The Best Cocktail Bars in Mexico City

When Licorería Limantour opened in April 2011, it changed the face of the cocktail scene in Mexico, which was barely taking off. The concept is simple, designer cocktails fashioned with all sorts of dynamic ingredients: fresh herbs, flowers, fruits, syrups, shrubs, spices, and rare foreign spirits. Take a seat in the downstairs bar and order a margarita al pastor, a punchy take on the classic marg with flavors inspired by tacos al pastor, a seen-everywhere street eat with pineapple and cilantro.

Fifty Mils takes the hotel bar concept and flips it upside down – this ain’t the place to slurp one last pint before bed, more an upscale date venue. It’s powered by a collection of award-winning local mixologists and super-charged by invited star bartenders from across the planet. Take a spot at the long marble bar or, better yet, find a secret hideaway among the greenery in the courtyard. Bring with you a Bugs Bunny – a Tanqueray Nº Ten gin drink with carrot juice, lemongrass syrup, lime juice, tres chiles bitter and perfumed with fernet.

The best of Mexico and France combine magnificently at Maison Artemisia, an intimate bar with a well-deserved rep as one of the best in the city. It does a mean trade in absinthe – a rarity in the land of tequila and mezcal – and even has its own label, Absinthe Maison Artemisia. The menu is short, sweet and ever-changing, and there’s an equally varied line-up of musicians to keep the good vibes flowing.

It’s in the Juarez neighborhood, but that’s all that can be said about the location of Hanky-Panky – this is, after all, the leading speakeasy in Mexico City. There’s a secret entrance, of course, but behind the theater is simply a brilliant cocktail bar. Button-back seating forms intimate booths or you could prop up the bar and listen to the mixologists wax lyrical about their creations.

Sophisticated and secret, Handshake Speakeasy has date night written all over it. Plonk yourself at the gorgeous marble bar and peruse the hella creative cocktail menu. This is a place to get out of your comfort zone – your drink might include burned butter, cherry tomato, or, perhaps, a mushroom. It’s exactly what you want from one of the best speakeasys in Mexico City – incredible drinks, great atmosphere and a surprise or two.

It’s definitely hip – how could it not be with an address in ultra-cool Condesa? – but Baltra Bar has a tranquillo vibe lesser seen in the trendy cocktail bars of Mexico City. That’s largely thanks to the aesthetic – the decor is a quirky mix of nature-inspired paintings and taxidermy, all inspired by Charles Darwin (Baltra is one of the Galapagos islands). Don’t let that relaxed vibe fool you, the cocktails are still cutting-edge.

The miracles of nature come to the fore at Xaman Bar, a trendy coctelería inspired by pre-Hispanic shamanism. It’s a stylish, sophisticated space with decorative nods to the natural world. The feel-good factor here, though, is definitely found on the cocktail menu, where medicinal herbs and plants are utilized in a forward-thinking, experimental offering bound to make you smile.