2026 The 50 Best Bars 51–100: The Global Cocktail Map Is Adding New Cities

The 2026 edition of The 50 Best Bars has revealed the venues ranked No.51–100, spanning 34 cities worldwide. Thirteen bars are new entries this year. Europe accounts for 18 places and Asia for 16, meaning the two regions together represent 68% of the 50 positions announced so far.

Another notable signal is geographic expansion. Accra, Dublin, Istanbul, San José and Shenzhen are appearing on the 51–100 list for the first time.

This does not suggest that established cocktail capitals are losing their influence. Rather, the global bar landscape is beginning to include a wider group of cities with international visibility.

At the time of publication, the 2026 top 50 has not yet been announced. The full ranking will be unveiled in Milan on 7 October. All regional shares and distribution figures in this analysis therefore refer only to the currently published No.51–100 section, not the complete 2026 Top 100.

What Do the Numbers Tell Us About the 2026 No.51–100 List?

A closer look at the section already published gives a clearer picture:

-50 bars: the No.51–100 range covered in this analysis.

-34 cities: the number of cities represented in the official list.

-13 new entries: equivalent to 26% of the 50 positions.

-18 European bars: 36% of this section.

-16 Asian bars: 32% of this section.

-34 bars from Europe and Asia combined: 68% of the No.51–100 list.

-10 bars from Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok combined: 62.5% of Asia’s 16 positions.

-Five cities appearing for the first time: Accra, Dublin, Istanbul, San José and Shenzhen.

The figures for 34 cities, 13 new entries, 18 European bars and 16 Asian bars come directly from The 50 Best Bars. The percentages — 26%, 36%, 32%, 68% and 62.5% — are MJFLAIR calculations based on the official list.

There is also an important distinction between a new entry and a city appearing on the ranking for the first time.

The 13 new bars are spread across 12 cities. But only five cities — Accra, Dublin, Istanbul, San José and Shenzhen — are making their first appearance on the No.51–100 list. Accra contributes two venues, Front/Back and La Borracha, meaning those five first-time cities account for six bars in total.

The No.51–100 List Is More Than “The Other 50”

The top 50 is the clearest indicator of which bars currently occupy the centre of the global stage. The No.51–100 section can be more useful for spotting which cities are moving closer to that centre.

This year’s 13 new entries are spread across Accra, Athens, Bangkok, Dublin, Goa, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Melbourne, Mexico City, San José, Shenzhen and Singapore.

They are not concentrated in a single country or region. Instead, they appear across markets at very different stages of development.

For travellers, the implication is straightforward: there are more destinations where world-class cocktails can now be part of the reason to visit.

For spirits brands, these cities may also become increasingly relevant for guest shifts, bartender education, product launches and trade engagement.

The more meaningful change is not that one city has suddenly “beaten” another. It is that the global bar map is gaining more points of entry.

Established Cocktail Capitals Are Still Strong — They Are Just No Longer the Only Options

The No.51–100 ranking still shows a clear concentration of strength in mature bar markets.

New York is represented by Double Chicken Please, Superbueno and Employees Only. Tokyo has Bar Trench, The SG Club and The Bellwood. Bangkok contributes G.O.D, Opium and Vesper.

Hong Kong has four venues, the highest total for any Asian city in this part of the ranking: Coa, Penicillin, Mius and The Savory Project.

The advantage of these cities goes far beyond simply having several good bars.

They benefit from dense talent networks, international visitors, brand investment, established supply chains, media attention and years of interaction and competition between venues.

There is therefore little basis, at least from the No.51–100 list alone, to argue that the established cocktail capitals are being displaced.

A more accurate interpretation is this:

The global bar map is not replacing its capitals. It is adding more cities.

One Ranked Bar Is Not the Same as a Cocktail Destination

This is one of the most important distinctions in this year’s ranking.

A single bar gaining international recognition can reflect the strength of one exceptional team. For an entire city to become a genuine cocktail destination, however, the requirements are much broader.

Talent needs to circulate. New venues need to keep opening. Brands need reasons to invest. International bartenders need reasons to visit and collaborate. And there must be enough local and visitor demand to support a wider ecosystem.

Shenzhen offers a useful example.

MO Bar Shenzhen enters at No.60 and becomes the first bar from the city to appear in the No.51–100 ranking.

That matters, but the more important question is not whether it climbs next year. It is whether Shenzhen eventually produces a second and third internationally visible bar.

One ranked venue creates visibility. A second and third begin to suggest a city-level bar ecosystem.

Why Accra Deserves Particular Attention

Accra stands apart from the other first-time cities because its arrival is not built around a single venue.

Front/Back ranks at No.80 and La Borracha at No.87. Together, they mark West Africa’s first appearance on the No.51–100 list.

That is not enough to declare Accra an established international cocktail capital.

But two independent venues receiving recognition in the same year provide a stronger signal than a single isolated entry.

The next question is whether that visibility can spread.

If more local bars begin appearing in international rankings, guest shifts become more frequent, spirits brands commit more resources and talent starts circulating through the city, Accra could begin moving from “a city with two notable bars” to “a city worth travelling to for its bar scene”.

Over time, that development could matter more than whether any one venue rises or falls by a dozen places.

Asia Is Developing as a Multi-Hub Market

Asia currently accounts for 16 of the No.51–100 positions, or 32% of the section published so far.

Hong Kong has four bars, while Tokyo and Bangkok each have three. Together, those three cities account for 10 of Asia’s 16 places, or 62.5%.

That concentration shows that Asia still has clear core markets.

But the remaining six positions are spread across Seoul, Goa, Shenzhen, Taichung, Singapore and Hiriketiya in Sri Lanka. International visibility is therefore not confined entirely to the region’s established major cities.

Vender in Taichung is a useful case to watch.

The bar first appeared on the list in 2025 and ranks No.79 in 2026. For Taichung, the more important question is not the year-to-year ranking itself, but whether that international visibility can persist — and eventually help other local bars enter the global conversation.

City reputation is rarely built by a single breakthrough. It is built through repeated visibility.

Bar Rankings Can Also Change Why People Visit a City

These shifts matter beyond bartenders and spirits brands.

Once a bar develops enough international recognition, it can become part of the reason someone chooses to visit a city.

Cocktail travel has traditionally been associated with destinations such as London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Barcelona. As Shenzhen, Accra, San José and Istanbul become part of the same international bar conversation, travellers gain new ways of discovering those cities.

Someone may not initially plan a trip around a museum or a Michelin-starred restaurant. They may first encounter a city through a bar, then begin exploring what else there is to eat, drink and experience.

And once the traveller arrives, the economic impact does not stop at one cocktail.

Hotels, restaurants, transport and other bars can all benefit from that destination effect.

International bar rankings may therefore increasingly influence more than nightlife. They can also contribute to how cities are positioned within food, culture and travel.

What Does The 50 Best Bars Ranking Measure — and What Does It Not?

There is an important limitation to keep in mind when interpreting these figures.

The 50 Best Bars is not a ranking of revenue, market size, footfall or the number of bars in each city.

The list is voted on by an Academy of more than 800 drinks and bar professionals across 29 geographic regions. Each voter selects eight bars based on their best experiences over the previous 18 months. The geographic distribution of voters is designed to reflect the relative maturity of drinks markets and the concentration of quality bars, with the voting process independently adjudicated by Deloitte.

That means a city without a ranked venue does not necessarily lack excellent bars.

Likewise, a city with several entries cannot automatically be assumed to have the largest cocktail market or the highest bar revenues.

A more useful way to read the ranking is as a map of international visibility within the professional bar community.

And based on the 2026 No.51–100 list, that map is expanding.

MJFLAIR Insight

The most important takeaway from the 2026 No.51–100 list is not which venue sits at No.51, or which country gained another position.

What matters more is that internationally recognised bar culture is beginning to take the shape of established hubs plus a growing number of visible secondary nodes.

Europe and Asia still account for 68% of the positions currently announced, while mature markets such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok and New York continue to show strong concentrations of recognised bars. This is not a story about established markets disappearing.

But the arrival of two Accra venues, together with the first appearances of Shenzhen, Dublin, Istanbul and San José, raises a more interesting question: what happens after the first internationally recognised bar appears?

Over the next few years, the more valuable industry signal may not be the location of the next breakout bar. It may be which cities can turn one internationally recognised venue into a broader ecosystem of talent, consumers, brand activity and new openings.

If that geographic spread continues, the next phase of global cocktail culture may not produce a single new city that replaces London, New York or Tokyo.

Instead, there may simply be many more cities worth travelling to for a drink.

At the time of publication, the 2026 top 50 had not yet been announced. All regional shares and concentration figures in this article therefore refer only to the 50 positions from No.51–100 and should not be read as the final geographic distribution of the complete 2026 Top 100.

If one world-class bar can put a city on the international radar, could the arrival of a second and third be what truly turns it into the next cocktail destination?

SOURCE: the50.com

This article is compiled and analyzed from publicly available industry information and The 50 Best Bars 2026 No.51–100 data. It is provided for commercial and industry reference only and does not constitute investment, legal or business advice.