barcelona for if you want to try it yourself.

Ingredients

• 40 ml Mezcal Infused with Hibiscus
• 40 ml of Montenegro Amaro
• 10 ml of Mancino Dry Vermouth
• 25 ml of Xilitol Cordial
• Half a Piparra
• Top off with Sparkling Water
• Coffee Cloud

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