North America’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will return for a fourth edition in April 2025. The three-day event program will be held in Vancouver, Canada, marking the first time in North America’s 50 Best Bars history that the awards will be held in Canada, culminating in the much-anticipated awards ceremony taking place on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

The 2025 event program gathers the North American bar community in Canada to shine a spotlight on the country’s world-class cocktail scene and to celebrate the best bartending talent in the region over three days of events in the vibrant cultural hub of Vancouver. In a city known for its scenic landscapes and diverse culture, Vancouver’s budding bar scene is rapidly expanding with new and inventive ways to enjoy and celebrate cocktail craft.

North America’s 50 Best Bars focuses on highlighting excellence in the bars industry specifically in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The inaugural awards ceremony was held in New York City in 2022, followed by San Miguel de Allende in 2023 and 2024. This year, 50 Best brings the awards ceremony to Vancouver, to continue shining a spotlight on each region of North America and to honor and celebrate the talented bars and teams in destinations throughout.

“After an electrifying celebration last year, we are thrilled to bring North America’s 50 Best Bars to Canada for the very first time,” said Emma Sleight, head of content for North America’s 50 Best Bars. “Hosting the awards in Vancouver, a city renowned for its dynamic cocktail culture, stunning natural beauty and outstanding hospitality scene, allows us to highlight the city’s exceptional talent and celebrate its innovation on a global stage. We look forward to recognizing the people and places that continue to elevate North America as a true leader in the world of hospitality.”

Highlights of the event program in Vancouver will include the Bartenders’ Feast, which takes place the night before the reveal of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025. It will be followed by the live countdown and the awards ceremony itself on April 29, ending in the announcement of The Best Bar in North America 2025 and other special award winners. For the first time since its inception, North America’s 50 Best Bars is recognizing the growth of the cocktail scene by extending the list to include the 51-100 ranking.

“Vancouver is proud to host North America’s 50 Best Bars for the first time this year,” said Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver. “The multi-day event will shine a spotlight on the incredible talent and creativity of our city’s hospitality and mixology scene. North America’s 50 Best Bars recognizes excellence across the continent while providing a platform to showcase Vancouver’s vibrant culinary culture, diverse communities and innovative spirit. As a global destination, we are excited to collaborate with industry leaders and create memorable experiences for everyone who attends.”

Ahead of the North America’s 50 Best Bars awards ceremony, 50 Best will announce a few special award winners in advance to recognize incredible achievements for bars and individuals:

Michter’s Art of Hospitality: This award is voted for by all members of the North America’s 50 Best Bars Academy, who are asked to name the bar where they received the single best hospitality experience during the voting period.

Altos Bartenders’ Bartender: This award is voted for by the bartenders behind those bars on this year’s list, who are asked to name one peer who has done more to further the craft of bartending than any other across the course of the 18-month voting period.

New to this year’s programming, North America’s 50 Best Bars will expand its list to include bars ranked 51-100, which will be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the awards ceremony. This expansion highlights the growing bar scene and their corresponding teams across North America in elevating mixology and hospitality in the region.

51-100 List: 50 Best will reveal those bars ranked between 51st and 100th on its website and social media channels.

Now in its fourth edition, North America’s 50 Best Bars will also award the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award for the first time since its inception. This award is given to a bar that has performed the most consistently across the history of the ranking. A bar can only win this distinction once.

The countdown of the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars will also be broadcasted live to a global audience who are not able to attend in person.

How the Voting Works

The ranking for North America’s 50 Best Bars will reflect the best bar experiences based on the votes of the Academy members, who comprise anonymous North American bar industry experts from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The voting split of these bar industry experts is 33 per cent bartenders and bar owners, 33 per cent drinks writers and educators, and 33 per cent well-travelled cocktail experts. There is a 50/50 gender balance among the voters.

This year’s Academy is made up of more than 300 voters. This change was implemented to obtain a wider snapshot and ensure a greater number of diverse voices are heard in the voting process. Moreover, as per all 50 Best lists for restaurants, bars and hotels, a minimum of 25 per cent of Academy members are refreshed annually to keep the perspectives dynamic and relevant. Members of the 50 Best organization do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that bars cannot apply to be on the list and no sponsors have any influence on the list.

The Academy is divided into seven regions: U.S. Northeast; U.S. Midwest; U.S. West; U.S. South; Canada East; Canada West; Mexico and the Caribbean. Each region has its own panel of members including a chairperson, called the Academy Chair. The Chairs each select a voting panel, ensuring a balanced selection. Each North America Academy member will vote for seven bars, with a maximum of five in the home country (or state in the U.S.) where they are based. Voters also have the option to vote for a further two (or more) bars located outside of their home country (or U.S. state) up to a maximum of seven.

The lists of North America’s 50 Best Bars and The World’s 50 Best Bars are the results of two separate votes from two different voting Academies, taking place at different times and assessing different geographical regions. Therefore, the results from voting create two separate lists, with different rankings.

Voting is carried out individually and confidentially on a secure site and remains confidential before the list announcement. Academy Chairs are not privy to, and have no knowledge of, the votes cast by the voters in their respective regions. They are not spokespeople for the 50 Best brand.

The list will be the result of a poll of more than 300 experts (all within the North American continent), who each cast votes for the bars where they have had their ‘best experience’ during the last 18 months before the voting deadline. The list is a simple computation of votes by North American voters for bars in North America. Further information on the Academy Chairs and how the voting works is available on the FAQs page.