50 Best will be landing in North America with a list for the first time in its history, with the launch of North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier. The awards will be held in New York City on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, and the launch of North America’s 50 Best Bars will mark the first time since 2016 that 50 Best unveils a new bars list and awards program. North America’s 50 Best Bars will join The World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars, which provide consumers with the most reliable list of expert-approved drinking destinations anywhere in the world.
“We couldn’t be more excited to launch our new bars awards program in North America,” said Mark Sansom, Content Editor for 50 Best. “The bar scene and extensive talent across this region set the tone for the rest of the world, and we are confident that this new list will be a vital addition to the international bar landscape as bar-goers plan their next cocktail-led adventures. We are especially delighted to bring our inaugural North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony to the city of New York, a vibrant cocktail heartland that has long established itself as a ubiquitous force in the bar universe, having provided The World’s Best Bar in our global list on three occasions.”
The inaugural North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony and unveiling of the list “provides a unique opportunity to unite bartenders, bar owners, cocktail aficionados and drinks media from all over the region at a captivating celebration, shining a light on the best in hospitality, while also promoting the strength and diversity of the region’s bar scene as a whole to a global audience,” says the brand.
The awards ceremony brings together the best bartending talent from the region, with a live countdown of the list, culminating in the first-ever announcement of North America’s Best Bar, sponsored by Perrier. The live awards ceremony on June 7, 2022 will be preceded by a number of special award announcements in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, and a number of unique award announcements for both individuals and establishments will also take place on the evening itself.
The countdown of the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars and the awards ceremony will also be broadcast to a global audience who are not able to attend in person, and bar and cocktail lovers will be invited to join through The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars TV channel on YouTube.
How the Voting Works
The inaugural ranking for North America’s 50 Best Bars will reflect the best bar experiences based on the votes of more than 250 gender-balanced voters, made up of anonymous North American bar industry experts (including bartenders, bar owners, drinks media and well-traveled cocktail connoisseurs) from the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Members of the 50 Best organization do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that bars cannot apply to be on the list and no sponsors have any influence on the list.
The Academy is divided into 7 regions: USA Northeast; USA Midwest; USA West; USA South; Canada East; Canada West; Mexico; and the Caribbean. Each region has its own panel of members including a chairperson, called the Academy Chair. The Chairs each then select a voting panel, ensuring a balanced selection. In 2022, each North America Academy member will vote for 7 bars, with a maximum of 5 in the home country where they are based. Voters also have the option to vote for a further 2 (or more) bars located outside of their home country (up to a maximum of 7) if they have been able to travel internationally during the voting period.
Voting is carried out individually and strictly confidentially on a secure site and remains confidential before the list announcement. Academy Chairs are not privy to, and have no knowledge of, the votes cast by the voters in their respective regions. They are neither spokespeople for the 50 Best brand.
The list will be the result of a poll of more than 250 experts (all within the North American continent), who each cast votes for the bars where they have had their ‘best experience’ during the last 18 months before the voting deadline. The list is a simple computation of votes by North American voters for bars in North America. All bars featured will be open, or intend to reopen, as of June 7, 2022, when the list is revealed.
For more information, head over to the World’s 50 Best Bars North America official website.
In December, London’s Connaught Bar took home the top prize for the second year in a row at the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars awards. Hong Kong’s Coa, meanwhile, topped the 2021 list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
