The 2025 barsforKings Awards

Cocktail of the Year 2025

The single drink our editors keep coming back to in 2025.

2025 Winner
The Mezcal Manhattan
Served at Coa, Hong Kong

Mezcal Vago, Carpano Antica, Bittermens chocolate bitters. Stirred over a single large cube. The drink everyone is copying without crediting. Voted by all five barsforKings regional editors as the most-discussed and most-imitated drink of 2025.

2025 finalists

Penicillin (still)
Attaboy, New York
Smoky Negroni
Tayer + Elementary, London
Dirty Martini
Dukes, London

How the vote works

All five barsforKings regional editors submit a shortlist after the year's final round of visits in early December. Shortlists are debated at the December editorial meeting; ties are broken by the senior editor for the relevant region. Final winners are ratified before the second Tuesday of January.

No bar can pay to appear on a shortlist. Sponsorships do not influence editorial decisions. Past winners are reviewed annually and may be moved to the Hall of Fame after a third consecutive top-five finish.

Other 2025 awards