These Vancouver bars were just named among the best in North America
(Credit: The Keefer)
A new ranking has placed two popular Vancouver bars among the 50 best on the continent.
Botanist took the No. 24 spot while The Keefer came in at No. 49 in the annual ranking of North America's 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier.
The top honour for 2024 was given to Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, becoming the first bar in Mexico to claim the No. 1 spot.
Botanist, located in the Fairmont Pacific Rim, boasts an array of "sophisticated-yet-whimsical" cocktails – including the Duck Duck Goose made with bourbon fat-washed with foie gras, sweet vermouth, cherry plum, prune saline and bitters.
The bar made the 2023 ranking as well, coming in at No. 19.
"To be recognized on this list for a second year in a row speaks volumes about Botanist Bar's constant pursuit of creativity," Grant Sceney, beverage director for the hotel, said in a statement. "It's a reflection of all of the people that have been a part of its seven-year journey."
The Keefer, an "apothecary-inspired" cocktail bar on Keefer Street, in the city's Chinatown neighbourhood, also features dozens of imaginative offerings. The current spring menu includes the Chivo, a mixture of Siete Misterios mezcal, Aalborg akvavit, black raspberry wine, beet shrub, goat milk and beet meringue.
The establishment – which placed No. 8 on a 2023 list of the best bars in Canada – celebrated its latest honour on Instagram, thanking its "amazing, creative staff who work not only as a team but as a family."
Only a handful of other Canadian bars made the ranking for North America's 50 Best Bars, including Civil Liberties, Bar Pompette and Bar Mordecai in Toronto.
New York claimed more spots on the list than any other city, accounting for 12 of the 50, including three of the top five.
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