ESPECIARIUM BAR - Barcelona

"This is the closest you’ll get to a friendly neighborhood cocktail bar in tourist-heavy El Born. As the name suggests, their drinks are spice-driven, like the bitter-sweet Cardamom with gin, pisco, moscatel, and sage, served in a sipping bowl shaped like a cardamom pod. Spring for the currykiri, a curried daiquiri topped with a precariously balanced giant fruit vapor bubble you’ll want to pop with your nose and try to avoid having a sneezing fit. Staff are unhurried and chatty and, unlike many of the barkeeps in these parts, won’t be offended if you want to order a classic Negroni or martini and laze away on a seat in the snug, low-ceilinged space that’s always just busy enough without ever feeling packed." - Isabelle Kliger