What Makes a Best Bar in North America, With Cointreau On the Ground

The room felt like a snapshot of the entire continent’s bar culture in motion with bartenders, owners and lifers all in one place, trading stories as much as accolades. We attended this year’s unveiling of the North America’s 50 Best Bars list, held in a packed, high-energy setting that leaned equal parts industry reunion and global spotlight, Sip & Guzzle from New York took the top honor, cementing its place as the bar to beat right now. The night moved quickly with names called, Cointreau branded ceremonial red scarves (emblem for all the top 50 nominees) draped, applause echoing, but what lingered wasn’t just who won, but the shared understanding of how hard it is to even be in the conversation.

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With Cointreau present as the official orange liqueur partner in the room and a name at the heart of mixology, the focus stayed on the people pushing food and drink culture forward. Because once the list is revealed, the real question hangs in the air on what actually makes a bar the best in North America? In chatting with some establishment owners and figures, we got a sense of the drive, the routines and the challenges to attain this worthwhile goal.

For Lewis Hart, owner of Vancouver’s Laowai and Bagheera, the answer starts before the drink even lands. “People will make their mind up straight away whether they feel welcome or not,” he says. “If the lights are perfect, the music’s perfect, and the team is ready to welcome you, every cocktail is the best cocktail. If the atmosphere and the lights are not right and the team doesn’t feel welcoming, you could put the best cocktail over the bar and it’s never going to wow anybody.” His sentiment is a reminder that “best” isn’t built on specs but it’s really felt instantly.

That idea carries across the room. We quickly sat down with Will Patton of Washington D.C.’s Press Club who puts it even more plainly: “People are going to forget what you did but you’ll remember how people and bars make you feel.” In a landscape where technique is almost a given, memory becomes the differentiator. It could be the way a bartender reads the room without saying a word, or how a night subtly shifts because someone made you feel like you belonged there from the start.

“It has to also be great. You have to also deliver hospitality and the experience as a whole is more important than ever,” says Chad Spangler of Service Bar, located in Washington D.C. Plainly, execution gets you in the door, but the environment, and how it all comes together, keeps you in the running. That sense of belonging shows up in the smallest gestures. Spangler calls it “random acts of hospitality,” moments that are unscripted but intentional. “It has to be personal. It has to be unique. It has to be a genuine connection,” he explains. In a category where everyone is good, those human details are what separate the memorable from the forgettable.

At the same time, there’s a growing push to strip things back. NYC’s Overstory co-founder Harrison Ginsberg describes a scene that’s become “very complicated, very culinary oriented,” but his philosophy is simpler: “I make every drink with something called “The Delicious Factor” and I want everybody to take a sip and be like, “that’s delicious.” It’s a quiet pivot away from overthinking and a move towards clarity, toward pleasure–the same instinct that has kept classic cocktails like the Margarita enduring across generations.

Still, for all the talk of trends and techniques, the most consistent thread is authenticity. “At the end of the day, if your business is profitable and you’re paying your employees well and you’re looking after your customers, you are the best,” adds Lewis Hart. It’s less about chasing a list and more about building something that works day in, day out, service after service.

Alana Gabriela of Bar Snack, a 2026 a Highest New Entry winner at this year’s awards, brings it back to the fundamentals, especially in a city that moves as fast as New York. “Hospitality is the primary. The vibes and the cocktails. You got good snacks with your cocktails. You got to have a good vibe. And you have to have a good presence,” she says. Working in a high-volume, neighborhood-driven space, her approach is less about overthinking and more about consistency at scale, making sure every guest, no matter who they are, feels taken care of. “We’re here to entertain the guests and make them have a wonderful time, we take care of everybody,” she adds, underscoring a simple truth: the best bars don’t just impress, they include.

There’s no single formula, no fixed blueprint to answer the question, “what does it take to be the best bar in America?” The best bars, in reality, aren’t defined by one drink, one design, or even one award. From speaking with Lewis Hart, Will Patton, Harrison Ginsberg and Alana Gabriela, they reveal that striving for “best” is built in the in-between moments—the welcome at the door, the music in the background, the decision to pick up the lime no one saw fall. It’s the act of the pursuit and why platforms like the World’s 50 Best Bars, backed by partners such as Cointreau, don’t just observe the culture but help propel it forward.

DISCLAIMER: We discourage irresponsible and/or underage drinking. Drink responsibly and legally.