Epicentres of modern hospitality, where culture meets creativity, and the art of mixology is at its finest. Fortune 500 executive Ankit Poothia is on one of the most ambitious cultural expeditions of 2025; to prove that cocktail bars are not simply venues for drinks and catching up, but vibrant spaces that carry local heritage, showcase global talent and spark human connection.
After 24 years of building global teams, advising Fortune 50 clients, and driving industry-shaping digital transformations, Poothia is preparing for an extraordinary milestone in October 2025: to set a world record by visiting all 50 of the World’s Best Bars in just 60 days.
Spanning six continents, more than 30 cities, 20 countries, and nearly 100,000 kilometres of air travel, Poothia’s ‘50 Bars in 60 Days’ is neither a sightseeing trip nor a bar crawl, but a meticulously designed project blending endurance, logistics, and storytelling on a global scale. He’ll be taking approximately 45 flights/trains to cover around 74,000 miles (120,000 km); roughly three times the circumference of earth. With precision planning, real-time documentation, and attempting a feat no one has accomplished before, the journey stands as a global beacon for cocktail culture and a landmark personal milestone in Poothia’s lifelong pursuit of curiosity and connection.
For Poothia, the fascination began in 2017, when he came across an article about the world’s 50 best bars. Intrigued by the idea that a bar could be judged not merely by its spirits but by its creativity, design, hospitality and cultural identity, Poothia began seeking them out during his extensive work travels. Over the past seven years, he has already visited 22 of the best bars, each one changing the way he saw not just cocktails, but the art of human connection. What once seemed like a casual outing quickly became a cultural lens for the ‘adventurous cocktail guy,’ and a private passion evolved into a defining part of his identity.
After shaping benchmarks in AI and data, Poothia is turning a long-held bucket-list promise into reality. “Bars are more than nightlife; they are cultural storytellers. My goal is not to drink 50 cocktails in 60 days, but to capture the people behind them, the design and imagination that makes each space unique, and the way they reflect their cities’ identities. Every city is a stage, every bar a chapter, and together they form a story of how humans connect,” he explains.
Launching from his home city in India, the record attempt will carry Poothia from Tokyo’s precision-driven cocktail temples to Mexico City’s vibrant cantinas, from London’s storied speakeasies to New York’s high-energy hubs, and from Barcelona’s rooftop lounges to Sydney’s waterfront landmarks. At every stop, Poothia will log the visit, capture stories through film and photography, and share real-time updates with a growing global audience. Each post will serve not only as proof of the record but as a window into the creativity, innovation, and hospitality that define cocktail culture today.
From managing jet lag and recovery to building digital workflows for real-time content, the expedition reflects months of planning, visas, and fitness training; turning a passion project into a true endurance test. Furthermore, through the ‘50 Bars in 60 Days’ journey, Poothia also sees powerful parallels between leadership and hospitality. “Great leadership is about creating experiences that last; where people feel seen, heard and connected. The world’s best bars do exactly that, using flavour, design and service to create belonging. In the boardroom as at the bar, what matters most is connection,” he notes.
Noting that this is not just his personal journey, Poothia admits that if people start to see a bar as more than a drink stop, as culture, craft and connection, then this journey will have done its job.
With its ambition, scale and storytelling power, Ankit Poothia’s ‘50 Bars in 60 Days’ is already being hailed as one of 2025’s most compelling cultural expeditions. A ‘world record’ attempt that fuses business credibility with cultural exploration, it is proof that sometimes the boldest adventures happen not in the boardroom, but beyond it.