The fourth edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, brought the region’s leading bar talent to Vancouver for a series of celebrations and the reveal of the new ranking. Catch up on the week’s highlights.
1. Canada's leading bar teams kick off the celebrations
To mark the onset of this year’s festivities and the first ever 50 Best event in Canada, 10 of Canada’s leading bar talent banded together under one roof for one night only for the 50 Best Signature Session: O Canada! Hosted at Prophecy (No.53 in this year’s extended ranking), the stellar roster included Atwater Cocktail Club (No.36, pictured), Bar Mordecai (No.37), Civil Liberties (No.21) and Calliope Draper (winner of the 50 Best Bars Scholarship 2024), among others. Serving their signature drinks in rotating 90-minute windows, the assembled crew made sure there wasn’t an empty glass from start to finish.
2. An expanded class of 2025 assembles
Spirits were high as the teams behind the bars who were set to feature in the 2025 list assembled at Boulevard Oyster Bar & Kitchen the evening before the big reveal. This year’s event saw a larger contingent of bartenders than ever before, as those featured in the inaugural 51-100 extended list joined the ranks for the first time.
3. Southern Californian sips go down a treat
Serving cocktails at this year’s Bartenders’ Feast was a combined team from Los Angeles’ leading bars, including Mírate (No.12, The Best Bar in West USA 2025 and winner of the Nikka Highest Climber Award), Thunderbolt (No.24) and Kato, the recipient of the Resy One To Watch Award as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. Together, they demonstrated that LA’s hospitality scene remains strong and unified following the devastating Southern California wildfires of 2024.
4. Team Canada comes out in force
Teams behind Canada’s premier cocktail establishments made sure to mark the debut 50 Best event in their home country with a proud show of force. They assembled for a group shot, which has become a yearly ritual since 2023 – this time with the expanded roster of 15 additional bars from the inaugural 51-100 extended ranking also included.
5. Scarves, shakers and smiles on the red carpet
As the evening of the main celebration arrived, the bar teams waltzed the not-actually-red carpet of the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver to receive the signature (genuinely) red scarves and ceremonial cocktail shakers, making sure to pause by the media wall for a photo opportunity.
6. The ceremony begins with a bang
The gala awards ceremony opened with the reveal of the first special accolade: the Campari One To Watch Award. Its recipient, Lemon in Chicago – whose owners had just celebrated their debut position on the extended ranking with bespoke ‘No.62’ tattoos – made their way onto the stage in a state of joyful shock.
7. The Mexican matriarch is crowned
With the countdown from No.50 in full swing, a brief pause allowed the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award 2025 to be bestowed on Eli Martínez Bello. The agave maestro, who platforms marginalised and independent distillers at her bar, Tlecān in Mexico City (No.3), was hoisted into the air by her compatriots to mark the momentous accolade.
8. Clemente Bar makes a dream debut
It took just six months of being open for the collaborative project of chef Daniel Humm – the mastermind behind Eleven Madison Park, a former No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – and Neapolitan artist Francesco Clemente to be the toast of the New York bar scene. The team behind the stylish bar located above the EMP dining room was overjoyed as Clemente Bar jumped straight into the list at the No.11 spot, earning the Three Cents Best New Opening Award in the process.
9. A New York icon captures the magic
Cheers echoed throughout the awards space as Julie Reiner was named the recipient of the Roku Industry Icon Award 2025. The mastermind behind Clover Club and Milady’s in New York, Reiner solidified her status as a living legend and pioneering bartender of the Big Apple cocktail scene for more than 20 years. What’s more, the Hawaiian made sure to mark the moment on stage with a selfie.
10. Bar Pompette fires Canada into the top 10
It was a triumphant evening for Bar Pompette: not only did it receive the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, which had been announced in the weeks preceding the ceremony, it also left with a second new title as The Best Bar in Canada 2025, sponsored by Torres Brandy. Taking home the No.7 spot, it climbed 29 places from its previous ranking to become the highest ranked Canadian bar since the inception of North America’s 50 Best Bars in 2022. Santé!
11. Handshake Speakeasy retains the No.1 spot
Tension in the room was palpable as the countdown reached the reveal of the top two spots. The room then erupted as Handshake Speakeasy was named No.1, retaining its title for a second year as The Best Bar in North America, sponsored by Perrier. Emotions from its four co-owners – (left to right) Eric Van Beek, Joseph Kuri, Marcos Di Battista and Rodrigo Urraca – ranged from elation to total disbelief. “I was dying inside!” said Van Beek.
12. A farewell to the festivities
The day following the ceremony, the teams behind the newly ranked bars bid farewell to the year’s events at a laid-back brunch, hosted at the recently renovated Reflections inside the ultra-luxe Rosewood Hotel Georgia. On offer was a surplus of food and an afternoon-friendly cocktail menu courtesy of Alexandra Purcaru and Martina Marré of Selva in Oaxaca, which placed at No.29 in the 2025 list.
See you next year!
The 2025 edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars brought the teams behind the region’s leading cocktail bars to Vancouver for the first time. The programme will return in 2026 with the reveal of a new ranking and series of events celebrating the best and brightest of North America’s cocktail community.
The list of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, was revealed at an awards ceremony in Vancouver on 29 April 2025.
