Best Cocktails Madrid is also a project that was born from the chaos of quarantine. It’s a logical consequence of having ‘closed’ some of the best creative minds who, above all, want to take Madrid’s cocktail sector to the next level. «ue to the crisis, we were unable to unleash our creativity in our bars for quite some time, so instead we worked at home, giving rise to new ideas and improving on what was already working. This initiative, which would have been impossible to implement when in full swing, came about to help us get back on the scene, to meet similar high standards in quality and innovation, and to collectively offer a wide range of mixology», explained Diego Cabrera, His remarkable project, the gastro-cocktail bar Salmon Guru (Echegaray, 21), became the first establishment in Spain’s capital to be included on the prestigious list The World’s 50 Best Bars. It currently holds 19th place of the 50 best bars in the world. Originally from Argentina, Cabrera was one of the main drivers behind the movement – an idea which he concocted with Mario Villalón, another pioneer on Madrid’s bartending scene and known, along with his brother David, for the success of Angelita (Reina, 4) Their establishment combines gastro-mixology with a wine bar. «We created this guide to gather all of the information about the city’s cocktail bars in one place, so that the customer can plan their own route and discover different locations at their own pace, without having to check each bar’s website separately», explains Villalón. «We hope that more establishments will join us.».

Cabrera and Villalón highlight the democratic nature of a movement born from community spirit, aiming to interchange customers across the fifteen cocktail bars which founded the initiative. At the moment, they are all based in the centre of Madrid but there are plans to expand. The lack of any hierarchy is easy to see by simply visiting their website. Establishments change position on the web page with every refresh. Furthermore, each one has their own section with the same details and information: map and directions, opening hours, social media and a clear summary of their concept, written by François Monti, one of the most renowned journalists in the sector. This collaborative spirit will also be available in a non-virtual form. When these establishments can once again reopen to the public, their owners will provide customers with cards displaying all of this information. «We want our customers to collect us like trading cards, to have a list with all our names and plan their own route through the city».