The World’s 50 Best Bars has named GN Chan, co-founder of Double Chicken Please, New York, as the 2023 Altos Bartenders’ Bartender.
Chosen by the bartenders on the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023, the award honours the person who has made the most impact in the global bar industry over the past year and who pushes the limits of what it means to be a great bartender.
A former industrial designer, Chan left his native Taiwan for New York to master the craft of bartending and mixology.
In 2017, he and his business partner Faye Chen began taking a modified VW minibus across the US, hosting cocktail and dining experiences, building a strong reputation, before setting up a permanent bar, Double Chicken Please, on New York’s Lower East Side, in 2020.
Despite numerous pandemic-related closures, the dual-concepts bar quickly grew national and international recognition for its unique ‘hacking design’ concept and its daily pre-opening queues, in large part to Chan’s unwavering hospitality as well as the intriguing design.
The bustling, no-reservations front room is casual and fast-paced, offering Taiwanese influenced fried chicken sandwiches and seasonal creative ‘Taptails’ set against concrete and exposed brick walls.
The bar also features ‘The Coop’ serving reimagined cocktails and dishes as well as the central bar featuring whimsical artworks to underpin the unerring sense of fun that permeates the Double Chicken Please concept.
Since opening Double Chicken Please has achieved international acclaim thanks to Chan, Chen and the team’s achievements.
In 2022, it debuted on The World’s 50 Best Bars at number six, winning the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, before being named The Best Bar in North America at this year’s edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars.
William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Bars says Chan has a refreshing approach to crafting cocktails.
“[With his] unwavering dedication to his vision and infectious personal warmth, he has established Double Chicken Please as one of the most exciting bar concepts in the world.
“It is no surprise that his peers have selected him as the winner of this award, as his spirit and dedication exemplify the fundamentals of what defines the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender.”
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