The World’s 50 Best Bars Propels A Medellín Cocktail Renaissance Into The Spotlight

The drink of choice of the average paisa from Medellín, Colombia may still be the locally-distilled “guaro,” but as the city’s cocktail scene grows, there’s now much more choice for locals and visitors alike. Now, two of Medellín’s best-known cocktail institutions, Mamba Negra and Bar Carmen, celebrate their selection by The World’s 50 Best Bars as mixology destinations worth traveling for.

Colombia is no stranger to inclusion on the prestigious “best of” list, released annually to much fanfare by The World’s 50 Best, with Cartagena’s Alquímico and Bogotá’s La Sala de Laura also making a showing this year, and in years past. However, this is the first time that Medellín has taken the spotlight, highlighting an exciting new way to enjoy a destination that seems to be at the top of travelers’ radar.

Medellín is well known for its over-the-top nightlife, but a growing interest in high-end mixology marks a new way to enjoy the night. In many ways, it’s more a result of the city’s burgeoning culinary scene than anything else, as Medellín-based restaurateurs increasingly call on locally-sourced ingredients and regional tradition to refine their craft.

As the head of several award-winning restaurants in Medellín, Bar Carmen’s founder Carmen Ángel was already on the radar of The World’s 50 Best when it came to food. In 2021, her eponymous restaurant, Carmen, won a spot on The World’s 50 Best list of the best restaurants in Latin America; its sister restaurant, X.O., has earned a spot on the list for three years running.

But for Carmen Ángel and Bar Carmen’s passionate bar director, Maycoll Tobon, mixology has never been secondary to food. “Creating Bar Carmen was bumpy at first because this was new for the city, both in using local ingredients and the experience of sitting at a bar and having a craft cocktail to be savored,” said Ángel in an interview.

“Now, guests can have this entire experience and moment of enjoyment before they even touch their food. It’s a whole new way to enjoy a night out in the city, one that wasn’t as common just a few years ago.”

The mixology menu at Bar Carmen is an extensive one, featuring home-grown ingredients that many visitors and even locals may be unfamiliar with. Lesser-known native fruits and herbs like chontaduro and cilantro cimarrón meet local distillates, many made in house. Viche, a typically Afro-Colombian sugar cane liquor from the country’s Pacific Coast, features heavily on the menu.

Tobon recommends trying the B.C.E., with its grilled lime liqueur and wow-worthy Amazon lemongrass ant salt rim and garnish. Another favorite is La Sierra, a proudly paisa take on an espresso martini featuring viche and a locally sourced coffee produced in Medellín’s Comuna 8 neighborhood.

If this is a love letter to the city told through spirits, then Medellin Cocktail Week is the symphony. A new event spearheaded by Mamba Negra this summer, Medellín Cocktail Week was widely attended by leaders of some of the most prestigious bars across Latin America and beyond, putting the city squarely on the map with the who’s who of the industry.

The inaugural gathering featured full days of events including classes, panels, and chats with celebrated mixologists and distillers, plus guest bartending experiences from lauded cocktail spots like Sastería Martínez in Lima, Tayēr + Elementary in London, Tlecān in Mexico City, and many more. These would be among the same colleagues celebrating recognition atop The World’s 50 Best Bars list alongside Mamba Negra and Bar Carmen just a few months later.

Bartenders also took to some of the most beloved destinations across the buzzy neighborhood of El Poblado, with nightly events at Mamba Negra and a handful of the city’s other destinations for elevated cocktail experiences, including Mala Audio Bar, Krudo Viches & Vinilos, and Naúfrago at The Click Clack Hotel.

Beyond just an inspirational gathering of the minds, the week-long event helped raise the city’s profile more broadly. “We’re already very excited for the next iteration of Medellin Cocktail Week [scheduled for June 1-5, 2026], and are thrilled to make it even better and broader next year,” says Juan David Zapata, one of Mamba Negra’s passionate cofounders.

“This summer, the first [Medellín Cocktail Week] was very industry heavy which set us up really well for some great collaboration. Now we’re looking forward to opening it up even more to cocktail enthusiasts. We already see that there’s such a clamor for that style of event from locals and visitors in Medellín, and it feels like that’s growing every day.”

The multi-day event was far from the first time Mamba Negra has broken new ground in Medellín’s growing world of mixology. Mamba Negra shines from the 22nd floor of a glittering, glass-encased tower set in the hillsides of the upscale El Poblado neighborhood, a picture of the city’s breakneck growth and inspiring expansion. Its breathtakingly beautiful views sweep across the city skyline; after months of living in Medellín, I have yet to see a view that compares to it.

To match their sky-high location, Mamba Negra aims for a sky-high level of innovation. On a recent visit, one of the bartenders took the time to walk me through the full functionality of the new high-tech evaporation and maceration machines—oh, the opportunity! But even a more casual cocktail enthusiast can tell that Mamba Negra is up to something special.

In addition to an already inspirational menu, Mamba Negra continues to push the envelope with new projects like Mamba Lab, born out of more than a year of investigation, design, and inspiration to get each of its elements just right. “Mamba Lab is an eight-course cocktail tasting experience that solely focused on Colombian distillates and local products,” explains Mamba Negra cofounder and manager, Samuel Granados.

“We really put everything into investigating and developing this hands-on experience as a study in cocktails and spirits, and now we’re thrilled to present it.”

When I asked the Mamba Negra team, including Zapata, Grandos, and public relations manager Simón Piedrahita, for the standout cocktails, they all agreed: there is simply no singular drink that compares to living the full Mamba Lab experience. “It really is a lab, we make everything here and it’s a study in the coctelería of Colombia and what we’re able to do with what we have,” said Zapata. “That’s what we’re so passionate about here and what has motivated us from the beginning.”

It’s this innovation and homegrown pride that has allowed Mamba Negra and Bar Carmen to cut through the noise and make waves that have carried them all the way to The World’s 50 Best. Accomplishments aside, Mamba Negra’s Zapata and Bar Carmen’s Tobon both promise that there is so much more to come for mixology in Medellín.

“Colombia has absolutely nothing to envy of anywhere else when it comes to what we have to offer,” says Tobon, referencing the ingredients that go into Medellín’s best cocktails, but also, somehow, so much more. “That we’ve made it this far our way, staying true to what we have, is something to be proud of.”