NFL 2025: Week 2 Power Rankings & The Rest

Ranking the 0-1 Teams

Tier I - The "Start Hoping Arch is the Guy" Uno

16.) Carolina Panthers  (0-1  =  10-26)

That was a disturbing Bryce Young performance, looking every bit the lost QB he was at the beginning of last year, and nothing like the brief flash of competence he showed in the second half of the season. The defense was also bad, adn the roster as a whole is still not good, but any hope of this iteration of the team working is Bryce taking a step, and more importantly retaining that step, and this first game was a real challenge.

Tier II - The "New" Trio

15.) New York Giants  (0-1  =  6-21)

14.) New Orleans Saints  (0-1  =  13-20)

13.) New England Patriots  (0-1  =  13-20)

Yeah, it's kitschy to put these three together, but I do think they all had pretty awful showings - even if the Saints and Patriots lost by just a TD. For the Saints, they weren't really in that game. Anyway, this is a throwaway season for them - or at least as close to one as you can have in the NFL. The defense did play reasonably well and can keep them in games. The Patriots were a real disapppointment - I mean, I didn't believe in the weird Wild Card hype surrounding this team, but if you want Drake Maye taking a step, you can't have him struggling and seeming lost at times against the Raiders defense. He looked way too scattershot still despite getting better protection than he's been used to. For the Giants, I just don't understand why they aren't going with Jaxson Dart today. Like, what is there to gain by playing Russell Wilson at this point? They aren't wild card fodder with Wilson, may as well at least give your fans something to cheer about after a decade of irrelevance. The risk I see is they start pissing off Nabers even, as seems to be happening.

Tier III - The "I may be somehow overrating them" Uno

12.) Miami Dolphins  (0-1  =  8-33)

The Dolphins can go one of two ways - they can either continue this downturn and be in a position where they'll be firing McDaniel in a month, or I guess they could also be the team that plays way worse in Week 1 than at any other point. I don't think they're secretly a 10-win team, but why I hold a bit of hope for the latter of the two outcomes is even last year which was a wasted season, with Tua they were generally decent. I just can't believe they would fall apart at this level in one offseason. Yes, I get the vibes are bad, but can it really be this bad?

Tier IV - The "Some Signs of Life....." Duo

11.) Tennessee Titans  (0-1  =  12-20)
10.) Cleveland Browns  (0-1  =  16-17)

Neither of these teams project to be good, but both arguably played better than their supposedly good opponent. That shoudl mean something, yes? Now, Cam Ward needs his receivers to actually catch a ball, and it would be good if their ballyhooed OL-focused coaching staff can actually coach up a decent OL. Similarly for the Browns, I don't know how long they'll keep trotting out the 40-year old in Flacco (who did look decent, admittedly). But for both, their defenses showed up, and again both easily could have won. I woudl think they would be fairly fluke winners in that scenario, but both made it seem like they can keep games competitive this season. But seriously guys, for the love of good pleas block for Cam.

Tier V - The "Cautious Optimism" Trio

9.) Seattle Seahawks  (0-1  =  13-17)

8.) New York Jets  (0-1  =  32-34)
7.) Chicago Bears  (0-1  =  24-27)

All three of these teams could've easily won. All three had leads in the 4th quarters of their respective games. All three lost, but there are some bright spots. The Seahawks defense continued to look good and has some further upside in now year 2 of Mike McDonald's scheme (it was similarly in Year 2 with Baltimore they took off). The Jets offense looked solid and more than that sustainable with Justin Fields and more importantly an OL that played way more cohesively against a good (in theory) defensive opponent. Despite missing Vera-Tucker, the Jets OL was able to really give both Hall and Fields time and space. For the Bears, Caleb's inaccuracy is still a major problem, but Johnson had him playing more composed. I have to admit, I thought about shifting the Bears down, but I still believe in a lot of what I saw from that team, specifically the defense.

Tier VI - The "Just a bump in the road" Trio

6.) Atlanta Falcons  (0-1  =  20-23)
5.) Dallas Cowboys  (0-1  =  20-24)
4.) Houston Texans  (0-1  =  9-14)

All three of these teams still to me have playoff aspirations and showed why. Penix looked good - he looked like a QB who will take a whole lot of risks, but I liked how that offense looked. Yes, they lost, but I have high hopes for Tampa, so this wasn't a terrible loss to me. The Cowboys looked good in a sense. I don't think CeeDee will drop three passes a game. The OL looked good. The defense looked OK given the loss of Micah Parsons. They looked like a team that could threaten for the NFC East if they didn't trade their All Pro pass rusher the week before the season started. For the Texans, it's weird because their biggest issue in that game was their biggest issue last season and coming into this one: their inability to block. But let's not forget the Rams are one of the better pass rushes. Stroud, despite the pressure and sacks, did look more calm, and threw some amazing passes. The defense also played well. I think that was a weirdly well played game by both teams, especially for a 14-9 final.

Tier VII - The "Lick Those Wounds Off" Trio

3.) Detroit Lions  (0-1  =  13-27)

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  (0-1  =  21-27)

1.) Baltimore Ravens  (0-1  =  40-41)

Ever year there's a few teams that are preseason Super Bowl contenders that lose in Week 1. Some fall flat on their face, like Detroit did. Some lose just normally, like the Chiefs did. Few lose in the heart-breaking way the Ravens did - except for the Ravens which do this three times a year. I think all three are still good. For the Lions, hidden in that game was that tehy still moved the ball but had some bad red zone luck - and turnover luck (the two called back INTs). The defenses lack of pass rush was concerning, but that whole game may just be a case of losing to a good opponent playing an A game. The Chiefs injuries are concerning, as was their lack of pass rush, but I think they're due a bit of leeway before we go too far in teh other direction. For the Ravens, what can you say. I probably should have them in their own tier. Other than the continued questions it raises about their propensity to blow big leads, losing by one point on the road against maybe the best team in the league is about the most excusable loss you can have.

Ranking the 1-0 Teams

Tier I - The "Let's be real, beating who you beat counts as half a win" Trio

16.) Las Vegas Raiders  (1-0  =  20-13)

15.) Jacksonville Jaguars  (1-0  =  26-10)
14.) Denver Broncos  (1-0  =  20-12)

It always happens every year, two teams play in Week 1 where neither is all that good, and the winner gets to bask in that 1-0 record, but how much does it really matter. The Raiders offense looked good, but I can't really take anything about that defense seriously yet. The Jags beat a fairly lifeless Panthers team, and still showed some issues like a truly awful pick by Lawrence. The Broncos defense was basically as good as advertised, but Bo Nix played like the scattershot rookie he was for the first half of last season. None of these three performances was great. But hey, a win is a win. Also as an aside, it is pretty strange how few upsets we had yesterday. Generally the teams people thought would win did win.

Tier II - The "Fun AFC North Escapes" Duo

13.) Cincinnati Bengals  (1-0  =  17-16)

12.) Pittsburgh Steelers  (1-0  =  34-32)

I don't know how good either of these two are. I'm probably underrating Cincinnati because they just seem incapable of playing well in the first couple weeks of a season. On the plus side at least they won this game, but the offense looked just as impotent as it does every Week 1-3. I don't know how this can never change. The defense also looked bad when it wasn't getting interceptions off of drops by their opponent. For the Steelers, yes, seeing Rodgers have 4 TDs with no picks was fun, but he still took a lot of sacks, couldn't really move, and the defense looked quite porous. I don't think they're long for being >.500 if they need to score 34 every week, even for one week it all looked good.

Tier III - The "Is this the start of something?" Duo

11.) Arizona Cardinals  (1-0  =  20-13)

10.) Indianapolis Colts  (1-0  =  33-8)

For teh Cardinals and Colts, wins over beatable teams need to be routine. Those two were - specifically the Colts absolutely embarrassing the Dolphins. For both, the real test will be how sustainable this is. How sustainable is that Kyler offense down to down - is Marvin Harrison really going to take a step up? For the Colts, will Lou Anarumo's creativity with that group work as well against opponents who have an offense that is at all cohesive. Can Daniel Jones continue this level given this is the best OL he's played behind. Both teams were near .500 last year where some of these things either went wrong or stayed stagnant, so the upward mobility if they are truly fixed problems is absolutely there.

Tier IV - The "Second Tier NFC Teams" Trio

9.) Minnesota Vikings  (1-0  =  27-24)

8.) Los Angeles Rams  (1-0  =  14-9)
7.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (1-0  =  23-20)

The Rams and Bucs have made the playoffs each of the last two years. The Vikings made it last year and two of the last three under KOC. But none of them have made it past the divisional round. They've not been serious NFC contenders, but maybe that changes. None of teh three were perfect, but all had tough opponents and did the things they do well well, for instance the Rams DL was great, and despite all the back concerns, Stafford threw a bunch of seeds against what could end up being a top flight defense in the Texans. For the Buccaneers, Baker was good, the rookie WR was great, the defense was good in spurts - this is a top heavy team, but the top played well. For the Vikings, McCarthy was rough in that first half, but the second that 2:00 drill (or really 1:00 drill) happened at the end of the first half through to the end, when he was finally unleashed a bit, you saw what made him an intriguing prospect. Granted, the pick-6 showed where there will definitely be growing pains.

Tier V - The "This Can't Be Happening Again" Uno

6.) San Francisco 49ers  (1-0  =  17-13)

Kittle is now out for 3-5 weeks. Purdy may be out for a game (which seems like it came out of nowhere). The 49ers seem again just cursed with injuries. At some point maybe you start looking at the personnel or the training staff or all of it. It can't just be bad luck. but right now it is. McCaffrey at least stayed healthy, and the young defenders all came to play. If they can survive until Kittle gets back, along with Aiyuk, they could be like the 2021 49ers who rallied late in the season to make the playoffs and run.

Tier VI - The "Upwardly Mobile" Trio

5.) Washington Commanders  (1-0  =  21-6)
4.) Los Angeles Chargers  (1-0  =  27-21)

3.) Green Bay Packers  (1-0  =  27-13)

All three of these teams made the playoffs last year. All three want to take that next step, and through one week we're in a good spot. The Commanders may have beaten a pumpkin, but they thoroughly dominated the Giants and showed some good improvement from their DL, with teh Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw duo being dominant. The Packers and Chargers had key division wins against the resident division bully. Both were home games so in the grand scheme maybe it doesn't matter, but the Chargers new pass-heavy offense, and the Packers dominance on defense were welcome presences that could easily just be season long trends.

Tier VII - The "Cream of the Crop" Duo

2.) Buffalo Bills  (1-0  =  41-40)

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  (1-0  =  24-20)

There was a general consensus Big-4 coming into teh season of the Eagles, and the three AFC giants (Bills, Chiefs, Ravens). Well, two of those teams lost, and these two won. Maybe neither won too convincingly, but the Bills ability to stay in that game, and the offenses maturity from guys liek Coleman (a huge development) and Kincaid was a welcome sign. The defense has some challenges but it also may be the Ravens are just an awful matchup for a team that hates playing base. For the Eagles, the Champs are #1 until they lose, but more than that they sleepwalked with a "C" performance to a win against a divisional rival. The most concerning part was the lack of pass rush, but a lot of that could be the weird Carter ejection. Let's see a full force Eagles defense first before we worry.

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

16.) New England Patriots (0-1)  @  Miami Dolphins (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

15.) Carolina Panthers (0-1)  @  Arizona Cardinals (1-0)  (4:05 - CBS)

14.) New York Giants (0-1)  @  Dallas Cowboys (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)

13.) San Francisco 49ers (1-0)  @  New Orleans Saints (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)

12.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1)  @  Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)  (1:00 - FOX)

11.) Los Angeles Rams (1-0)  @  Tennessee Titans (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

10.) Atlanta Falcons (0-1)  @  Minnesota Vikings (1-0)  (SNF - NBC)
9.) Buffalo Bills (1-0)  @  New York Jets (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

8.) Cleveland Browns (0-1)  @  Baltimore Ravens (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
7.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)  @  Houston Texans (0-1)  (MNF - ESPN)
6.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)  (1:00 - CBS)
5.) Denver Broncos (1-0)  @  Indianapolis Colts (1-0)  (4:05 - CBS)
4.) Chicago Bears (0-1)  @  Detroit Lions (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
3.) Los Angeles Chargers (1-0)  @  Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)  (MNF - ESPN)

2.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)  @  Kansas City Chiefs (0-1)  (4:25 - FOX)

1.) Washington Commanders (1-0)  @  Green Bay Packers (1-0)  (TNF - Prime)

My Top-20 Favorite EDM Clubs

Closed - none. Though technically Reset, my #3, is closed. I feel bad removing it, mainly because I have it so highly regarded. And doubly so because they opened a terrible velvet rope, mockery of a club in the same location today. 

20.) Pink Chihuahua  (London, England - 2022)

This was a surprising place that I went to twice on my last trip to London. First taken there by a couple work friends - one mostly who swore the place, which is downstairs of a latin restaurant, is great. What I found was perfect. Not too big, but not too crowded. Great mix of 00s hip hop and EDM, with amazing drinks, including some fantastic margaritas. It's only not higher because it isn't really an EDM club, and was more drink forward than music forward, which sin't really the case of most of these on the list.

19.) Pulp  (Melbourne - 2025)

We went to Pulp on a lark - I googled "EDM Club" and it was close by and seemed interesting. It played more hip-hop focused dance music (like dance remixes of 50 Cent and things like this) which was still good. The floor was small, but good airflow, great sound and decent drinks. The only two knocks against it I had was again the music being slightly more hip-hop focused (more an issue for the ranking, as I still like that type of music), and the bathrooms were, how to say, not the best. In the end though, a nice hidden spot in Melbourne.

18.) Aether  (Budapest, Hungary - 2024)

I almost didn't get a chance to experience Aether, as the top floor (same name) is a more traditional hip-hop type shop. But the second day I ventured down to in theory go to the bathroom, and saw the door in the corner leading to the real Aether, the real underground, fog machine, graet ventilation with a long bar, playing good classic techno EDM. Maybe because it was underground, it wasn't too crowded either, but the crowd was there were in absolute love with the music and the energy of the place.

17.) Womb (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

Womb was the most expansive club I went to in my time in Tokyo - easily the busiest and the largest. Three floors, all showcasing different types of music. The grournd floor with more underground, deeper EDM. The top floor with more traditional, laid-back house. Both of those two were my got to, with a giant laser-light and packed mainstream floor in the middle. Tons of bars, tons of people - it was just a great time in Tokyo. Only thing keeping it from being higher is it could've done great to have better ventilation - a small complaint as it was easy to not even realize getting lost in the great scene.

16.) Culture Club Revelin  (Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2017)

I debated whether or not to put this on the list, mainly because it is more of just all-around club than a EDM/House club. Granted they played a lot of that music, but they also played hip-hop, and had girls dancing in cages, and was more of a pure play party spot, than anything else. Not that it's bad. It migth be the best pure club I've been to, certainly the coolest atmosphere, but to me it fits on the list. Just go there knowing what it is.

15.) Cakeshop (Seoul, Korea - 2022)

Two clubs in Seoul make the list this time, and showcase the different elements of what makes Seoul a great city with everything. Cakeshop is lighter, airier, with a great bar on the side, and great tunes. It is a bit less hectic, less "clubby" and headbanging-ey than other spots in Seoul, with the same carefree attitude that made the city work. The music at Cakeshop was just perfect to enjoy, dance to, imbibe to, right in the heart of Itaewon.

14.) Club Ambar  (Santiago, Chile - 2024, 2025)

If you ever go to Club Ambar in Santiago, avoid their main floor like the plague - the floor with all the trappings of the worst quasi-techno clubs that attract the worst type of crowd. But feat not, because two side rooms at Ambar are just awesome. First is the side room on the main floor, playing just a perfect style of house, with a truly great vibe. Then of course is the basement, with pure hardcore trance - with a cavernous underground feel to match. I've rarely seen a place combine such a mainstream (in a bad way) vibe in their main floor with such great underground vibes in their side rooms.

13.) The Loft @ Skyway Theater  (Minneapolis, USA - 2022, 2025)

On the downside, they had maybe the worst drinks of any of them on the list, which is why its 8th. Admittedly they were strong, but their "soda" component of my whiskey soda order was basically water. But at least they were cheap. Anyway, let's get to the upside of the place. It had maybe the best ventilation system of any large space club i've been to. It was so airy, despite being crowded (not overcrowded) and them going heavy on the fog machine. Also the acts the day I went were spectacular. They seem to curate well as the place isn't open every day on the weekend. Great place, just don't expect drinks. **2025 Update: Moving it up as they've largely fixed the drinks problem - way better this time around. The sound system, light system and filtration remained stellar. Just a great spot.**

12.) Club Under  (Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2023)

Honestly, if I went to Buenos Aires in 2019 or a few years earlier, this probablhy would be higher up the list. The place was everything you want out of an EDM club - good ventilation, good music acts, a ton of people having a grand old time. They probably could use slightly better crowd control (granted, there was still a line to enter), as the Saturday I went it was astonishingly crowded. There's really no complaints here to be had, it was just a bit jarring to, for the first time at an EDM spot, feel old.

11.) Espacio 93  (Santiago, Chile - 2024)

I don't think there has been any club I've been to that was more aggressively fast in its beats. This place was full momentum all the time. Also had some of the best architecture inside, with walls and poles and ledges and various rooms to enjoy the heavy, heavy, fast, fast beats. It was like a better, more compact, darker version of Club Under. The first night I went was some sort of BDSM type event so it was a bit out there. The second night was more traditional but the energy was unparalleled, even if it scared me out at times.

10.) Savage (Hanoi, Vietnam - 2019)

I have another Vietnam spot higher up the list. They are very similar in structure, but the main knock, the only knock, I have on Savage is that it was underground so it was a bit hot. They have one area that you enter that has more poppy house playing and a full bar, with another full bar in a shadowy back room that was hardcore EDM. Perfect mix of options, with full ability to move from one to the next. Savage also had full supply of balloons, more to come on that in a second here. Vietnam also has maybe the best bar service of any of these - in these cases the drink aspect is as much as the music, at least for the entry bar / area.

9.) D-Edge  (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 2025)

One of the weirdly great places I've been to that combine the worst parts of corporate club world (a card taht tracks all your purchases that you close out when you leave) with the greatest industrial setting on the banks of Gamboa Beach. The setting is amazing. The crowd is great. The drinks are plentiful and fairly cheap. My only real complaints is I wish the music went harder (at least when I was there), and the whole wristband corporate nature of it all. But still, it was an amazing nights in Rio at D-Edge.

8.) Vent (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

I don't go to clubs wanting to see great architecture and design, but it is hard not to notice these aspects of Vent, a truly special club in Tokyo. The exposed concrete walls, the trees indoors, the high ceilings, the exposed cement bar. It was all just a cool vibe, a great scene. The music was excellent as well, really curated DT setlists and a great energy that attracted an equal mix of locals and foreigners. It was a spot that didn't allow photos (like Modular to come next, would put a sticker on your phone camera), which is a little nuance I actually have come to enjoy. This place was just about having a great time, with a beautiful visage to experience it all in.

7.) Habitat Living Sound  (Calgary, Canada - 2019)

I'm not sure if they're open or not. They definitely closed for good soon after the pandemic, but then re-opened in 2021, but seem to have closed again. Anyway, it was an experience. The only real downside is that it wasn't that big of a space, but on the plus side, they had excellent crowd control, shockingly cheap and decent drinks (i.e. if you ordered a whiskey soda you got a decent amount of whiskey), and the DJs were all pretty good. The good crowd control actually made this one of the more pleasant clubs to be in. I mourn for Canada's loss here.

6.) Oxford Art Factory  (Sydney - 2013, 2025)

I really don't know how I didn't have the Ox on the list until now, but after a triumphant return after 12 years, I quickly realized how much of an oversight taht was. Both stages are excellent, including one of the better pure performance-focused stages I've been to. The drinks are affordable. The people are excellent. The low-key vibe of the second room is great as well. My only real hesitancy moving it any higher is they show a mix of music, it isn't always EDM (as in sometimes they play rock music and the like) but when it is on, few places in the world are better.

5.) Modular  (Cape Town, South Africa - 2018, 2022)

I have to say, Modular gets way more crowded than my places at ahead of it, but they did a great job of not really making it feel that way, with three full service bars in the same area. They also had a pretty great ventilation and air conditioning. It was packed though. They had no real regard for crowd control. Modular had some of the better DJ sets I've heard in terms of quality top to bottom. If even you're in Cape Town, would fully recommend going there on Thursday. It's slightly less crowded, but every bit as good.

4.) Club Faust (Seoul, Korea - 2022)

If I described Club Faust, a dark, large room that is open from 12am-7am, with a series of artists and DJs, you could probably well picture what Club Faust looks like. It is what it is, which is just perfect for what it is trying to be. Seoul is a lot about glitz on one end, but heart and passion on the other. No one would go to Club Faust to be "seen", mostly because you effectively literally cannot see anyone all that well. After a while your eyes do get adjusted, and your ears are great from the get go.

3.) Reset  (Cape Town, South Africa - 2020)

RIP, as this was another one that was a Covid casualty. Luckily Modular still exists, but Reset was just a better venue. With two levels and two performance spaces, a bit more light on the second floor, more heavy in the underground one. Bars had a lot of bartenders. They had great ventilation. The crowd control was decent, but just having it across two floors just made it all seem bigger and better. On the whole Reset was a fantastic place and a real loss in terms of nighttime entertainment for Cape Town.

2.) The Black Box  (Denver, USA - 2021)

There's one major question mark in ranking The Black Box this highly, and that is the fact that when I went in August 2021, they were still doing a reasonable amount of crowd limiting due to covid. There was no mask restriction, but they were operating at half capacity. That said, even if you double the crowd I don't think it would have been so much worse. The space was great - with lounge area with another DJ space when you enter, and a much larger space in the interior. Other than my place at number one this place had the best bar set-up, with at least five bartenders working, and the ability to go to the bar in the outside area at any time. The music was uniformly excellent, with generally three acts that all were great each day.

1.) The Observatory  (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - 2019)

From the truly loungey lounge that is its main area, to a full service bar with tons of bartenders that make things quick, to the plentiful balloons, to the light, airy indoor more heavy EDM club that had great ventilation, to it also being on the fifth floor with great sightlines of Ho Chi Minh City around you, The Observatory was close to perfect. That Friday and Saturday night spent at it was about as good as it has ever been in a club experience. You truly feel like you are at a rooftop bar one second, and a hardcore EDM club the next. Just an incredible set-up, great msuic, great balloons, cheap but good drinks, and a great crowd with a good mix of locals and expats. It all added up to a perfect experience.

My Top-20 Favorite Cocktail Bars

Closed:

(Was #8/16 - Wa-Shu, Taipei)

Wa-Shu was a Japanese Cocktail Bar in the heart of Taipei that I went to twice. The bartenders were quick to tell me that they were Taiwanese, but the cocktails featured Japanese-based alcohol mostly. I had multiple Japanese Whiskey based cocktails, including my favorite being a weird one that used peanut butter seeped through a coffee filter to create a peanut butter old fashioned. It was one of the places with no supposed menu, where we tell them a certain flavor, or fruit or type of food, and they'll whip up something that makes sense based on that. It worked every time. The Wa-Shu guys knew very much what they were doing.

20.) The Gin House  (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - 2019, 2022)

This place may have closed down, it is hard to tell, but The Gin House was a great place in Ho Chi Minh City. My only real complaint is they get a bit too crowded, largely because they had live music Wednesday through Sunday - granted the music was generally good. The cocktails were great. Yes, most were gin based, and I was lucky enough to come when they had a resident mixologist from New Zealand of all places visiting, but they were smooth, refreshing and a great starter for a night out in Ho Chi Minh City - the place I would go to after is coming up in the next category.

19.) Cobbler (Seoul, Korea - 2022)

    

Cobbler was situated in a pretty seemingly quiet part of Seoul, an area not really well known for bars and the like, but deep in this residential area of narrow alleys is Cobbler. It had great decor, made to look like a clubhouse lodge, with exposed wood everywhere. The drinks were excellent, with no set menu and you just give them your preferences. The drinks were all little, interesting twists on classics, the best being a truly incredibly smoked somkey old fashioned that nonetheless as smooth as any I had. The place was well crafted, well maintained, a truly professional outfit that took pride in just serving great cocktails.

18.) Flekk  (Istanbul, Turkey - 2024)

Flekk is too cool and popular for its own good almost - just a palce that people come every day to hang out and chill but just happens to have amazing cocktails, all pretty novel inventions, by the staff in the small bar at the back. As a solo traveler, was able to generally score myself a seat at the bar which made the service a bit faster. But this isn't a place to rush through life, but sit back and enjoy. They were quite liberal with their pours, but exacting in their bitters and syrups and the like. Flekk was a true surprise in how great it was in the middle of the urban maw of Istanbul.

17.) Death & Taxes  (Brisbane - 2025)

This was my favorite cocktail bar in Brisbane, the favorite of the three owned by the same group. Death & Taxes had a classical setup, with bartenders making quite interesting drinks that were all variations of classic cocktails - but in a good way. My favorite was probably the "Green Man" which added absinthe and mint to a normal whiskey based cocktail, or the "Chester Bennington" which added tea to a negroni (msot of them were named after actors or musicians). They also had a great whiskey selection as well, and a really nice vibe (as most places are in Brisbane). In the end, this is just a very solid spot but maybe lacking the pure verve that many higher up the lsit have.

16.) Liz Cocktail & Co  (Rio de Janeiro - 2025)

I'm mixed on the value and efficacy of theme-y cocktail bars. Liz isn't pure theme, but they have a nice menu design where they have 3 drinks representing each decade from the 1930s to the 2020s - one of which is based on a famous artist from that decade. It's a bit kitschy, but what's honestly weird is if they stripped that whole conceit away, and just served the same drinks without the decade / artist tie-in, I honestly think it might be further up. The drinks are neat, easy to drink, playful, strong. All good things, in the posh Leblon part of Rio.

15.) The Bellwoods (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

You enter into The Bellwoods, see the old timey dress worn by the fun bartenders, and the ragtime era music playing, and you get immediately what they're after. There's no weird entrance or hideaway that pushes into that aspect of a speakeasy - jsut a decor, vibe and sense that you are back in the old days. The Cocktails are excellent, with cool glasses and great presentation, if a bit on the lighter, sweeter side. Still, with a core list of about 20 options, you can go a while without running out of things to try, and ragtime era environment to soak up.

14.) Meteor  (Minneapolis, USA - 2022)

It is hard to judge a place like Meteor, which has zero of the acceptable levels of pretension that come with all five above it. If anything it is set-up like a dive bar, with low lights, mostly bar seating and gourmet hot dogs rolling, but has an inventive, playful cocktail list of about 15 regulars. Their use of strange ingredients, like Sesame in a bourbon-based cocktail, or coconut milk in a gin-based one, was excellent. It isn't too expensive coming in at $12 a pop. They even have a decent draft beer list if you want to mix it up - granted that has no real impact on the ranking here.

13.) Bar Prep  (Gyeongju, Korea - 2024)

Gyeongju shouldn't have a place this nice. Like in a small, fairly sleepy, tourist town is just a gem of a conctail bar, behind a heavy oak door. You're presented with Korean perfection, from the exactness of the drinks, to the little plate of treats they give you. Smoke, crazy flavors (a lot of Korean berries), and so much more. Bar Prep is just better than it should be for a tertiary city in South Korea. And yes, this is me saying that a place this good should exist in a Hoboken. Anyway, the best part is their coffee-based cocktails (expressly not Espresso Martini), which are just amazing.

12.) Deadshot  (Auckland - 2025)

A cocktail bar in New Zealand modeled after New York dive bars and speakeasies, with a bartender from Oregon? Hard to top that combination, but luckily the drinks in Deadshot were about as good as well. It is one of those places without a menu - you just start describing what type of thing you like, and then they make you something. The Oregon bartender made some really interesting twists on Old Fashioned, Boulvardiers and the like with interesting ingredients like almond, peanut and a few others. The place was dim, grimy (in the best way) but the concoctions were brilliant, strong, smooth and generous.

11.) Summer Experiment (HCMC, Vietnam - 2023)

Ho Chi Minh City is a city on the rise, and much as it has in every area of life, it is setting it sights higher and higher on top cocktail spots. Summer Experiment is like almost everything in HCMC, up two stories in a dark alley, but enter through its doors and you walk into a sleek, dark bar with some outside seating, and a long bar with weird ingredients, hundreds of bottles and young bartenders looking to develop some crazy stuff. Not all of it is perfect, but their good concoctions, like the best frozen cocktail I've ever had, to a great play on a Manhattan, knock it out of the park. Summer Experiment is relatively new, so I foresee it rising in promenance.

10.) Tres Monos  (Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2023)

This place just hit all the notes really well. It is very well reputed, but not too crowded (a bit plus in the bustling late-night mecca that is Buenos Aires). The drinks are excellent - inventive without being pretentious (granted, a few places higher on my list could be accused of being such). In the end, this place consistently served great cocktails and had a great Ho - a mix of bar-front seating to watch the mixologists do their thing, to a lot of couch and chilling space, which of course like any top Buenos Aires space, spilled out into the streets.

9.) Backroom Bar  (Santiago, Chile - 2025)

My preferred Santiago spot, Siete Negronis, closed (it probably sat just outside prior lists), but instead I discovered a place that was frankly better. Chile's best offering is its insanely good weather. Well, at Backroom you got to combine that with their amazing cocktails. The place in the back("room") was enclosed walls, but no ceiling, with being able to see the stars and the beauty of night in the gem of South America. The drinks were strong, with their own concoctions of various martinis, various martinis, and so much more. Backroom is a great place, even if the unique selling point is mostly the atmosphere.

8.) PS40  (Sydney - 2025)

I don't know if there's a place where I tried a greater set of their cocktail menu than PS40, a great spot in Sydney's CBD. Sydney had a few other nice spots, but none were as strong and convenient as PS40. The menu was inventive, with some really interesting elements, be it their most notable cocktail that combined cold and hot elements, a "banana old fashioned" that tasted way better than you would think, to really nice plays on martinis. PS40 is the type of place I would want to go every month (about the rate they change up some of the menu) if I lived in the city. I'll be thinking about that hold and cold drink for a while, but similarly of their use of aquavit or lychee or apple.

7.) Hotsy Totsy  (Budapest, Hungary - 2024)

How do you like 52 drink options? Hotsy Totsy gives you that with teh conceit of them all being grouped into four types and put on playing cards. You sit down in their underground bunker type bar, and you are given a deck to cycle through. A bit gimmicky, sure, but the drinks then prove themselves anyway. The crispest, the coldest, the best cocktails I've had in Europe, with the added bonus of a really cool scene and fun bartenders to talk to. Hotsy Totsy was in the heart of the Budapest nightlife scene, but more understated, classy and coolly dark than the vividness of the Jewish Quarter outside.

6.) Alice (Seoul, Korean - 2022)

Alice was quasi-gimmicky, in that it was Alice in Wonderland theme - but they didn't hit you over the head with the theme, but instead hit you over the head with great cocktails. There were interesting ingredients, from utilizing soy bean paste, to beer foam and flowers, to so much more. Even the names were whimsical - like "Hippity, Hoppity" and similar things. The best part I appreciated is that none of the drinks were overly strong or bitter, just perfectly balanced, perfectly inventive.

5.) Bar Trench (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

Small but incredibly strong, Bar Trench was the favorite place I went to on my recent trip to Japan, with a wealth of cocktail options, all liquor-forward to not make you feel cheated, with also incredibly knowledgeable, entertaining bartenders that will play around with different styles and make stuff on request without going too far down the pretension rabbit hole. Bar Trench just makes super good, strong, solid, inventive drinks - plus has a really great vibe aided by teh smaller size and great decor with a giant library-style wall of bottles and fermentations, all to make your head spin for all the right reasons.

4.) Carnaval  (Lima, Peru - 2022)

Carnaval shows up the Worlds Best 50 Bars list, and after going there I have to say it earns that spot. It gets crowded, but is in a posh area of Lima, doesn't let in more people than they have seats for, and had a great energy aroudn it. The drinks were wild, in both preparation and design - things like alcoholic cotton candy as part of a play on an old fashioned, to a frozen watermelon cocktail that is melted when you tip your glass to combine it with a mint cocktail. It was all a scene, and it was just great.

4.) #FindTheLockerRoom (Bangkok, Thailand - 2022)

Sometimes speakeasies can take the concept of just how hidden their entrance can be a bit too far. FindTheLockerRoom, down a wet and damp alley, and a row of lockers, toed the line. But the second you're greeted with an almost farcical second set of lockers, you enter a beautiful dark, roomy, bar with some incredible cocktails. The cocktails themselves are all reinventions of old classics, and were all uniformly great. The only real complain is the bar was a bit small, but I take it in a sense that fits with the speakeasy theme. Great concept, made a lot better by peerless execution.

2.) Cause Effect  (Cape Town, South Africa - 2020, 2022)

Cause Effect shouldn't be this good. It is placed right in the heart of the most touristy place in Cape Town. Basically this is like if a bar in Times Square was an amazing place. But somehow it is. They are easily the most inventive cocktail makers. Nearly all of their 20+ standard cocktail offerigns are a production, with props and set-ups and incredible staging. My favorite was one where you are given a plate with a depressed area in the middle, which is covered by an image of a bird and you're told you need to puncture the image which then combines with the cocktail below it to create something magical. The place has to be visited to truly understand it, but it is just incredible, and I can't overstate enough how brilliantly weird it is that this place exists in the V&A Waterfront.

1.) Licorecia Limantour  (Mexico City, Mexico - 2018)

I went to Licorecia Limantour without even knowing it was seen as a world renowned cocktail bar. It is high up the Worlds Top 50 bars. Granted, they have multiple locations - I went to both the main one and one in Polanco. Both have the same menu. Unsurprisingly a lot of cocktails were tequila or mezcal based but they were all crafted brilliantly. None were to too strong, all were super smooth to put down. The place had a great vibe in the heart of the city's more trendier areas, with an open layout letting you basically step inside from teh street. Licorecia Limantour was a marvelous part of my trip to Mexico City, and has only increased its reputation since 2018.