Barbados is not a place where you'll find many cocktail bars, unless you want to end up in a 5 stars hotel sipping a rum punch (which is very good by the way). Still, a small gem is hidden on the island: the Scarlet bar. You'll have to look for a totally scarlet wooden house on the …
69 Colebrooke Row, London
Officially called "The bar with no name", but known as 69 Colebrooke Row, this bar is an absolute gem, and a good example of how fame should not change a place. In fact, despite being one of the most trendy and talked-about bars in London and having being nominated twice for the very prestigious ‘world’s …
Green Door Bar, Berlin, Germany
A good bar should be about good drinks, a wise man once told me. This must also be the philosophy of Herr Fritz Müller-Scherz, owner of the Green Door bar in Schöneberg in Berlin, since the feeling you have when you enter his bar (after having to ring in front of a big green door, quite a speakeasy …
Hobbit House, Manila, Philippines
This is probably the oddest bar I visited, and even if it does not stand out for its Martinis, it deserves a post. This is the story: in 1973 former professor Jim Turner, inspired by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, created a bar in manila called Hobbit House. OK, what's the news? Well, the bar …
Mattiz Bar, Leuven, Belgium
Who said that Belgium is only beer, beer and beer? The Mattiz Bar wants is the evidence that in the hearth of the country you can get a good cocktail, and is doing its best to prove this. Located in the very centre of Leuven, the bar is the place to go for a drink if …
The Alchemist, Shanghai, Cina
The Alchemist is a bar with a philosophy, stated on their site "Quality ingredients, modern interpretations, avant-garde techniques, respect for the classics whilst creating a path that is our own". And having a philosophy, in these postmodern drinking era, is already a valid reason to pay a visit. Then, once you have ordered your drink, …
Ozone, Hong Kong, China
The race to be the highest bar in the world is open and wild, but I am ready to state that the Ozone is the highest open roof bar in the world (please correct me if I'm wrong, I am ready to invite you to martini...). Opened in March 2011, the Ozone is on the last floor …
M1NT, Shanghai, China
Looking for the best cocktail bar in a city like Shanghai is not an easy job, with the city drinking culture improving faster than you can imagine, and many potential good choices for a proper sip. In the city of records, several bars claim they have the best view, the bigger cocktail menu, the highest …
W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham, the famous British novelist, was a huge fan of Noilly Prat French vermouth for his martinis, and once said: “You can make a sidecar, a gimlet, a white lady, or a gin and bitters, but you cannot make a dry martini.” He also believed that “martinis should always be stirred, not shaken, …
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill, knownk for the quote “I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me”, had certainly no fear of the strong stuff. White House staff in Franklin Roosevelt’s administration coined a special term for Churchill visits: “Winston Hours.” Basically, during this time the president and prime minister would drink until …