Two Schmucks

What Moe Aljaff and AJ co-founded reached No. 11 globally in 2021 and remains one of the most influential bar concepts of the decade. The shabby exterior, graffiti-plastered street, and staff in jeans deliver cocktails with technical skill that contradicts every visual cue. The Schmucks Vesper—gin, vodka, Laphroaig, pecorino—typifies the irreverence. Aljaff has since launched Schmuck NYC and departed for the US, but the Barcelona original keeps the fire burning. Monthly menu changes keep regulars returning; the spirit Aljaff and AJ established endures.