North America’s 50 Best Bars List Revealed — Here’s a Defining Cocktail From Each of the Top 5
On late Tuesday night, North America’s 50 Best Bars list was unveiled to rapturous applause and a few raised eyebrows.
The crème de la crème of bartending awards typically heaps praise on the kinds of places you might expect: glitzy hideouts specializing in clarified spirits, gourmet foams, molecular mixology and everything fancy in between. This year was no different. Painstakingly crafted martinis were just as common a sight as caviar-garnished negronis. Drinks were served in “vessels,” not glasses; margaritas prone to swap lime juice for bacon fat.
In its finer details, however, the 2025 list may have looked a little unexciting. Once again, New York and Mexico City clobbered the competition with nearly a dozen entries each, many of which made appearances on last year’s list. Some — including this year’s No. 1 and No. 2 awardees — maintained the exact same position. Others rose and fell in the rankings by slight margins.
The only thing getting a major shakeup on this year’s list was the cocktails. And thankfully, the cocktails were as glorious as ever.
Below, we’ve put together a list of our own spotlighting one signature cocktail from each of the top five awardees. We’ve tried our best to prioritize recipes that can be replicated by home mixologists. As you’ll soon see, though, that’s easier said than done.
5. Sherry Colada Highball – Sip & Guzzle, New York City
(Photo: Eric Medsker, Sip & Guzzle/Instagram)
Like many of the world’s most exclusive bars in 2025, Sip & Guzzle has a penchant for turning meals into cocktails. Its famous Whisky Nigiri is a playful reinterpretation of sushi complete with soy sauce, sake and wasabi, while its Tomato Tree makes space for not one but two types of dill-infused liquor. If you’ve got the time and patience for cocktail alchemy, the bar has been kind enough to publish all its recipes in full online. Disclaimer: prepare for some gruelingly small measurements and borderline unattainable ingredients.
For the average mixologist, we’d recommend Sip & Guzzle’s Sherry Colada Highball. Made from an ultra-simple combo of cream sherry (such as Harveys Bristol) and coconut-pineapple seltzer (preferably Bubly), the recipe leaps out of the glass with a blast of effervescence and bright tropical flavor. Ideal for the hottest of summer afternoons.
Ingredients
- 1 part Cream Sherry
- 2 parts Coconut-Pineapple Seltzer
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a highball glass over a piece of spear ice.
4. Night Tripper – Jewel of the South, New Orleans
(Photo: Jewel of the South/Facebook)
Jewel of the South is the only cocktail bar in the top five not located in New York or Mexico City. It’s also the only venue on this list equally renowned as a mixology destination as it is a culinary hotspot — the kind of place that serves pomegranate and smoked trout hamachi alongside pickled quail egg-garnished martinis. We’d expect no less from New Orleans.
Few recipes on its menu are as famous locally as the Night Tripper. Made with a blend of bourbon, minty Strega liqueur and bittersweet amaro, the recipe acts as a sort of mishmash of a Sazerac and a Boulevardier — an appropriate fit for a city drenched in American South and French influences. If you’ve ever dreamed of nibbling beignets by the Mississippi River, the Night Tripper won’t steer you wrong.
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz Bourbon (Preferably Bottled-In-Bond)
- .75 oz Dark Amaro
- .25 oz Strega
- 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- Orange peel for garnish
Directions
- Stir all ingredients except garnish in a mixing glass with ice for 10-15 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with orange peel.
3. Tascalate Sour – Tlecān, Mexico City
(Photo: Tlecān/Facebook)
Tlecān is a testament to all things Prehispanic Mexico. Decorated with minimalist slabs of concrete and stone, the dimly lit mezcalería famously eschews brand names in favor of artisanal distillates and locally-sourced ingredients. Modern mainstays like tequila barely make an appearance on the menu. In their place, you’ll find more than enough pulque, bacanora and tepache for a spirited trek through history.
The bar’s signature serve is its Tascalate Sour. Built around a hearty Mayan concoction made from roasted corn, cocoa, pine nuts and achiote, the recipe digs deep into unabashedly earthy flavors livened up slightly by hints of citrus and agave. It’s the kind of drink you could only find at Tlecān — doubly so because the bar has never disclosed the exact proportions of the recipe.
Ingredients
- Tascalate from Chiapas
- Mezcal
- Fermented Cocoa
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Agave Syrup
- Egg White
2. Green Mango Martini – Superbueno, New York City
(Photo: Superbueno/Facebook)
New York City’s ultra-trendy Superbueno claimed the second spot on the 50 Best list for its second year in a row. Good things must come in twos for the bar, because it’s only been open for a grand total of two years.
Our personal favorite from the East Village hideaway would have to be its Asada Negroni, an ingenious combination of pebble ice and grilled pineapple-infused tequila that defies its potentially disgusting premise. We’d be remiss, however, if we didn’t spotlight the bar’s Green Mango Martini. This is the drink that people travel far and wide to try, and it’s the drink they inevitably rave about on social media.
In place of gin and vermouth, bartenders use unripened mango-infused tequila and Sauternes, a sweet French wine packed with flavors of baking spice and gentle acidity. Influences are rounded out with a splash of mango brandy, honey and chile oil.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 oz Green Mango-infused tequila
- 1 liter Blanco Tequila
- 350 grams peeled green mango, chopped
- 3/4 oz Sauternes
- 1/2 oz Mango Eau de Vie
- 1/4 oz Honey Syrup
- 2 dashes of Saline solution
- Chile oil, for garnish
Directions
- Mix chopped green mango and tequila in a large tub, cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Strain and bottle.
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Shake until chilled, 15-20 seconds.
- Double strain into glass and garnish with a drop of chile oil.
1. Salt N Pepper – Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
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Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy held firm on its top spot from 2024. Anyone lucky enough to grab a seat at the bar will quickly understand why. Handshake has positioned itself as the Willy Wonka of the modern mixology scene; a place where frothing beakers, syrups, foams and cordials are developed for months before execution in the perfect recipe. Look no further than the venue’s Instagram page to see just how much effort and glassware goes into these works of art.
Co-owner Eric van Beek says its consistent best seller is the Salt N Pepper. Designed as a vegetal twist on the Paloma, the recipe swaps grapefruit juice for strawberry and sparkling water for a crunchy, bell pepper-infused soda. It’s exactly as crazy as it sounds.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Strawberry-infused Mezcal
- 3 oz Yellow Bell Pepper Soda
- 3 dashes Habanero tincture
- Bell pepper powder for garnish
- Strawberry Mezcal
- 500g mezcal
- 250g chopped fresh strawberries
- Yellow Bell Pepper Soda
- 800 g water
- 120g sugar
- 350g chopped yellow bell pepper
- 8g citric acid
Directions
- Combine Strawberry Mezcal ingredients in a vat or bottle overnight. Strain and then filter through coffee filter paper.
- Mix Yellow Bell Pepper Soda ingredients in a vacuum bag, cook sous vide for two hours at 130˚F, strain and filter through a coffee filter. Chill in fridge for two hours before carbonating.
- Cover one side of a Highball glass with bell pepper powder for garnish. Build ingredients in the glass with ice, then serve.
