Michter's Art of Hospitality Award 2026

Alquímico

Cartagena

Party-forward, planet friendly

Inside a 120-year-old Republican mansion in Cartagena's historic Ciudad Amurallada, Alquímico operates as a three-storey celebration of Colombian culture. Each level of the building presents a distinct atmosphere linked to specific drink concepts and social causes. On the lively ground floor, an all-female bartending team directs the room, mixing signature drinks like the Mango, made with reposado tequila, mango vermouth, palm wine and hops, whilst leading spontaneous dance routines to the champeta anthem Catalina. Orders from this Comunidad menu directly support Asocoman, an agricultural group benefiting from local water and educational projects.

Ascending the staircase leads to an intimate first-floor room designed for conversation. Classic cocktails are reinterpreted using native ingredients, highlighted by a Colombian Negroni blended with gin, mead, Campari, blackberry, limoncello and wormwood. Proceeds from this floor fund a dedicated hospitality school established to provide practical training and employment opportunities for local young people.

On the open-air rooftop, giant cooling fans cut through 90 per cent Caribbean humidity as reggaéton DJs drive the party atmosphere. Playful offerings such as the Hibisco, incorporating rum, ginger and falernum, or the Coca, made with toasted coca leaf soda, fund the planting of native trees on the bar's coffee region farm.

When service finishes at two in the morning, staff distribute steaming bowls of chicken soup to help guests recover from the heat. The venue also builds its philosophy on internal team care, employing clear operational structure so that staff can serve with natural enthusiasm, rather than treating service as a performative routine for guests.

By pairing meticulous operational discipline with local agriculture and social initiatives, Alquímico proves that elite global hospitality thrives on genuine community care and is duly named winner of the Michter's Art of Hospitality Award, as part of The 50 Best Bars 2026.

Contact