Gabriele Armani is the best bartender in Barcelona and the whole country. The sixteenth edition of the World Class Competition Spain has chosen this bartender as the best of the year for his technical skill and creativity behind the bar.
Armani works in one of the best bars in the world, according to World’s 50 Best Bars, and it is in Barcelona. We are talking about the Paradiso cocktail bar, a benchmark in the Born district for contemporary mixology.
Armani emerged as the winner after passing tests such as The Re-Used Box, where he was required to make cocktails from surplus kitchen ingredients; The Arts by Johnnie Walker, an exercise in creativity inspired by art and fashion; Mastering Classics, in which he reinterpreted historical cocktails with current techniques.
The bartender from Paradiso, located in Ciutat Vella (Barcelona), competed with other professionals such as Borja Insa, best bartender in the country in last year’s edition. Armani will now travel to Toronto in September to compete for the title with the best bartenders from more than 50 countries in the World Class global competition.
Apart from the hotly contested competition, yesterday also saw the presentation of the Coaster Awards, the awards that recognize the work of the best cocktail bars in Spain. Paradiso was named the best cocktail bar in Spain in 2025.