CAFE GRAY BAR, HONG KONG – Hong Kong is at its shimmering best here, high on the 49th floor of Andre Fu’s seductively designed Upper House. Head up, past soothing limestone floors and sandstone sculptures, until you reach the buzz and beat of this glorious space. Hong Kong’s beautiful people compete for the best views from the 14-metre stone-topped bar, and the lights in the harbour 
dazzle. Bartenders shake up signature cocktails such as the Earl Gray Martini or, the perfect pick-me-up, the Hong Kong Highball (Belvedere vodka, fresh ginger, lemon juice, pomegranate seeds and bubbles).
Then linger longer on a powder-blue velvet banquette with a plate of oysters or killer polenta fries with acclaimed chef Gray Kunz’s citrusy-fiery ketjap. The world can wait.
LOCALE, FLORENCE – This city is not exactly known for innovative drinks, but considering how good a classic Negroni and Aperol Spritz is, it’s never really been an issue. Yet thanks to this place, locals and visitors are coming to appreciate the talents of the inventive barman, craft cocktails and a speakeasy vibe. Here you’ll find unusual twists on classics, for example the Negroni comes with mezcal and the perfect Dark and Stormy with top-shelf tequila. This bar is in one of Florence’s most beautiful re-purposed Renaissance palazzos – the building dates from the 1500s when it was the residence of Bartolomeo Concini – with a huge skylight, an imposing zinc bar, antique Murano chandeliers and back-lit bottle racks. It is easy to see why it’s become the new hotspot for the fashion crowd and design hounds.
THE LOBO PLANTATION, SYDNEY – To step down from the CBD streets into this basement bar is to be transported into a scene from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. Except the retired Latin American colonels pondering their childhoods have been replaced with the smart Sydney set. It’s a wonderfully warm space, wood-lined and furnished with Chesterfields and tropical-print armchairs. And, given the colonial Caribbean feel, it’s no surprise that the drinks are firmly rooted in rum. Choose from 250 different varieties, or the bartenders are happy to unleash a touch of theatre with the Old Grogtam: spiced rum teamed with stout vermouth and then set alight. Clever design details get a little lost in the low lighting (keep an eye out for the pillar covered with Cuban bank notes), but don’t leave before paying respect to the striking wall mosaics and painted porcelain sinks in the bathrooms.
THE AVIARY, CHICAGO – Peer through The Aviary’s large window and you might think you are looking into a science lab as mixologists bend over huge steel counters pouring liquids, pumping smoke and infusing ice. Where the caged-in kitchen at chef Grant Achatz’s bar stimulates curiosity, the cocktails satisfy. The drinks are even more spectacular than the big chandeliers and floral displays, and are served by staff who also know how to deliver drama. Some cocktails arrive with bright-green ice or in port-hole-shaped decanters filled with orange slices and cranberries, others in a bottle with a miniature ship inside. The Rob Roy, a mix of whiskey and sweet sherry, is served in a bag filled with lavender air. If choosing is too difficult, there are prix-fixe drinks menus with nibbles too.
