27 Vieux Carré

The Vieux Carré was invented by Walter Bergeron, head bartender at the now Hotel Monteleone bar in New Orleans, where bartenders flock annually, only to be disappointed by the Vieux Carrés. It’s made with American whiskey, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, Angostura and Peychaud’s. Down three places this year, made well, it’s a lovely riff on a Manhattan.

26 Amaretto Sour

A fixture at No.26 – and in many of the world’s best bars – the Amaretto Sour is among the top-10 in 12% of those we polled. The recipe? It’s two shots of amaretto, lemon juice and egg white, while Angostura bitters is optional. It can be too sweet, so adjust the lemon, or drink something else. 

25 Piña Colada

If you like Piña Coladas – as the song goes – you’re in good company, because they like them in the world’s best bars too. Though the modern breed often sees embellishment, with the likes of absinthe or champagne, the foundation of pineapple, coconut and rum normally remains. This year the ’70s kitsch classic – in rebooted form or not – is up seven places from last year.

24 Caipirinha

As our survey continues to call on more voices from South America – as the region’s bar scenes develop – we’ve seen a logical jump for Brazil’s national cocktail, the Caipirinha. While it’s hard to say the Caipirinha is on-trend, it’s never really off-trend and the advent of craft cachaças has certainly cemented its credibility in the best bars. Essentially, it’s a mint-less, short Mojito and it’s served among the top-10 classics in 13% of bars we polled.

23 Gin Fizz

The Gin Fizz continues to effervesce, climbing five places this year. ‘Fizz’ was first referenced in the Jerry Thomas Bartenders Guide 1887 edition, which included six recipes – this is the most famous. Simply, it’s gin, lemon juice and sugar, topped with carbonated water. It’s fizzy, citrussy and gin-y, so there’s little to not like. 

22 Dark ’n’ Stormy

This Bermuda-originated highball is no stranger to the upper half of this list. Essentially, it’s rum’s Moscow Mule with a better story. It goes that British seafarers brought the ginger beer and local distiller Gosling the rum. They threw in some lime, and there you have it, the Dark ’n’ Stormy, still a classic you’ll find as a regular at the world’s best bars.

21 Clover Club

This pink pre-Prohibition classic is the cocktail legacy of Philadelphia, having been named after a gentlemen’s club in the city, but today has suitors of all types, in all corners of the world. It is a top-10 tipple in about 15% of bars we polled, but also the top classic in few too. In Julie Reiner’s New York bar, Clover Club, it’s made with gin, dry vermouth, raspberry, lemon juice and egg white.

20 Pisco Sour

Supposedly invented by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender, who opened his bar in Lima in 1916, the Pisco Sour was an early explorer, finding its way to the dock of the San Francisco bay in the 1930s and wasting little time before rising to popularity in New York in the 1960s. The basic recipe is three parts pisco, one part simple syrup, one part lime juice, egg whites and a dash of Angostura bitters. A top-10 classic in 17% of bars we polled.