Focus on Anthony Poncier of Top 500 Bars

It all started by enjoying cocktails in bars around the world, and his passion for drinks, combined with his knowledge of digital platforms and marketing led him to study how to redefine the way cocktail bars are judged and ranked. This week’s discussion talks about algorithms and how they can help to level the playing field.

My interview with Anthony

What is your background pertaining to the bar world?

I am one half of Le Cocktail Connoisseur, a social media ecosystem (blog, youtube, Instagram) dedicated to cocktails, bars and bartenders.

Were you ever a bartender?

No, just a person passionate for cocktails.

What are you involved with now?

Right now I’m building a social media presence, plus all the work that goes into working on the model for Top 500 bars.com

Tell us about Le Cocktail Connoisseur.

Mel Harvey and I used to travel a lot for our job which was not directly related to the bar world. At the end of the day on a business trip, you’re alone at your hotel. If you want to socialize, you go to cocktail lounges and sit at the bar. The bartenders were so nice; we thought: how can we thank them? At that time, I was blogging about digital transformation. So we decided to set up a blog about bartenders, because they are the ones who turn you on to a venue. On the blog, we have interviewed more than 250 bartenders from all around the world for seven years now. From famous bartenders to just apprentices: in essence, simply the bartender who served us and made us feel good whoever he or she was. We are well-known too thanks to our Instagram account, because Mel Harvey, the other half of Le Cocktail Connoisseur, got the idea of the look and feel of our Instagram: only photos of cocktails taken from the top.

What competitions have you judged?

Different competitions for spirit brands like rum, tequila… and for magazines, bar shows or cocktail weeks like Florence Cocktail Week, that I mention since you are based in Italy.

Why did you create this list when there was already another list?

Each time we interviewed bartenders, as they knew we were part of different juries, they always mentioned the topic of rankings and awards. But if rankings exist in the bar industry, they are not as numerous as the food industry and always work with the same plan: a panel of judges. If everyone in the industry is happy to have awards because they support and improve everyone’s work, they still have some issues with them: Are the judges really neutral? And why are the same bars always at the top when there are thousands of bars around the world? So the idea was to be able to answer these two questions, and digital was the key to the problem. I used to work in digital and marketing.

How does a bar get on the Top 500 bars list?

First of all, you need to be part of our database, which includes thousands of bars from all around the world. Getting in is easy, just contact Top 500 Bars and ask to be part of the database. If the bar is not already in, it will be added. From that, it’s an algorithm which will create the ranking of the 500 most influential bars in the world. In a nutshell, the algorithm gathers thousands of data in over 20 languages, factoring in the wisdom of crowds to form a list of the Top 500 Bars in the world, using: experts, journalists and influencer articles, industry rankings (local, regional and international), customer platforms (Foursquare etc), social media (Instagram etc), search engines (Google etc)… because every opinion counts.

Why 500 as a number?

There are thousands of bars around the world. But the idea was not to create a bar directory. So 500 seems fair, in order to open the awards to a larger number of bars. For the critics who say 500 is too many, we can say, for our last ranking in 2020, the Top 500 Bars grouped bars from 105 cities and 52 countries (so some people use it as a bar travel guide). And as there is a Fortune 500 and other names with 500, so, from a pure marketing point of view, Top 500 Bars makes sense.

Why the move away from the "Michelin" model of secret visits to an algorithm?

Because you can’t visit all the bars in the world, or you would need to have an army and pay them a lot of money. Even the “Michelin” model is being looked at. Currently, all industries are in a period of digital transformation in the way they work and hospitality is no different. In the era of big data, AI and other digital revolutions, it seems important that the world of the bar takes advantage of these innovations to determine a global ranking.

Why an algorithm?

Because an algorithm is neutral, it is the answer to the bartenders’ question: Why are the same bars always getting the awards? We have upgraded it between the first year and today to make it more accurate. After all, nothing is perfect, so it always needs perpetual improvement, but with this system all bars are treated the same. There are bars I love which don’t have a good ranking and bars that I am less a fan of which are part of the top 100. But that’s the whole idea, it’s a neutral way to make the ranking.

Do you have to pay?

No, bars don’t pay.

How does it work with potential sponsors?

The idea, like any other type of award, is for the sponsor to get visibility thanks to the list on social media and physical events where they will meet top bartenders. But they can’t access the algorithm. They have no influence on it.

What does making the list mean to a bar?

It offers more visibility and recognition and, hopefully, more business. The top 100 on the list gets an award and can come to a ceremony. We couldn’t set up one in 2020 due to the Covid situation, so it was mainly digital.

Does a bar with little to no social media presence have a chance?

There are bars with a good ranking which have no social presence, even if social media presence is an asset because it is taken into account by the algorithm. But not just for the ranking. A lot of customers select their bars through Instagram for instance, so it’s a plus to have a strong presence on it, like for any brand out there.

Are the bars personally visited by anyone on your team?

No, that’s why we use the big data. You can’t visit all the bars in the world. There are some bars I’ve never heard of before I saw them on the list. I think I have visited more or less half the bars of the list. I would love to be able to visit all the bars; I just need more time, money and a spare liver!

What is the future for bar rankings?

The ranking that is able to match your taste, because everyone has a different perspective. We are working on that, but it needs an AI with deep learning to be able to do that. So it takes time and money.