London luxury hotel bar the Artesian at the Langham has fought off global competition to take the top spot at the prestigious World's 50 Best Bars 2012.

Announced by Drinks International the coveted awards uncover the hottest places to drink around the globe.

The results means Artesian has bumped last year's winner New York speakeasy PDT (Please Don't Tell) into second place.

Drinks International's Lucy Britner said: "The list reveals the incredible wealth of diversity and expertise around the world, with the Artesian being a very worthy winner. The attention to detail and cocktail-craftsmanship is outstanding and head barman Alex Kratena brings his own personal touch of magic to proceedings. The setting is luxurious and elegant, the service is welcoming and warm, and the standards, impeccable."

The World's 50 Best Bars 2012 is the definitive list for those who want to know, compiled by those in the know.  One hundred and fifty top experts from 40 countries voted making this the most important international bar survey of the global drinks scene ever.

The list was announced at a glittering ceremony in London attended by leading industry figures and representatives from the listed bars. The event has quickly become one of the highlights of the bar industry calendar.

THE WORLD'S 50 BEST BARS – THE FULL LIST

1 ARTESIAN, LANGHAM HOTEL, LONDON - below



2 PDT, NEW YORK
3 NIGHTJAR, LONDON
4 CONNAUGHT BAR, LONDON
5 AMERICAN BAR AT THE SAVOY HOTEL, LONDON
6 DEATH & CO, NEW YORK
7 BAXTER INN, SYDNEY
8 69 COLEBROOKE ROW, LONDON
9 CALLOOH CALLAY, LONDON
10 BRAMBLE, EDINBURGH
11 EMPLOYEES ONLY, NEW YORK
12 HAPPINESS FORGETS, LONDON
13 DRINK, BOSTON
14 THE VARNISH, LA
15 ZETTER TOWNHOUSE, LONDON
16 MUTIS, BARCELONA
17 BLACK PEARL, MELBOURNE
18 CLOVER CLUB, NEW YORK
19 DRY MARTINI, BARCELONA
20 LA CAPILLA, MEXICO
21 PALMER & CO, SYDNEY
22 HIGH FIVE, TOKYO
23 LE LION, HAMBURG
24 SMUGGLER'S COVE, SAN FRANCISCO
25 EAU DE VIE, SYDNEY
26 EXPERIMENTAL COCKTAIL CLUB, NEW YORK
27 PORTOBELLO STAR, LONDON
28 SCHUMANN'S, MUNICH
29 TIPPLING CLUB, SINGAPORE
30 LEBENSSTERN, BERLIN
31 GOLDENE BAR, MUNICH
32 PEGU CLUB, NEW YORK
33 WORSHIP STREET WHISTLING SHOP, LONDON
34 ANGEL'S SHARE, NEW YORK
35 DUTCH KILLS, NEW YORK
36 FRANK'S, BUENOS AIRES
37 BEAUFORT BAR, SAVOY HOTEL, LONDON
38 HEMINGWAY BAR PRAGUE, PRAGUE
39 MEAT, KENTUCKY
40 MILK & HONEY LONDON, LONDON
41 NOTTINGHAM FOREST, MILAN
42 28 HONGKONG STREET, SINGAPORE
43 BOUTIQ'BAR, BUDAPEST
44 CHAINAYA. TEA & COCKTAILS, MOSCOW
45 CANDELARIA, PARIS
46 SALVATORE AT PLAYBOY, LONDON
47 RUBY, COPENHAGEN
48 STAGGER LEE, BERLIN
49 LE BAR DU PLAZA ATHÉNÉE, PARIS
50 ASOKA, CAPE TOWN

Notes:

Prior to 2011, The World's 50 Best Bars poll was conducted by a market research company and canvassed celebrated bars around the world. This year, we enlisted the help of 150 drinks and bar industry experts from 40 countries who each cast their votes, making this the most important international bar survey of the global drinks scene ever.

The Rules:
150 drinks experts were asked to follow the below guidelines when casting their votes:
- Please vote for the best three bars in the world, in your professional opinion
- You cannot vote for venues you own or work in
- The venues must still be open
- You should have visited the bars in the past two years
- Votes should be given in an order of 1, 2, 3 which is used in the case of a tie

Website: http://worlds50bestbars.drinksint.com