Liverpool bar named one of the best 'international cocktail bars' in Europe
A city centre venue is up against bars in London, Milan, Athens and Madrid
A Liverpool city centre venue has been named one of the 'best new international cocktail bars' in Europe. Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) has revealed its top 10 nominees across Europe for this year’s Spirited Awards.
The finalists are selected from a panel of more than 250 industry experts. The awards are divided into geographical regions: Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and Africa, US Central, US East, and US West.
Bar Glue, located in Liverpool's Royal Albert Dock Anchor Courtyard, is up against venues in London, Madrid, Athens and Milan. The bar will battle it out against 10 venues across Europe to be named this year's best new international arrival.
Bar Glue is co-owned by hospitality heavyweights Mike Bower and Nathan Price. The venue's founders, Chris Edwards, Owain Williams and Sam Grainger, passed the business on to the pair who have worked at the venue since 2022.
Before opening in August, Nathan and Mike pledged the venue would focus on community, creativity and an exciting and accessible approach to the flavours and processes of bespoke cocktails.
Thrilled with the TOTCF nomination, Bar Glue said: "It just isn’t slowing down. Beyond excited and utterly blown away to announce that Bar Glue is a 2025 Spirited Awards Regional Top 10 Nominee for Best New International Cocktail Bar for the Europe region!
"A Spirited Awards nod was something that we always wanted to achieve, but they felt a little out of our reach being a small bar tucked away in Liverpool. Looks like we were wrong."Huge thanks to Tales of the Cocktail Foundation for including us as an honoree. Whatever the outcome, this is a win for us."
In February, Bar Glue was ranked 38th in The Top 50 Cocktail Bars' national list. The list is a definitive guide to the best cocktails establishments in the UK, and it's voted for and chosen by experts within the hospitality industry.
The ECHO visited Bar Glue last week and we were enamoured by the minimalist venue boasting a stacked menu. You can read our full review of Bar Glue here.
The Top 50 Cocktail Bars listed also included Liverpool's Sister Ray at 45th. The venue, located in Wolstenholme Square, is one of Chris Edwards' new ventures.
Sister Ray opened in May, drawing on European cafes and New York's cocktail bars for inspiration. Speaking to the ECHO shortly afterwards, Chris claimed the venue could serve a martini better than anyone else.
He said: "We set up wanting to bring high-quality service, drinks, and ingredients, with a focus on music. The name Sister Ray is a Velvet Underground song that I love. It should be a place where people can come at any time of any day, for any sort of reason."