Food & Wine magazine has just announced their first-ever reader’s choice awards, called Global Tastemakers. Their readers voted based on their travels within the last three years in various categories, including restaurants, hotels, airlines, airports, cruises, and bars.
In the bar category, there are some surprises. While New York City is home to half of the top 10 bars, it didn’t nab the number one spot. That honor goes to The Fox in Nashville, Tennessee. The Fox gets great reviews for the staff, which reportedly makes you feel right at home. Their back bar holds more than 400 bottles and the cocktails on the menu are “complex,” but also “playful and inviting.”
Maybe it’s not so surprising. Nashville is definitely having a moment as America’s “it” city right now. The Global Tastemakers list of the 10 Best Bars in the U.S. also includes a couple in New Orleans, one in Chicago, as well as one in Charleston, South Carolina. Expert mixologists, a 1920s vibe, and monthly live jazz make the Speakeasy Bar at The Spectator Hotel one that I’m putting on my list.
2023 Global Tastemakers Top 10 Bars in the U.S. (Food & Wine)
- The Fox – Nashville, Tennessee
- Chez Zou – New York, New York
- Chandelier Bar – New Orleans, Louisiana
- Pebble Bar – New York, New York
- Overstory – New York, New York
- Bar Marilou – New Orleans, Louisiana
- Speakeasy Bar at The Spectator Hotel – Charleston, South Carolina
- Bemelmans Bar – New York, New York
- Dead Rabbit -New York, New York
- The Violet Hour – Chicago, Illinois
- Editor’s Pick: Katana Kitten – New York, New York
9 Simple 3-Ingredient Cocktails Sure To Impress Your Guests
Manhattan
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rye whiskey
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Simply mix the three ingredients, stir, and pour into a glass. If you’d like to be a little more fancy add a brandied cherry or lemon twist.
Aperol Spritz
Ingredients
- 3 ounces Prosecco
- 2 ounces Aperol
- 1 ounce club soda
Add the prosecco, Aperol, and club soda to wine glass with ice and stir. Serve with a garnish of orange if desired.
Gimlet
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
Add the three ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well, then strain into a chilled glass. If desired garnish with a lime.
Dry Martini
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
- 1 dash orange bitters
Add the ingredients to a mixing glass, stir with ice then strain into a glass and garnish with a lemon.
Negroni
Ingredients
- 1 ounce gin
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
Add the ingredients to a mixing glass, mix with ice until chilled and pour into a serving glass. Garnish with an orange peel.
Amaretto Sour
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces amaretto
- 2 ounces simple syrup
- 1 ounce lemon juice
Combine the ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into a drinking glass. Garnish with an orange or cherries.
Moscow Mule
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 3 ounces ginger beer, chilled
Fill a copper mug with ice, then pour in vodka and lime juice. Top with ginger beer.
Paloma
Ingredients
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
- Grapefruit soda, chilled, to top
Add tequila and lime juice to a glass, top with grapefruit soda, and stir gently. Garnish with a salted rim and a lime wedge if desired.
Dark N Stormy
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Gosling’s rum
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- Ginger beer, to top
Combine rum and lime juice in a tall glass with ice, then top with ginger beer and garnish with lime.
