Cardiff's Lab 22 crowned UK's best cocktail bar
Located above a bakery, the experimental Lab 22 has jumped up 32 places in two years. The bar, which is overseen by award-winning head bartender Max Hayward, is known for its creative approach to drinks with menus that follow different themes. Previous ones have taken inspiration from the accomplishments of scientists while the current drink list is inspired by ‘the unexplored ideas and phenomena which humanity has yet to conquer’.
Lab 22’s drinks menu comprises 14 cocktails, 12 single-serve drinks and two to be shared, with options including Casual Loop | Time Travel, made with Hendricks gin, pressed watermelon, Bandarra rose, and soda water; Make Me Famous | The Internet, comprising Tanqueray gin, passionfruit wine vanilla, and disco dust; and Concrete Daisy | Urban Farming - a blend of Espolon tequila, orange lillet, urban honey, and spruce tips.
The Welsh capital is also home to Pennyroyal, a new entry at number 36 on this year’s list, which is known for its friendly neighbourhood vibe and bold, eccentric cocktails.
A further 10 bars on the list are located in the north of England, three in the west, two in the Midlands, three in the south and five in Scotland. London dominated the highest ranked bars, securing four of the top five spots, with Swift Soho ranked at number two and The Connaught Bar - voted 2021’s ‘best bar in the world’ in The World’s 50 Best Bars - in third place.
“London has always been seen as a global leader for cocktails but as you’ll see from the 2022 list, other major cities across the UK are now catching up,” says Top 50 Cocktail Bars publisher Chris Lowe.
This year’s Highest New Entrant is Tayēr + Elementary at number four on the list with special awards were presented to Bar Ikigai in Birmingham for Newcomer of the Year; Little Mercies in London for the Sustainability Award; Three Little Words in Manchester for Bar Team of the Year; and Déjà vu in Hereford as the One to Watch.
Top 50 Cocktail Bars is now in its fourth year, with the first list published in June 2018. The bars on the list are voted for by hundreds of experts, bartenders, bar owners and drinks writers.
The Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2022 list:
1. Lab 22, Cardiff
2. Swift Soho, London
3. The Connaught Bar, London
4. Tayēr + Elementary, London
5. Satan’s Whiskers, London
6. Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh
7. Three Sheets, London
8. Oriole, London
9. Panda and Sons, Edinburgh
10. Speak in Code, Manchester
11. A Bar With Names for a Shaped, London
12. Disrepute, London
13. Nightjar, London
14. Homeboy Bar, London
15. American Bar, London
16. Scholfield’s Bar, Manchester
17. Opium Cocktails & Dim Sum Parlour, London
18. Coupette, London
19. Artesian, London
20. Scarfes Bar, London
21. Trailer Happiness, London
22. Lucky Liquor co., Edinburgh
23. Happiness Forgets, London
24. Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Leeds
25. Little Mercies, London
26. The Absent Ear, Glasgow
27. The Milk Thistle, Bristol
28. Berry & Rye, Liverpool
29. Laki Kane, London
30. Filthy XIII, Bristol
31. Lyaness, London
32. Roland’s Leeds, Leeds
33. Gungho!, Brighton
34. Hacha, London
35. The Hideout, Bath
36. Pennyroyal, Cardiff
37. Couch, Birmingham
38. Bar Termini, London
39. Below Stairs, Leeds
40. Hay Palu, Edinburgh
41. Public, Sheffield
42. Hedonist, Leeds
43. Present Company, Liverpool
44. The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
45. Publiq., London
46. Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
47. L’Atelier du Vin, Brighton
48. Callooh Callay, London
49. Mother Mercy, Newcastle upon Tyne
50. The Cocktail Trading Co, London
