We all know how impressive the Birmingham bar scene is, with mixologists in the city creating unreal concoctions to knock your socks off (or knock you off your stool), but we now have even greater confirmation just how brilliant the city’s cocktail bars are. Announcing the winners yesterday evening (February 1), Top 50 Cocktail Bars revealed a number of Birmingham cocktail bars had made the cut as some of the best in the UK.
According to the Top 50 Cocktail Bars, the list is compiled by the bar industry, making it a unique list of venues those in the know like to visit. The organisers recruit over 100 industry experts which make up the voting academy, from bartenders and owners, to drinks writers and influencers in order to curate an extra special list which has something for every type of drinker.
Despite the list mainly being dominated by London bars, popular Stirchley haunt, Couch, managed to knock a few of the capital’s bars down a peg or two by coming in at 37th place. The Stirchley bar serves up handcrafted cocktails inspired by music, with each drink based on iconic women from from Aretha Franklin to Annie Lennox. The award organisers also said “the high design of the cocktail menu itself, which is graphically designed and set out as a series of picture editorials” deserved a worthy mention.
Couch was shortly followed by the go-to Great Western Arcade bar, The Pineapple Club, who came 44th in the list. Top 50 Cocktail Bars described The Pineapple Club as “fresh, vibrant and spacious with a strong range of drinks offerings as well as an equally compelling bottomless brunch offering.”
Top 50 Cocktail Bars also gave a mention to another Birmingham bar, by giving them a specialist award. Bar Ikigai, which opened in November 2020 and is located within 1000 trades in the Jewellery Quarter, was crowned Newcomer of the Year.
The list described the bar by saying: “The bar takes influence from Izakaya culture (post-work informal drinks with snacks), Ikigai at 1000 Trades brings a niche experience to the Birmingham Independent bar scene, with an array of Japanese spirits, flavourful cocktails and speciality sake.”
For the full list head to the Top 50 Cocktail Bars website here.