What and where to drink in Madrid according to 50 Best

For the 16th year in a row, 50 best bars in the world were announced on October 22, p Mexico City’s Speakeasy Handshake having won the coveted first place. The event, which celebrates the best people in the world of mixology, also brought attention to some of Madrid’s best bars during a week of cocktail festivities.

Madrid: Bar and Restaurant Mecca

This year’s glittering gala took place in Madrid—a city renowned for its exciting food and drink culture and great nightlife—bringing thousands of bartenders, cocktail and drink fans to the Spanish capital.

“Spain has had a strong presence on our list since the very first edition of The World’s Best Bars 50 in 2009,” commented Emma Slate, head of content at 50 Best, adding that two Barcelona bars, Sips, have triumphed in recent years. and Paradiso, each reaching No. 1 in back-to-back releases.

“Madrid has long been known for its outstanding hospitality and incredible gastronomy,” Slate continued. “It was a great place to celebrate the achievements of those at the forefront of the beverage industry around the world and to bring the global community to another hotbed of cocktails and cuisine.”

And the best cocktail bar…

As for the winner of the whole shebang, Best Bar in North America and Number One Bar in the World 2024, it can be found across the pond in Mexico City. Handshake Speakeasy is a two-story Gatsby-style building in the trendy Colonia Juarez neighborhood. It is led by a multi-national team, led by Dutch-born head bartender Erik Van Beek, whose innovative drinks sometimes take up to 48 hours to develop and often have unexpected textures.

As for the rest of the list, this year’s top-rated cities are London and New York, both with an impressive four streaks in the top 50. Mexico City and Buenos Aires have three each, and Barcelona (last year’s venue). one, Sips), is the only city with two bars in the top 10.

The best bars in Madrid

And while Madrid may not be known as a cocktail destination, Slight says the city’s drinks market has a lot going for it.

“A lot of Madrid’s bars have a beautiful rich history and it’s fascinating to see a real mix of eras coming together in the same spaces,” said Slate, arguing that Madrid is particularly interesting for its mix of bars housed in historic buildings with beautiful interiors. alongside a host of innovative, new high-tech bars.

“That they can coexist and thrive alongside each other is a testament to the city’s culture and approach to drinking. For me, this tradition of celebrating and honoring the old while welcoming the new is what identifies the scene in Madrid,” she concluded.

Here are some of Madrid’s best drinks and where to try them on your next trip to Spain.

Salmon Guru

“Only dead fish swim downstream,” is the famous saying of Salmón Gurú owner Diego Cabrera. He likes to compare his bar to a salmon swimming upstream against the current. Madrid’s most popular bar (currently ranked 23rd on the World’s 50 Best Bars list) is known for its vibrant personalities and even bigger flavors.

What to order: Salmón Gurú is a loud, bright, energetic bar, and its drinks are as unabashedly upbeat as the place itself. Pantera Jackson is a 1615 Italia Pisco milk punch with mango water and fish sauce.

Angelita

Ranked 65th in the world, Angelita is part outdoor wine bar, part hidden basement cocktail lounge. It’s also well stocked, with more than 1,000 different wines and spirits adorning its colorful shelves. The cocktail menu uses a lot of house ingredients, resulting in a great range of simple drinks, often served in unusual glassware.

What to order: Bloody Angelita is a great example of Angelita’s love of local and homemade ingredients, combining vodka with celery, spiced sherry and homemade tomato juice.

Viva Madrid

Open since 1856, this bar and diner in the Las Letras neighborhood has been attracting patrons since before your great-grandmother was born. Today, this historic gin bar with a Roaring Twenties soundtrack and chic retro interior is run by none other than Argentinian mixologist Diego Cabera of Salmón Gurú fame.

What to order: A gin-based classic doesn’t get much better than Viva Madrid. Try the Media Combinación – a modern take on a 1920s Spanish recipe based on gin and sweet vermouth – which the likes of Salvador Dali and Ava Gardener are said to have sipped here.

1862 Dry Bar

If you guessed that this bar was founded in 1862, think again. It’s actually a reference to the year the first ever cocktail book, written by Jerry Thomas, was published. This lovely bar in the posh Malasaña neighborhood is ably run by owner Alberto Martínez, who lets his extensive spirits collection do the talking.

What to order: Signature drinks such as the Cantaloupe Gibson, made with pisco, cantaloupe, manzanilla sherry, grapefruit bitters and rose water, pack a heady yet wonderfully refreshing punch.

One to watch: Devil’s cut

From master mixologist Shingo Gokan, recently named one of the most influential people in the industry by Bar World 100 Drinks International, Devil’s Cut is a brand new cocktail hotspot in Las Letras. The new bar is about the transformation of an angel into a demon (inspired by Gokan’s life and professional journey from Angel’s Share in New York to his bars in Asia and now Europe). The bar serves many of Gokan’s bestsellers over the years, as well as his new devil signatures, created especially for Madrid and inspired by his long-standing passion for sherry.

Lots of sherry and vermouth bars

To experience Madrid’s best bars at their most authentic, look no further than its many vermuterias (vermouth bars), tabernas and tascas (taverns), serving wine, beer, sherry, vermouth and, of course, tapas. They range from trendy hotspots (such as Hermanos Vinagre, Tabanco La Santa, La Hora del Vermut) to century-old drinking dens (including La Venencia, Bodegas Ricla, Casa Camacho, Casa Paco), and all promise to provide a wild, good time madrid style