Throughout history, some of the world’s most significant moments haven’t unfolded in grand palaces or imposing government buildings, but in the intimate confines of bars and taverns. These establishments have served as meeting places for revolutionaries, creative sanctuaries for artists and writers, and laboratories where bartenders have invented drinks that would define entire eras.
Green Dragon Tavern, Boston (1654-1832): The Birthplace of Revolution
Long before craft cocktails and molecular mixology, the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston was earning its place in history as the “Headquarters of the Revolution.” This unassuming colonial tavern became the unofficial meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, where notable patriots planned acts of defiance against British rule.
It was within these smoke-filled walls that the Boston Tea Party was conceived, and where the seeds of American independence were planted over pints of ale and rum punches. The tavern’s role in American history was so significant that prominent 19th century lawyer, Daniel Webster, later called it the place “where the plans of the Revolution were matured.” Though the original building no longer stands, the Green Dragon’s legacy reminds us that bars are no less places to drink than they have been incubators of ideas that change the world.
Harry’s Bar, Paris (1911-1973): Literary Legends and Lost Generations
When American jockey Todd Sloan wanted a familiar drink in Paris, he convinced Scottish bartender Harry MacElhone to open what would become one of the most famous bars in literary history. Harry’s New York Bar at 5 Rue Daunou became the Parisian headquarters for American expatriates, jazz musicians, and literary legends like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald during the Jazz Age and beyond.
Originally shipped piece-by-piece from Manhattan and rebuilt in Paris in 1911,The bar’s guest book reads like a who’s who of 20th-century culture: Coco Chanel, Rita Hayworth, Humphrey Bogart, and countless others found refuge in its mahogany-paneled embrace.
During Prohibition, Harry’s offered a sanctuary for those in search of legally poured drinks and gave the world some of its most enduring cocktails.
The bar claims to be the birthplace of the Bloody Mary, the Sidecar, and the Monkey Gland cocktail. Head bartender Fernand Petiot allegedly created the Bloody Mary in 1921, though the drink wouldn’t gain its iconic name until Petiot brought the recipe to New York’s St. Regis Hotel years later.
El Floridita, Havana (1817-present): The Cradle of Cuban Culture:
No discussion of legendary bars would be complete without El Floridita. This Havana institution opened its doors in 1817 and found global fame in the 1930s when iconic American Nobvelsit, Ernest Hemingway, called it his second home. Ever since then, this pink-walled cantina has been serving what many consider the world’s finest daiquiris, perfected by legendary bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert.
Hemingway has his own stool at the end of the bar and his own variant of the daiquiri (a double with no sugar and extra grapefruit juice, known as the “Papa Doble”). The bar’s walls are adorned with photos of the Nobel Prize winner, and a bronze bust of him still occupies his favourite spot.
Beyond this, the bar became a symbol of pre-revolutionary Cuban sophistication, attracting Hollywood stars, politicians, and socialites who came to experience authentic Cuban culture. But El Floridita was more than a celebrity haunt—it played a key role in shaping Caribbean cocktail culture and cemented Cuba as a global cocktail capital. The bartenders here elevated the simple daiquiri into an art form, and their techniques influenced cocktail culture throughout the Caribbean and beyond.
21 Club, New York (1922-present): Prohibition’s Hidden Palace:
When Prohibition transformed drinking from a social activity into an act of rebellion, few establishments embodied the era’s defiant spirit like the 21 Club. What began as the Red Head in Greenwich Village evolved into one of America’s most famous speakeasies, protected by an elaborate system of secret entrances, hidden passages, and camouflaged bars.
The 21 Club’s clientele included everyone from John D. Rockefeller Jr. to notorious gangsters, creating an atmosphere where society’s elite rubbed shoulders with the underworld. The bar’s famous iron gate, adorned with painted lawn jockey statues representing regular customers, became an iconic symbol of Prohibition-era New York.
When federal agents raided the establishment, they found nothing—the bar’s ingenious camouflage system included a bar that could disappear at the touch of a button, dumping all evidence down a chute to the sewers. This cat-and-mouse game with authorities only added to the club’s mystique and cemented its place in American folklore.
Even after Prohibition’s repeal, the 21 Club continued to make history. Presidents from F.D. Roosevelt to Trump have dined here, and the restaurant has hosted countless political deals and cultural moments that shaped American society.
The Cotton Club, Harlem (1923-1940): Where Jazz and Social Change Collided
Harlem’s Cotton Club represents one of the most complex chapters in bar history—a venue that simultaneously celebrated and segregated Black culture during the Jazz Age. Owned by gangster Owney Madden, the club featured the era’s greatest Black performers while maintaining a “whites only” policy for patrons, embodying the contradictions of 1920s America.
Despite its problematic racial policies, the Cotton Club became a launching pad for legendary performers like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Lena Horne. The club’s elaborate floor shows and innovative cocktails helped define the aesthetic of the Jazz Age, while its radio broadcasts brought Harlem’s musical innovations to mainstream America.
The Cotton Club’s influence on cocktail culture was significant—it popularized elaborate presentation and showmanship in drink service, setting the stage for the theatrical elements we see in modern mixology. The club’s bartenders created drinks that were as much performance as they were beverage, establishing the connection between entertainment and cocktail culture that continues today.
The Savoy’s American Bar (1893-present): London’s Liquid Laboratory
London’s Savoy Hotel opened its American Bar in 1893, creating what would become one of the world’s most influential cocktail institutions. The bar earned its name by specializing in American-style mixed drinks at a time when London’s drinking culture favored straight spirits and wine.
The American Bar’s golden age began with bartender Harry Craddock, who fled Prohibition-era America and brought his expertise to London. Craddock’s 1930 “Savoy Cocktail Book” became one of the most important cocktail manuals ever published, documenting hundreds of recipes and establishing standards that modern bartenders still follow.
The bar has welcomed everyone from Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe, serving as a meeting place for diplomats, spies, and celebrities throughout the 20th century. During World War II, it became an unofficial headquarters for Allied intelligence operations, with agents using the bar’s international atmosphere as cover for clandestine meetings.
The American Bar’s commitment to excellence has never wavered—it has won numerous “World’s Best Bar” awards and continues to innovate while respecting classical techniques. Its bartenders are considered among the world’s finest, and the bar serves as a training ground for mixologists who go on to open influential establishments worldwide.
Dead Rabbit, New York (2013-present): The Irish Revolution
When Irish bartenders Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry opened Dead Rabbit in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District, they created something unprecedented: a bar that honored both Irish drinking culture and American cocktail innovation. Named after a notorious Irish-American gang from the 1850s, the bar occupies a 19th-century building that once housed Irish immigrants.
The bar’s menu includes meticulously researched historical drinks alongside modern creations, often presented in elaborate, story-driven formats that educate as much as they entertain. Their “Irish Coffee” service is legendary, involving multiple steps and precise timing that elevates a simple drink into a ritual. Dead Rabbit’s success has inspired a new generation of bars that combine serious cocktail craft with cultural storytelling.
Raffles Hotel Long Bar, Singapore (1887-present): The Colonial Cocktail Cathedral
In colonial Singapore’s sweltering heat, Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar became the birthplace of one of the world’s most notorious cocktails. The Singapore Sling, created between 1910-1915 by Hainanese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, was designed to appeal to female guests when public drinking was considered improper for ladies. His solution was ingenious: a pink, fruity cocktail that disguised gin with cherry brandy, pineapple juice, lime, Cointreau, Dom Bénédictine, grenadine, and bitters. The drink became a symbol of challenging convention and has survived as one of the world’s most iconic cocktails.
The Long Bar’s colonial atmosphere—ceiling fans, marble floors, rattan furniture, and the famous tradition of throwing peanut shells on the floor—transported visitors to the golden age of Southeast Asian travel.
The Legacy Lives On
These legendary bars share common threads: they were gathering places for creative minds, laboratories for innovation, and stages where history unfolded. They remind us that bars are more than businesses—they’re cultural institutions that reflect and shape the societies they serve.
Whether they’re hidden behind unmarked doors or proclaimed by neon signs, the world’s greatest bars continue to serve as meeting places for friends and revolutionaries alike, connecting over a perfectly crafted drink.
