El Primo Sanchez and Maybe Sammy, both now owned by Public Hospitality, have been named among the world’s top 37 in The Pinnacle Guide’s inaugural List of Pinned Bars, a list that aims to decentralise awards systems for bars by increasing transparency and employing stricter judging criteria.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to the first round of applications for The Pinnacle Guide,” said co-founder, Dan Dove. 

“In revealing this first list, we have been able to realise our goal of celebrating the extraordinary range of cocktail bars the world has to offer; from tiny drinking dens to majestic hotel bars.”

The Pinnacle Guide seeks to differentiates itself by evaluating venues based on six key criteria: drinks programme (25%), front of house (20%), venue look and feel (20%), staff management (20%), operations (10%) and community (5%). All venues must also showcase a commitment to sustainability and a minimum of two carefully considered non-alcoholic drinks. 

The Guide presents one pin to bars deemed to be excellent, two pins for a bar deemed to be considered outstanding, and three pins for a bar deemed to be exceptional.

The impact of this criteria is evident in the different results achieved by The Pinnacle Guide when compared to its competitor bar awards programs.

For its first List of Pinned Bars, 25 venues including Maybe Sammy and El Primo Sanchez were awarded one pin and 12 were awarded two pins. As of yet, no venue has been awarded the yet-elusive three pins accolade. 

When comparing Pinnacle Guide’s two pinned bars to global bar awards leader The World’s 50 Best Bars, only Paradiso (4), Atlas (48), and Panda & Sons (39) also featured in the top 50 for 2023. This is despite many one pin venues featuring higher up in the list. Maybe Sammy, for example, placed 15th.

“We’re proud of our unique submissions process, which has allowed these deserving bars to shine – and we’re excited to shed light on many many more in the months and years to come,” said Dan Dove.

Applications for The Pinnacle Guide will always remain open. The subsequent judging process considers both the written application and the quality of service as experienced during an anonymous visit. To achieve one, two, or three pins, the venue must be deemed excellent, outstanding, or exceptional in both categories independently. 

In the first round of applications, The Pinnacle Guide found some venues to demonstrate three pin status in one, but not both, of these aspects. 

In addition to the accolades, the Guide also puts forth in depth and constructive feedback. 

“The response we’ve received from bars in regards to our feedback, whether PINNED or not, has been extremely motivating,” said Hannah Sharman-Cox, Co-Founder.

“Progress can only happen if we provide genuine, meaningful and reflective insight as to why these bars have or haven’t made it, and it’s been very promising to witness how applicants are taking this on board,” added Co-Founder Siobhan Payne.

Maybe Sammy and El Primo Sanchez both partook in the recent Maybe Cocktail Festival, which saw guests bartenders from all over the world partake in various activations across six days at the start of April.

A full list of bars that received pins in Pinnacle Guide’s inaugural guide can be viewed below:

3 PIN BARS 

• There are no 3 PIN bars yet

2 PIN BARS

• ATLAS, Singapore
• Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour, Phoenix, USA
• Nipperkin, London, UK
• Origin Bar, Shangri-La Singapore, Singapore
• Panda & Sons, Edinburgh, UK
• Paradiso, Barcelona, Spain
• Pretty Decent, Louisville, USA
• Selva, Oaxaca, Mexico
• The American Bar at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, UK
• The Spy Bar at Raffles London, UK
• Thunderbolt, Los Angeles, USA
• True Laurel, San Francisco, USA

1 PIN Bars

• Artesian, London, UK
• Ballroom by Barbary Coast, Singapore 
• Blue Bar at The Berkeley, London, UK
• Couch, Birmingham, UK
• Cure, New Orleans, USA
• El Primo Sanchez, Sydney, Australia
• Kiki Lounge, Isle of Man, UK
• KOL Mezcaleria, London, UK
• Kwant Mayfair, London, UK
• Little Rituals, Phoenix, USA
• Magnus on Water, Maine, USA
• Maybe Sammy, Sydney, Australia
• Meteor, Minneapolis, USA
• Milady’s, New York City, USA
• Nightjar Shoreditch, London, UK
• Passing Fancies, Birmingham, UK
• Rattlebag, Belfast, UK
• Roka Dubai, UAE
• Sexy Fish, London, UK
• Sexy Fish, Manchester UK
• Side Hustle, London, UK
• Swift Soho, London, UK
• The Dead Rabbit, New York City, USA
• The Guards Bar & Lounge at Raffles, London, UK
• Velvet by Salvatore Calabrese, London, UK

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