Photo by Susan Bourgoin of VisualCuisines.com
Cocktail Renaissance Timeline 1980s–2010
The modern Cocktail Renaissance wasn't invented by one bartender on one particular night. It grew slowly as bartenders, restaurateurs, writers, historians, distillers, and eventually consumers began rediscovering something America had largely forgotten:
Cocktails taste better when they're made well.
From the 1950s through the 1990s—and even into the new millennium—much of the American bar business had moved toward bottled sour mix, artificial juices, inexpensive spirits, and speed. Yet open a cocktail book from the 1800s or early 1900s and you'll find fresh citrus, quality spirits, homemade syrups, bitters, eggs, herbs, spices, and careful technique.
In other words, today's “craft cocktail” wasn't really new.
Grandma was doing it before it was cool.
Beginning in the 1980s, a small group of bartenders started looking backward in order to move forward. Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff became one of the movement's most influential figures, followed by bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts around the country who researched old books, revived forgotten recipes, demanded better spirits, squeezed fresh juice, improved ice, resurrected lost ingredients, and—perhaps most importantly—started teaching one another.
What began behind a handful of bars eventually became a movement.
One Exception: San Francisco
From the 1960s through the 1990s, many San Francisco bars never fully abandoned classic cocktails and fresh ingredients. Bars and restaurants such as Henry Africa's, Zuni Café, Balboa Café, BIX, Dartmouth Social Club, Golden Gate Grill, Enrico's, and Stars helped keep those traditions alive while much of America was reaching for bottled sour mix.
The 1980s — Sowing the Seeds
1985
Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff heads the bar at restaurateur Joe Baum's Aurora in New York City, making classic cocktails inspired in part by Jerry Thomas's historic 1862 bartending book.
Mid-1980s
After college, Tony Abou-Ganim moves to San Francisco, where Jack Slick's Balboa Café helps develop his appreciation for classic, freshly made cocktails.
1986
Absolut vodka launches its first flavored vodka, Absolut Peppar. It helped establish the modern flavored-vodka category.
1987
Dale DeGroff takes over the bar at the newly restored Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. Restaurateur Joe Baum challenges him to look backward for inspiration, including Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide. DeGroff begins serving classic and forgotten cocktails using quality spirits, fresh juices, and traditional techniques.
The Rainbow Room becomes one of the most important incubators of America's modern Cocktail Renaissance.
Apparently, the future of cocktails was hiding in a book from 1862.
1988
Del Pedro makes fresh classic cocktails at Sam's Café in New York City. He later works at Les Halles, the Hotel Knickerbocker, Grange Hall, and Pegu Club before opening Tooker Alley in Brooklyn in 2012.
Brother Cleve takes a bartending position at his friend's Hoodoo BBQ in Boston and introduces a classic cocktail menu.
Barnaby Conrad III publishes Absinthe: History in a Bottle, an illustrated cultural history of the notorious Green Fairy.
The documented U.S. commercial debut date for Absolut Citron is July 5.
The 1990s — The Craft Movement Sprouts
Tony Abou-Ganim
He becomes an important bridge between the early San Francisco cocktail scene and the emerging national Cocktail Renaissance. In the early 1990s, he works with Harry Denton in San Francisco, where bartender David O’Malley introduces him to his first Negroni in 1991. In 1993, Tony moves to New York City to pursue acting and becomes the opening bartender at Mario Batali’s first restaurant, Pó. Batali introduces him to Dale DeGroff, and Tony later describes that year as the turning point when he decides to make bartending his profession.
He returns to San Francisco in 1995 to help reopen Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, developing its specialty cocktail program and creating drinks including the Cable Car.
In 1998, Steve Wynn recruits him to Las Vegas to develop the cocktail and spirits program for the new Bellagio, where Tony trains nearly 200 bartenders, 150 apprentice bartenders, and more than 100 bar porters in fresh ingredients, premium spirits, handcrafted cocktails, proper technique, and professional service—bringing the Cocktail Renaissance to Las Vegas on a massive scale.
He moved to New York to become an actor and ended up becoming one of America’s most influential bartenders. Not a bad plot twist.
1990s
Dale DeGroff played a major role in bringing the
San Francisco-to-New York Cosmopolitan to international fame. After encountering the drink and developing his own version at the Rainbow Room—with quality ingredients and his signature flamed orange peel—a widely circulated photograph of Madonna drinking his Cosmopolitan at a Sony Grammy party helps propel the cocktail into the spotlight. Suddenly, bartenders from around the world are contacting DeGroff asking about the drink. Absolut and Ocean Spray hire him to help promote their products through the Cosmopolitan, sending him out to demonstrate the cocktail as its popularity spreads internationally. At the time, cranberry juice was still unfamiliar and difficult to find in many countries, making the bright red American ingredient almost as much a curiosity as the cocktail itself.
DeGroff never claims to have invented the Cosmo, but credits himself with popularizing a definitive recipe that became widely accepted as the standard. His cranberry-forward version also produced a deeper reddish-pink cocktail rather than the pale pink versions common today. Interestingly, the Cosmopolitans later seen on Sex and the City had that same deeper color—looking much more like DeGroff’s Cosmo.
1990s
At New York’s Angel’s Share, Japanese-trained bartender Shinichi Ikeda helps introduce Americans to a very different style of cocktail culture. Hidden behind an unmarked door inside the Japanese restaurant Village Yokocho, Angel’s Share had opened in 1993 under owner Tadao “Tony” Yoshida, who wanted to recreate the intimate, formal cocktail bars of Japan. Ikeda becomes one of its influential early bartenders, bringing Japanese precision and discipline to classic cocktails at a time when free-pouring and casual technique were still common in American bars. Bartenders carefully measure, stir and shake drinks, hand-carve ice from large blocks, and give as much attention to technique, presentation, and hospitality as to the recipe itself.
The experience is deliberately quiet and intimate. No standing, no shouting, and no groups larger than four—rules designed to protect the atmosphere rather than create exclusivity. Jazz plays softly, guests remain seated, and the bartender’s craft becomes part of the experience. Angel’s Share also experiments with Japanese ingredients such as shochu and shiso, introducing New York drinkers to flavors rarely seen in American cocktail bars at the time.
Sasha Petraske becomes a regular. He studies the precision of the Japanese bartenders, the classic cocktails, intimate room, hidden entrance, and rules of etiquette. When Petraske opens Milk & Honey in 1999, many of those principles reappear—and from Milk & Honey they spread through an entire generation of influential cocktail bars.
Angel’s Share quietly introduced New York to Japanese cocktail precision—and helped inspire Sasha Petraske, whose Milk & Honey would carry many of those ideas into the next generation of the Cocktail Renaissance.
1990
At Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, Julio Bermejo begins replacing inferior tequilas with 100-percent blue-agave tequila and develops a serious tequila program. Tommy's eventually becomes one of America's most influential tequila bars.
Murray Stenson serves classic cocktails at Il Bistro in Seattle.
Chris Israel and Bruce Carey open Zefiro in Portland, Oregon. Peggy Boston manages the bar and develops a classic cocktail menu.
1991
Gary Regan publishes The Bartender's Bible.
1992
San Francisco's Bay Guardian recognizes bartender Paul Harrington in an article titled
The Lost Art of Mixology: An Enrico's Bartender Rediscovers Cuban Cocktails. Harrington discusses drinks including the Mojito, Aviation, and Hemingway Daiquiri.
At Grange Hall in New York City, Danny Rosenberg offers cocktails discovered in vintage recipe books. Future influential bartenders Toby Maloney and Del Pedro also work there.
Steve Olson, aka Wine Geek, begins building his beverage consulting career.
1993
New Orleans scientist Ted A. Breaux becomes intrigued by the Old Absinthe House and begins seriously researching absinthe.
Chef Kathy Casey
She begins bringing the kitchen behind the bar, creating specialty cocktails with fresh juices, herbs, seasonal produce, spices, and other culinary ingredients. She becomes a pioneer of the emerging “bar chef” movement—the idea that cocktails deserve the same attention to flavor, seasonality, ingredients, and presentation as food. In 2000, she develops Liquid Kitchen, the beverage consulting arm of Kathy Casey Food Studios. Influential mixologists Ryan Magarian and later Keith Waldbauer join her team, helping develop cocktail programs and train bartenders around the country. Waldbauer joins as an associate consulting mixologist by 2009 and goes on to travel internationally with Casey teaching the art of mixology.
While working on the John Hughes film Baby's Day Out in Chicago, Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh discovers an old liquor store and starts buying vintage and extinct bottles—including Abbott's bitters, 1930s gin, and vintage crème de menthe. His obsession with researching lost cocktail culture begins.
Inspired by Dale DeGroff, Francis Schott establishes a fresh cocktail program at Stage Left in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
1994
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry begins searching for the original ingredients in Don the Beachcomber's legendary Zombie. It will take him eleven years.
Steve Olson, Tom Colicchio, and Danny Meyer help open Gramercy Tavern in New York City with a fresh classic cocktail program.
1995 — Cocktails Meet the Internet
Cocktail culture discovers a new playground:
The World Wide Web.
Paul Harrington, aka The Alchemist, creates a beautifully illustrated cocktail section for HotWired, one of the earliest commercial web magazines.
Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller launch Martini Place.
Author and beverage consultant Robert Plotkin launches BarMedia.
Meanwhile:
Tony Abou-Ganim, inspired after meeting Dale DeGroff at the Rainbow Room, introduces fresh classic cocktails at Harry Denton's Starlight Room in San Francisco.
Steve Olson begins conducting Gin Cocktail Clinics, eventually employing more than 100 bartenders and consultants and introducing consumers around America to fresh classic cocktails.
That remarkable group eventually includes Don Lee, Jim Meehan, Phil Ward, Eric Alperin, Jacques Bezuidenhout, Misty Kalkofen, Sean Kenyon, John Lermayer, Tad Carducci, Charles Joly, Andy Seymour, and many others.
Julie Reiner learns classic cocktails from Linda Fusco at the Red Room in San Francisco.
Peggy Boston opens Saucebox's fresh cocktail program in Portland. Marcovaldo “Marco” Dionysos was the head bartender from opening day until he moved to San Francisco in 1996.
At Gramercy Tavern, Nick Mautone makes cocktail onions, brandied cherries, and other ingredients from scratch.
The kitchen and bar are beginning to speak to each other again.
1996
Dale DeGroff develops the bar program at Pravda in New York City and trains a staff that includes Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric.
Marcovaldo “Marco” Dionysos
Marco moved from Portland, OR, to San Francisco and began making classic cocktails as the day bartender at Enrico’s Sidewalk Cafe. Armed with a collection of vintage cocktail books, he became part of San Francisco’s emerging classic-cocktail community. He later helped open Absinthe Brasserie & Bar and created its original cocktail menu, followed by influential stints at Stars, Tres Agaves, Bourbon & Branch, Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, Clock Bar, Rye, Smuggler’s Cove, Comstock Saloon, and ABV.
Lucy Brennan took over as the head bartender at Saucebox in Portland.
Todd Thrasher introduces Latin classics at Café Atlantico in Washington, D.C.
Dave “Mr. Mojito” Nepove
He was an early player in San Francisco’s Cocktail Renaissance, spending roughly a decade behind the bar at Enrico’s Sidewalk Cafe, where he became bar manager and built a reputation for fresh-squeezed juices, seasonal fruit, muddled cocktails, and especially Mojitos. Nepove later took his experience into education and consulting with Southern Wine & Spirits. He also designed his own oversized wooden muddlers.
Steve Olson and Doug Frost begin traveling internationally teaching the Sterling School of Service and Hospitality Spirits Program.
Paulius Nasvytis serves fresh juice and classic cocktails at Cleveland's Velvet Tango Room.
At New York's Angel's Share, Japanese-trained bartender Shinichi Ikeda helps establish a different kind of cocktail experience: precision, hand-chipped ice, classic cocktails, quiet surroundings, and rules—including no shouting and no groups larger than four.
Ted Breaux obtains his first unopened bottles of pre-ban absinthe.
1997
F. Paul Pacult publishes Kindred Spirits.
Dale DeGroff develops the bar program at The Greatest Bar on Earth atop the World Trade Center.
Julie Reiner receives major attention in The New York Times for using seasonal fresh fruit, spices, and tea in cocktails at C3.
Food Network's Quench, hosted by Andrea Immer Robinson and Steve Olson, brings cocktails to television.
Barnaby Conrad III publishes a reissue/revised paperback edition of Absinthe: History in a Bottle.
The Happy Hour, with Paul Pacult and Gary Regan, brings cocktail culture to nationally syndicated radio.
DeGroff invites Audrey Saunders to assist with special events at the Rainbow Room.
Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller publish Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini.
Gary Regan publishes New Classic Cocktails.
Cocktails aren't just happening behind bars anymore.
They're becoming media.
1998
Paul Harrington, Graham Clark, and Laura Moorhead publish Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century, based on Harrington's pioneering online cocktail work.
Absinthe Brasserie & Bar opens in San Francisco.
B-Side Lounge becomes an important early Boston fresh-classic cocktail bar, producing an extraordinary family tree of bartenders.
Steve Wynn selects Tony Abou-Ganim to develop the cocktail program for the new Bellagio Las Vegas. Abou-Ganim brings the fresh-classic cocktail philosophy he developed in San Francisco to the resort's massive beverage operation, training nearly 200 bartenders, 150 apprentice bartenders, and more than 100 bar porters in quality spirits, fresh ingredients, classic recipes, proper technique, and professional service. Opening bartender Bridget Albert becomes his protégé. Bellagio demonstrates that the emerging Cocktail Renaissance isn't limited to tiny cocktail bars—it can work on a Las Vegas resort scale.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry publishes Beachbum Berry's Grog Log.
1998–2000 — The Cosmopolitan Goes Global
HBO's Sex and the City helps propel the Cosmopolitan into popular culture.
The cocktail was already fashionable during the 1990s, but its repeated association with the television series helps turn it into an international phenomenon.
The Cosmo wasn't part of the emerging brown-drink-and-bitters school of craft cocktails, but its importance shouldn't be underestimated:
It helped make ordering a cocktail fashionable again for an enormous mainstream audience.
And just like that...
Everybody wanted a Cosmo.
1999 — The Cocktail Internet Explodes
David Wondrich begins updating the online version of Esquire's 1949 Handbook for Hosts.
Gary and Mardee Regan launch ArdentSpirits.com.
Robert Hess launches DrinkBoy.com and helps numerous cocktail people establish themselves online.
I launch CharmingBarTricks.com, followed by Miss-Charming.com, MissCharming.com, and CherylCharming.com.
Dale and Jill DeGroff launch KingCocktail.com.
Lesley Gracie develops Hendrick's using cucumber and rose alongside traditional gin botanicals. It helped usher in the wave of modern premium gins that didn't feel obligated to taste exactly like traditional London Dry.
1999 — Milk & Honey
On New Year's Eve, Sasha Petraske opens Milk & Honey (134 Eldridge Street) in New York City. Sources say Sasha worked the secret, tiny 15-seat bar alone, and his first bartender hire was Toby Maloney in 2000, who later became an opening head bartender at Pegu Club and was instrumental in The Violet Hour in Chicago. Inspired partly by Angel's Share, Petraske creates a tiny reservation-only bar devoted to beautifully executed classic cocktails, quality ingredients, proper ice, hospitality, and civilized behavior.
Bartender Joseph Schwartz also became one of the most important early Milk & Honey bartenders and something of an unsung hero. Christy Pope and Chad Solomon recalled that when Sasha was away opening Milk & Honey London, Joseph essentially became the heart of the New York bar. Sasha later opened Little Branch with him.
Christy Pope and Chad Solomon became part of the first Milk & Honey wave. They later worked at Pegu Club, Flatiron Lounge, and Little Branch, then became important consultants and educators at Cuff & Buttons. In 2014, they opened Midnight Rambler in Dallas.
Milk & Honey became one of the most influential bars of the Cocktail Renaissance and helped ignite the modern speakeasy-style cocktail bar.
And just like that, bartenders started hiding the front door again.
The 2000s — Full Bloom
By the new millennium, the movement begins accelerating.
2000
Toby Maloney becomes Sasha Petraske’s first bartender hire at Milk & Honey. He later joins Julie Reiner’s Flatiron Lounge, where he works alongside bartenders including Phil Ward, Chad Solomon, Katie Stipe, and Lynnette Marrero.
2002 — Tales of the Cocktail
Ann Rogers Tuennerman launches what becomes Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in 2002 as a walking tour of historic French Quarter bars. In 2003, it expands into an annual cocktail conference and quickly becomes an important gathering place for the growing Cocktail Renaissance. Bartenders, writers, historians, distillers, educators, brands, and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world come to New Orleans to teach, learn, taste, network, and exchange ideas. In 2007, Tales launched the Spirited Awards, recognizing excellence in bartenders, bars, books, products, and other areas of the industry. Perhaps Tales' greatest contribution during the 2000s was bringing the separate cocktail communities emerging in cities around the world together—and helping turn a movement into a community.
2000s — Dale “king cocktail” degroff
Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff, already one of the fathers of the Cocktail Renaissance, spends the 2000s helping turn the movement he helped ignite into a profession. In 2002, he publishes the influential The Craft of the Cocktail and travels extensively teaching, mentoring, and promoting classic technique, fresh ingredients, quality spirits, and hospitality.
In 2004, DeGroff and other leading cocktail historians and industry figures found the Museum of the American Cocktail, with Dale serving as its first president. In 2006, he joins Doug Frost, Steve Olson, Paul Pacult, and David Wondrich to establish Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), an intensive spirits-and-cocktail education program.
His accolades include the 2008 Tales of the Cocktail Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2009 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional, and, fittingly, Best Bar Mentor at Tales in 2010. By decade’s end, King Cocktail isn't simply one of the godfathers of the Renaissance—he's teaching the generation that will carry it forward.
The King hadn't left the building; he was busy showing everybody else how to run it.
2000s — Gary “Gaz” Regan
He becomes one of the Cocktail Renaissance’s most influential writers, educators, and mentors. In 2001, he begins writing his long-running Cocktailian column for the San Francisco Chronicle and launches Cocktails in the Country, intimate two-day workshops where small groups of bartenders study cocktail structure, technique, service, and the philosophy of bartending. In 2003, he publishes his landmark The Joy of Mixology, organizing cocktails into families and giving bartenders a way to understand how drinks are constructed rather than simply memorizing recipes. He also develops Regans’ Orange Bitters No. 6, helping restore an ingredient repeatedly called for in vintage cocktail books but difficult to find at the time. By the end of the decade, Regan is teaching and mentoring bartenders around the world, publishing his Ardent Spirits newsletters, and in 2009 releases The Bartender’s Gin Compendium. Through his books, columns, classes, bitters, and mentorship, Regan helped teach a generation of bartenders not just how to make cocktails, but how to think about them.
He was also famous for stirring his Negroni with his finger—a habit so uniquely Gary that Cocktail Kingdom eventually made a barspoon modeled from a cast of his own finger. Most bartenders leave fingerprints on the industry. Gary turned his into barware.
2000s — Audrey Saunders
Audrey Saunders, a protégée of Dale "King Cocktail" DeGroff, becomes one of the leading figures of New York’s Cocktail Renaissance, first at Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle and then at Pegu Club, which she opens in 2005. With Julie Reiner, Saunders assembles what she calls “The Yankees” of bartending, an extraordinary team that includes Toby Maloney, Phil Ward, Chad Solomon, Brian Miller, Jim Kearns, Jim Meehan, Sam Ross, and others. Pegu becomes both an influential cocktail bar and a training ground for bartenders who go on to shape the next generation.
Saunders also creates modern classics including the Gin-Gin Mule and Old Cuban, teaches seminars and hosts events at Tales of the Cocktail, and becomes a prominent industry educator and mentor. In 2007, she wins Tales’ Mixologist/Bartender of the Year, while Pegu Club wins World’s Best Cocktail Bar; in 2009, Pegu wins Best American Cocktail Bar. Saunders didn't just create influential cocktails and an influential bar—she helped create influential bartenders.
2000s — Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry spends the 2000s uncovering the lost recipes and history of America’s midcentury Tiki bars. Following his 1998 Grog Log, he publishes Intoxica! (2002), Taboo Table (2005), and the landmark Sippin’ Safari (2007), drawing on extensive interviews with surviving bartenders and staff from the original Tiki era. His research decodes long-lost recipes from Don the Beachcomber and other pioneers—including the original Zombie—and helps restore complex tropical drinks to the serious cocktail canon. Sippin’ Safari in particular becomes an important catalyst for the modern Tiki revival. In 2009, he publishes Beachbum Berry Remixed, combining and greatly expanding his earlier drink research.
2000s — Tony Abou-Ganim
Tony Abou-Ganim helps prove that the Cocktail Renaissance can work on a massive scale. After Steve Wynn recruits him to develop the cocktail program for Bellagio in 1998 for 200 bartenders, 150 apprentice bartenders, and 100 bar porters, Tony carries fresh ingredients, proper technique, and professional bartender training into the 2000s. He teaches numerous Tales of the Cocktail seminars, judges cocktail competitions around the world, and becomes a prominent advocate for bartending as a profession.
An early supporter of the USBG, Tony helps strengthen bartender education and community. In 2007, he releases his Modern Mixology instructional DVD, and in 2008, creates the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award at Tales in honor of his cousin and first bartending mentor. His Cable Car, created in San Francisco in 1996, remains a modern classic.
In 2010, he publishes The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails. His commitment to spirits education and judging later continues as co-founder of the TAG Global Spirits Awards with David Grapshi and Julio Bermejo.
Tony didn't just make better drinks—he helped build a better profession around the people making them.
2000s — Ted Breaux
New Orleans research scientist and absinthe historian Ted Breaux becomes a driving force behind the modern absinthe revival. In 2000, he becomes the first to analyze antique absinthe (in June 2000) and founds Jade Liqueurs, recreating historically accurate absinthes from his research. In 2007, Breaux works with Viridian Spirits to develop Lucid Absinthe Supérieure, helping clear the regulatory path for genuine absinthe to be legally sold in America. Lucid becomes the first genuine absinthe containing grande wormwood legally available in the U.S. after the 95-year absence. His combination of science, history, and distilling helped separate absinthe fact from more than a century of fiction.
I got to be a tiny part of Ted’s absinthe revival myself, working a few of his Lucid events in Florida—introducing people to the Green Fairy without anyone hallucinating or cutting off an ear.
2000s — Julio Bermejo
San Francisco bartender Julio Bermejo becomes one of the world’s great tequila evangelists. From his family’s Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant, he champions 100% agave tequila and his Tommy’s Margarita, turning the unassuming neighborhood restaurant into an international pilgrimage destination for bartenders and tequila lovers. Tommy’s builds one of the world’s largest collections of 100% agave tequila and what Bermejo describes as the largest vintage tequila collection in the world.
Bermejo creates the Blue Agave Club, an educational tasting club that eventually grows to more than 10,000 members, and travels internationally teaching, judging competitions, and leading educational trips to Jalisco. In 2003, Mexico’s National Chamber for the Tequila Industry names him Tequila Ambassador to the United States. He also distills L&J Tequila in Jalisco. In 2008, the Tommy’s Margarita enters the IBA cocktail list, and in 2009, Tommy’s appears on the inaugural World’s 50 Best Bars list. In 2014, Tales of the Cocktail honors Julio with the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award.
And Julio is a storyteller behind the bar. He can give you a tequila education while making a Tommy’s Margarita right in the blender pitcher—then cap the pitcher, shake it by hand, and pour. No shaker tins required. Apparently when you know that much about tequila, you're allowed to make your own rules.
2000s — Julie Reiner
She helps prove that serious craft cocktails can work at high volume when she opens Flatiron Lounge in 2003. In 2005, she helps Audrey Saunders assemble what Saunders called “The Yankees” of bartending for the opening of Pegu Club, drawing an extraordinary team that includes Toby Maloney, Phil Ward, Chad Solomon, Brian Miller, Sam Ross, Jim Kearns, and Jim Meehan. Many go on to become major figures of the Cocktail Renaissance and open influential bars of their own.
In 2008, Reiner opens Brooklyn’s Clover Club, where the early staff includes Franky Marshall, with Tom Macy joining in 2009. The bar wins World’s Best New Cocktail Bar at the 2009 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. Reiner also becomes a sought-after cocktail competition judge, educator, and mentor, helping develop and champion a new generation of bartenders.
2000s — Tobin Ellis
Las Vegas bartender Tobin Ellis becomes an important bridge between two worlds that didn't always play nicely together during the Cocktail Renaissance: flair bartending and the emerging craft-mixology movement. A champion flair bartender and founder of BarMagic, Ellis increasingly combines the entertainment and showmanship of flair with fresh ingredients, serious cocktail technique, training, and innovative bar design. In 2000, BarMagic helps overhaul Caesars Palace’s center bar, providing bar design, cocktail development, staff training, and opening services. His work at Tangerine at Treasure Island earns recognition for its cocktail program in 2005 and 2007. In 2006, Ellis gained national attention on Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, helping demonstrate that a flair bartender could also be taken seriously as a mixologist. In 2009, he launched
Social Mixology, an early traveling pop-up speakeasy concept that brings bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts together through temporary underground cocktail events. At a time when flair bartenders and the new mixologists often occupied opposing camps, Ellis helped marry showmanship with serious cocktails—two worlds that would become much more comfortable together in the following decade.
2000s — Japanese Bartending Goes Global
Tokyo master bartender Kazuo Uyeda becomes one of the most influential international ambassadors of Japanese bartending, drawing attention to the extraordinary precision, hospitality, hand-cut ice, elegant technique, and ritual of the Japanese cocktail bar. At his Ginza bar Tender, Uyeda becomes famous for his signature Hard Shake, a stylized shaking technique that fascinates Western bartenders and begins influencing American cocktail culture by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, Hisashi Kishi opens Star Bar in 2000, with Hidetsugu Ueno behind the bar; Ueno later opens Bar High Five in 2008, becoming another internationally recognized ambassador of Japanese bartending. By the late 2000s, bartenders from around the world are looking toward Tokyo for inspiration.
Stanislav Vadrna
Slovakian bartender Stanislav Vadrna becomes an important bridge between Japanese and Western cocktail culture. After traveling to New York to study with Gary Regan in 2005, he goes to Tokyo in 2006 to study under Japanese master bartender Kazuo Uyeda at Tender, embracing Japanese precision, hospitality, ice, graceful movement, the Hard Shake, and the philosophy of ichi-go ichi-e—treating each encounter with a guest as a unique moment.
Returning to Paparazzi in Bratislava, Vadrna incorporates those lessons into his bartending and service; the bar’s menu wins World’s Best Cocktail Menu at the 2007 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. He travels internationally teaching Japanese-inspired bartending, including seminars at Tales of the Cocktail, helping introduce Western bartenders to a philosophy in which how you care for the guest matters as much as how you make the drink. In 2009, he begins his long association with Nikka Whisky.
Vadrna shares this journey with longtime friend and fellow Slovak bartender Erik Lorincz. The two had known each other since their teenage years, and in 2007 they travel to Japan together to study with Uyeda. Both become important ambassadors of Japanese bartending philosophy in the West, with Lorincz going on to win Diageo World Class Global Bartender of the Year in 2010.
2000s — Francesco Lafranconi
Italian-born bartender and educator Francesco Lafranconi arrives in Las Vegas in 2000 after building an impressive career behind the bars of some of Europe’s great luxury hotels, including Gleneagles in Scotland, the Palace Hotel in Gstaad, the InterContinental in Cologne, and Harry’s Bar/Hotel Cipriani in Venice. Raised in a hospitality family in Italy and formally trained in hotel school, he had already won the 1998 Bacardi-Martini Grand Prix World Final before Southern Wine & Spirits recruited him to Las Vegas.
That same year, Lafranconi created the Academy of Spirits and Fine Service, an intensive 12-week education program that eventually trains more than 1,000 beverage professionals in spirits, cocktails, tasting, technique, aesthetics, tools, and professional service. In 2001, he and Tony Abou-Ganim help establish the Nevada presence of the USBG, and Lafranconi later becomes a national ambassador, education leader, and founding member of its Master Accreditation Program.
Throughout the decade, he travels, teaches, judges, consults, and helps spread professional cocktail and spirits education far beyond Las Vegas. In 2005, he is inducted into Bartender Magazine’s Bartender Hall of Fame, and in 2009, he receives both Santé magazine’s Spirit Professional of the Year and Tales of the Cocktail’s Golden Spirit Award.
And anyone who has ever learned from Francesco probably knows the phrase:
“We’re not drinking, we’re learning!”
It became his trademark catchphrase—and frankly, of course, when a handsome man with charming manners, an Italian accent, and a twinkle in his eye hands you a cocktail and says, “We’re not drinking, we’re learning!”—who are you to argue with the professor?
2000s — Sasha Petraske
He spends the 2000s expanding the philosophy he established at Milk & Honey—precise classic cocktails, measured pours, quality ice, quiet hospitality, and disciplined service—through a growing family of bars and bartenders. He opens Milk & Honey London (2002), East Side Company Bar and Little Branch (2005), White Star (2008), and The Varnish in Los Angeles and Dutch Kills in Queens (2009), frequently partnering with bartenders he had trained, including Joseph Schwartz, Eric Alperin, and Richard Boccato. His influence spread further through the remarkable group who passed through Milk & Honey, helping turn Petraske’s ideas about cocktails, ice, technique, and hospitality into a blueprint for the emerging craft-cocktail bar.
2000s — The Two Ebens & Molecular Mixology
Two guys named Eben were helping lead molecular mixology in New York at the same time. What were the molecular odds of that? Former molecular biologist Eben Klemm brings a scientist’s approach to cocktail development at B.R. Guest Restaurants, experimenting with modern culinary techniques while overseeing beverage programs and bartender training. Meanwhile, Eben Freeman takes a more theatrical approach at wd~50 and later Tailor, becoming famous for progressive cocktails involving fat-washed spirits, liquid nitrogen, spheres, foams, carbonation, smoked ingredients, and edible cocktails.
The movement quickly spreads beyond the two Ebens. Tony Conigliaro pioneers science-driven cocktails in London; Jamie Boudreau experiments with modern techniques in Seattle; and Dave Arnold brings rigorous food science, technology, and experimentation into the bar. Philip Duff, who trained under molecular-gastronomy pioneer Hervé This, helps introduce molecular mixology to bartenders worldwide and helped organize the influential 2005 BOLS Molecular Mixology Symposium in Amsterdam. Las Vegas bartender Alex Velez also experiments with avant-garde culinary techniques as the movement spreads. By the end of the decade, the bartender’s toolbox includes equipment and ingredients that look suspiciously like they belong in a laboratory.
2000s — Philip Duff
Irish bartender, educator, consultant, and longtime cocktail troublemaker Philip Duff becomes one of the Cocktail Renaissance’s great international connectors. Through his Liquid Solutions consultancy and work with BOLS, Duff travels the world training bartenders, spreading cocktail knowledge, and generally making sure nobody takes the drinks business too seriously. In 2005, he helps organize the influential BOLS Molecular Mixology Symposium in Amsterdam, bringing molecular-gastronomy pioneer Hervé This together with leading international bartenders to explore the science behind cocktails. Duff also becomes an important force in the revival of genever, carrying bottles of the then-hard-to-find Dutch spirit around the world, introducing it to bartenders, and later helping develop Bols Genever itself.
In 2008, Duff becomes a founding partner in Amsterdam’s Door 74, which goes on to become the first Dutch bar to make the World’s 50 Best Bars list. Bartender, teacher, consultant, spirits expert, genever evangelist, and gifted talker, Duff seems to have spent the decade traveling the world educating bartenders while simultaneously trying to make them laugh—which, in his case, may be the same thing. I can personally vouch for Philip’s genever evangelism. While I was working on my 2010 book Knack Bartending Basics, he sent me a bottle so I could photograph and include it. Philip wasn't just spreading the word about genever—he was spreading actual bottles of it.
2000s — Charlotte Voisey
British bartender Charlotte Voisey—sounds like noisy— becomes an important international voice of the Cocktail Renaissance. In 2002, she opens and runs London’s Apartment 195, which wins London Bar of the Year, and in 2004 she is named UK Bartender of the Year. She moves to the U.S. in 2006 to represent Hendrick’s Gin, becoming a highly visible bartender, educator, cocktail developer, and brand ambassador. She wins silver at the 2006 IBA World Female Bartending Championships, her Punch & Judy is named the official cocktail of Tales of the Cocktail in 2008, and in 2009 she receives a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional. In 2010, Charlotte wins the Tales of the Cocktail Best American Brand Ambassador Spirited Award. By decade’s end, Voisey has become an important connector between the London and American cocktail communities.
2000s - The Two Simons — Connecting the Cocktail World
During the 2000s, two Englishmen named Simon helped bridge the rapidly growing international cocktail community—Simon Difford and Simon Ford.
Simon Difford connected the cocktail world largely through information.
The British bartender, writer, publisher, and cocktail historian Simon Difford documented the people, places, drinks, products, and ideas shaping the Cocktail Renaissance. CLASS magazine covered the evolving bar industry, while Difford's Guide grew into an extensive cocktail and spirits reference in print and online. But Difford wasn't documenting the movement from behind a desk. He traveled extensively, visiting bars, interviewing bartenders, judging competitions, and recording cocktail communities around the world.
Simon Ford connected the cocktail world largely through education and people. After helping open Koba in Brighton, the British bartender and spirits educator became an international ambassador for Plymouth Gin, traveling extensively to teach bartenders about gin, cocktails, and spirits. Rather than simply selling bottles, Ford used tastings, distillery visits, seminars, competitions, and bartender gatherings to educate people and bring the growing international cocktail community together.
In 2007, Tales of the Cocktail named Ford Best International Brand Ambassador. In 2008, he and Audrey Saunders launched the Bartender's Breakfast at Tales, and in 2009, Ford was named Best American Brand Ambassador for Plymouth Gin and Pernod Ricard.
By the end of the 2000s, cocktail culture was no longer a collection of isolated scenes in London, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Tokyo, and other cities. Bartenders were becoming part of an international community—traveling, sharing ideas, learning from one another, and forming friendships across borders.
Difford documented and shared the cocktail world. Ford educated and connected it. And somehow, just when everybody needed to find each other, England sent us two Simons.
2000s — David Wondrich
Writer and cocktail historian David Wondrich becomes one of the Cocktail Renaissance's most important chroniclers—and historical detectives. A former English professor with a Ph.D. in comparative literature, Wondrich brings academic research to drinking history, digging through old newspapers, archives, bartender manuals, and primary sources to separate documented history from generations of cocktail folklore.
As Esquire's drinks correspondent, he writes extensively about cocktails and publishes Esquire Drinks and Killer Cocktails. He also becomes a founding member of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a founding partner of Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), helping bring serious cocktail and spirits education to a new generation of bartenders.
In 2007, Wondrich publishes Imbibe!, his groundbreaking exploration of Jerry Thomas and 19th-century American drinking. It wins both a James Beard Award and the 2008 Tales of the Cocktail award for Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book. In 2009, Wondrich wins Best Cocktail Writing, and in 2010 he publishes Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl.
While bartenders were busy reviving the cocktail, Wondrich was busy finding its receipts.
Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff — revival, mentorship + professionalizing bartending
Gary “Gaz” Regan — books, teaching + bartender philosophy
Audrey Saunders — precision, classics + the modern cocktail-bar blueprint
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry — Tiki archaeology + recovering lost recipes
Tony Abou-Ganim — education, large-scale beverage programs + bringing craft to the masses
Ted Breaux — absinthe science, history + revival
Julio Bermejo — tequila education + 100% agave advocacy
Julie Reiner — cocktail bars, mentorship + building great teams
Tobin Ellis — flair meets mixology + innovative bar design
Japanese Bartending Goes Global — precision, ritual, hospitality + ice
Stanislav Vadrna — Japanese philosophy + East-to-West bridge
Francesco Lafranconi — spirits education, luxury service + professional training
Sasha Petraske — simplicity, precision + modern speakeasy culture
The Two Ebens & Molecular Mixology — science, experimentation + technique
Philip Duff — genever, education + international troublemaking
Charlotte Voisey — competitions, education + global brand ambassadorship
The Two Simons — information, education + connecting the global cocktail community
David Wondrich — historical research + giving cocktail history its receipts
2000s — The London Cocktail Community
London develops one of the world's most influential Cocktail Renaissance communities, building on the groundwork of Dick Bradsell and an earlier generation of British bartenders. Tony Conigliaro, Jonathan Downey, Wayne Collins, Angus Winchester, Ben Reed, Dre Masso, Henry Besant, Nick Strangeway, Jake Burger, Salvatore Calabrese, Peter Dorelli, Ago Perrone, Alex Kratena, Erik Lorincz, and others push the city forward through bars including LAB, Match Bar, Milk & Honey, Trailer Happiness, Montgomery Place, The Player, Artesian, and the Connaught Bar. Milk & Honey London opens in 2002, strengthening the connection between London and New York, while bartender education and consultancies help spread knowledge throughout Britain. By the end of the decade, Perrone at Connaught, Kratena at Artesian, and Lorincz at Connaught help reinvent the grand hotel bar for a new generation, while Tony Conigliaro pushes cocktails toward science and experimentation, culminating in 69 Colebrooke Row in 2009. London isn't simply participating in the Cocktail Renaissance—it is helping drive it internationally.
2000s — The San Francisco Bay Area Cocktail Community
develops one of America's strongest Cocktail Renaissance communities, with bartenders including Julio Bermejo, Marcovaldo Dionysos, Dave Nepove, Thad Vogler, Martin Cate, Duggan McDonnell, H. Joseph Ehrmann, Scott Beattie, Todd Smith, Jon Santer, Dominic Venegas, Neyah White, Jeff Hollinger, Jonny Raglin, Erik Adkins, Jennifer Colliau, Jacques Bezuidenhout, Brooke Arthur, Carlos Yturria, Owen Westman, Kevin Diedrich, and many others. They move through influential bars and restaurants including Tommy's, Enrico's, Absinthe, César, Slanted Door, Tres Agaves, Range, Cyrus, Alembic, Elixir, Cantina, Bourbon & Branch, Forbidden Island, Nopa, Rye, Beretta, and eventually Smuggler's Cove. By the middle of the decade, the Bay Area isn't simply following the Cocktail Renaissance—it has become one of its major centers.
2000s — Las Vegas Cocktail Community
Las Vegas develops an influential Cocktail Renaissance community around Tony Abou-Ganim, Francesco Lafranconi, Bobby “G” Gleason, Livio Lauro, Tobin Ellis, Bridget Albert, Andrew Pollard, Mariena Mercer, Ken Hall, Tony Rossi, Eron Smith, Kristen Schaefer, and others. Through major resort cocktail programs, the Academy of Spirits and Fine Service, the growing Nevada USBG, competitions, consulting, and bartender education, they introduce fresh ingredients, classic recipes, premium spirits, culinary techniques, and serious cocktail training throughout the city.
2000s — New York Cocktail Community
New York City becomes an epicenter of the Cocktail Renaissance, bringing together established pioneers and an extraordinary new generation. Dale DeGroff, Gary “Gaz” Regan, and industry educator Simon Ford help mentor, educate, and connect a growing community that includes Sasha Petraske, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, Toby Maloney, Joseph Schwartz, Christy Pope, Chad Solomon, Dushan Zaric, Jason Kosmas, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jim Meehan, Phil Ward, Sam Ross, Michael McIlroy, Brian Miller,
Jim Kearns, Joaquín Simó, Kenta Goto, St. John Frizell, Eben Freeman, Eben Klemm, Giuseppe Gonzalez, Katie Stipe, Lynnette Marrero, Richard Boccato, and many others. They move through influential bars including Milk & Honey, Bemelmans, Flatiron Lounge, Employees Only, Pegu Club, Little Branch, Death & Co., PDT, Clover Club, Tailor, Dutch Kills, and Mayahuel. The talent pool becomes so concentrated that many of these bars serve as training grounds for the next generation: bartenders learn together, create modern classics, then leave to open influential bars of their own. By the end of the decade, New York isn't simply participating in the Cocktail Renaissance—it is exporting it around the world.
2000s — New Orleans Cocktail Community
New Orleans enters the Cocktail Renaissance with an advantage: it never completely abandoned its classic cocktails. A community including Chris McMillian, Chris Hannah, Paul Gustings, Lu Brow, Bobby Oakes, Marvin Allen, Danny Valdez, Neal Bodenheimer, Kirk Estopinal, and others connects the city’s living cocktail traditions with the emerging national craft movement. Historic bars including the Carousel Bar, Arnaud’s French 75, Napoleon House, Tujague’s, Sazerac Bar, Swizzle Stick Bar, and Commander’s Palace coexist with a new generation experimenting with fresh ingredients, precision, and modern techniques. In 2002, Tales of the Cocktail began as a local New Orleans walking tour before expanding into an annual cocktail conference in 2003. In October 2004, the Museum of the American Cocktail was founded by a group of cocktail historians, writers, and industry experts, including Dale DeGroff, Robert Hess, Philip Greene, and Ted Haigh.
Then, in August 2005, Katrina changes the city. Neal Bodenheimer returns home at the end of 2006 after six years bartending in New York, bringing experience from that city's burgeoning craft scene. In 2009, Bodenheimer, Matthew Kohnke, and opening bartender Kirk Estopinal open Cure on Freret Street, giving New Orleans its first major contemporary craft-cocktail bar and creating a training ground for a new generation of local bartenders.
2000s — Chicago Cocktail Community
Chicago develops one of America's strongest Cocktail Renaissance communities during the 2000s, with early groundwork from Bridget Albert, Adam Seger, and others, followed by a major new generation including Toby Maloney, Charles Joly, Lynn House, Michael Rubel, Kirk Estopinal, Troy Sidle, Bradley Bolt, Kyle Davidson, Stephen Cole, Mike Ryan, and Ira Koplowitz. The opening of The Violet Hour in 2007 becomes a major turning point. Maloney brings lessons learned at Milk & Honey, Flatiron Lounge, and Pegu Club to Chicago and establishes an unusually rigorous training program that turns Violet Hour into a bartender incubator. Its graduates fan out across Chicago and beyond, opening bars, leading beverage programs, producing bitters, and carrying the city's cocktail culture into the next decade. Other influential programs include Nacional 27, The Drawing Room, Sepia, Matchbox, and Bar DeVille.
2000s — Boston Cocktail Community
Boston develops a tight-knit and influential Cocktail Renaissance community around Brother Cleve, Barbara Lynch, Misty Kalkofen, Jackson Cannon, John Gertsen, Scott Holliday, Patrick Sullivan, Dylan Black, Todd Maul, Ben Sandrof, Sean Holland, Max Toste, and others. In 2005, Brother Cleve, Kalkofen, Cannon, Gertsen, and Holliday form the informal Jack Rose Society, gathering to dig through vintage cocktail books, compare recipes, and resurrect forgotten classics. Their research influences cocktail programs around the city. Eastern Standard opens in 2005 with Cannon leading the bar, and in 2008 Barbara Lynch and Gertsen open Drink, an innovative menu-less cocktail bar built around classic technique, hand-cut ice, fresh ingredients, and conversation between bartender and guest. No. 9 Park, B-Side Lounge, Green Street, Eastern Standard, Deep Ellum, and Drink help establish Boston as one of America's important Cocktail Renaissance cities.
Late 2000s — Miami Cocktail Community
Miami’s modern Cocktail Renaissance begins taking shape in the late 2000s around bartenders including John Lermayer, Julio Cabrera, Gabe Orta, and Elad Zvi. Lermayer helps lead the movement at The Florida Room at the Delano, designed by Lenny Kravitz, while Cabrera develops the cocktail program at Sra. Martinez. In 2009, bartenders Gabe Orta and Elad Zvi join forces to create Bar Lab, a beverage consulting company dedicated to bringing better cocktail programs and bartender education to Miami. Together with a growing local community, they help shift Miami beyond its reputation for nightclub bottle service and lay the groundwork for the city’s major cocktail boom of the 2010s—including Orta and Zvi’s hugely influential Broken Shaker, which begins as a pop-up in 2012.
Late 2000s — Los Angeles Cocktail Community
Los Angeles develops a growing Cocktail Renaissance community around Cedd Moses, Eric Alperin, Marcos Tello, Vincenzo Marianella, Julian Cox, Damian Windsor, Chris Ojeda, and others. Bars including Seven Grand, The Edison, Comme Ça, and Copa d’Oro help build momentum, but a major turning point comes in 2009 when Cedd Moses, Eric Alperin, and Sasha Petraske open The Varnish behind Cole’s. The intimate bar brings Milk & Honey-style precision, hand-cut ice, classic recipes, and disciplined service to downtown Los Angeles and becomes an influential training ground for a new generation of L.A. bartenders.
New York — classics, speakeasies, mentorship
San Francisco — culinary/fresh/seasonal + Julio Bermejo + agave/tequila culture
Las Vegas — education + craft at massive scale
New Orleans — living cocktail history meets craft
Boston — historical research + tight bartender community
Chicago — training-ground culture
Miami — late-decade transformation
Los Angeles — downtown revival + West Coast creativity
London — international exchange + experimentation
Tokyo — precision, ritual, ice + Japanese technique
2001
Lucy Brennan opens Mint in Portland.
Ted Haigh launches DrCocktail.com.
Ryan Magarian leaves Oba in Portland to run the cocktail program at Restaurant Zoë in Seattle, where he develops fresh, creative cocktails and joins the city's emerging craft-cocktail community.
Tony Abou-Ganim, Francesco Lafranconi, Bobby “G” Gleason, and Livio Lauro establish the Nevada branch of the United States Bartenders’ Guild. Abou-Ganim had been a USBG member since 1996 and, after moving to Las Vegas, worked with Lafranconi and the others to bring the organization to Nevada. Their efforts helped kick-start the USBG's resurgence, which eventually grew from its Southern California roots into a nationwide organization.
Gary Regan begins his influential Cocktails in the Country bartender workshops.
Jonathan Pogash works at the Russian Tea Room following Steve Olson's fresh-juice program.
Jamie Boudreau launches his Spirits and Cocktails blog.
Cocktail blogs are beginning to create an online bartender classroom long before social media takes over.
2002
Dale DeGroff publishes The Craft of the Cocktail, one of the defining books of the modern cocktail movement.
John Gertsen and Ryan McGrale create a fresh classic cocktail program at No. 9 Park in Boston.
Murray Stenson serves classics at Zig Zag Café in Seattle.
Sasha Petraske opens Milk & Honey London.
Tales of the Cocktail is launched in New Orleans by Ann Rogers.
What begins as a relatively small event grows into one of the world's most influential gatherings of bartenders, spirits professionals, writers, historians, brands, and cocktail
enthusiasts. For perhaps the first time, many of the scattered people rebuilding cocktail culture have somewhere to meet each other.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry publishes Intoxica!.
William Grimes publishes Straight Up or On the Rocks: The Story of the American Cocktail.
2003
Julie Reiner opens Flatiron Lounge in New York City, proving that serious craft cocktails can work in a stylish, higher-volume environment.
Flatiron becomes an important training ground for a generation of influential bartenders, including Katie Stipe, Lynnette Marrero, Phil Ward, Brian Miller, Toby Maloney, Dushan Zaric, and Jason Kosmas.
Craft cocktails were escaping the tiny cocktail dens.
People apparently wanted good drinks even when there were more than twelve seats.
Eben Freeman becomes known for molecular mixology at WD-50.
Murray Stenson, as head bartender, rediscovers the Last Word at Seattle’s Zig Zag Café, finding the forgotten recipe in Ted Saucier’s 1951 Bottoms Up! and putting it on the menu. The drink catches on with visiting bartenders, including Ryan Magarian, and locals, including Robert Hess, who helps carry it beyond Seattle.
Gary Regan publishes The Joy of Mixology.
2004
The Museum of the American Cocktail is founded in New Orleans by a group including Dale and Jill DeGroff, Chris and Laura McMillian, Ted Haigh, Robert Hess, Phil Greene, Jared Brown, and Anistatia Miller.
Jason Kosmas, Dushan Zaric, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Henry LaFargue, and Billy Gilroy open Employees Only in New York’s West Village. Kosmas, Zaric, Hadzismajlovic, and LaFargue had worked together at Pravda, where Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff trained and mentored the bar team, teaching cocktail history, classic recipes, professional service, and pride in bartending as a career. Kosmas later said Dale’s training changed the way he looked at bartending, while Zaric famously calls DeGroff his “Yoda.”
Employees Only becomes one of New York’s influential Cocktail Renaissance bars, combining serious drinks with a deliberately lively, unpretentious atmosphere. Jason Kosmas, Dushan Zaric, Igor Hadzismajlovic, and Henry LaFargue are among the original bartenders, while the bar’s rigorous apprenticeship system develops another generation, including Steve Schneider, who works his way from apprentice to principal bartender. The cocktails are serious, but the room is allowed to be fun—a philosophy that influences later bars and bartender-training programs.
Ted Haigh publishes Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, helping a new generation discover drinks and ingredients that had nearly disappeared.
Stefan Trummer pushes creative cocktail technique at Upstairs at Bouley.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry publishes Taboo Table.
Brian Van Flandern becomes head barman at Per Se in NYC and later develops house-made tonic water.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler launches his influential cocktail blog and later takes over the bar program at Clyde Common in Portland.
2005
Sean Kenyon
Third-generation bartender Sean Kenyon becomes bar manager at Steuben's in Denver and develops an ambitious cocktail program using fresh juices, classics, and original drinks—helping introduce Denver to the emerging craft-cocktail movement. In 2010, he moves to The Squeaky Bean, where he continues developing the city's modern cocktail culture. Later in 2011, Kenyon becomes co-owner/barman with Todd Colehour at Williams & Graham. Then Occidental (2015) and American Bonded (2018).
Tobey Maloney becomes the opening head bartender at Audrey Saunders’s Pegu Club.
Washington, D.C. bartender Gina Chersevani helps bring a culinary approach to the city's emerging craft-cocktail scene. After working at Penang, 15 Ria and Poste, she became known for inventive cocktails at Rasika in 2005, incorporating ingredients such as saffron, clove, star anise, and coconut.
Fever-Tree launched its premium Indian Tonic Water and helped create the premium mixer movement.
Bridget Albert and Adam Seger established the Illinois/Chicago chapter of the USBG.
Sasha Petraske and Joseph Schwartz open Little Branch.
Chemist-turned-bartender Darcy O'Neil launches Art of Drink.
He later publishes Fix the Pumps and helps resurrect forgotten ingredients, including acid phosphate and lactart.
Audrey Saunders opens Pegu Club in New York City.
Its staff includes Toby Maloney (head bartender), Chad Solomon, Phil Ward, Jim Meehan, Sam Ross, Brian Miller, Jim Kearns, and Eric Simpkins.
Pegu Club becomes one of the great bartender incubators of the Cocktail Renaissance. Its alumni carry what they learn into important bars across America and beyond.
Dave Arnold begins working at the French Culinary Institute, eventually helping push cocktail technique into previously unexplored scientific territory.
Paul Clarke launches Cocktail Chronicles.
David Wondrich publishes Killer Cocktails.
After eleven years of detective work, Beachbum Berry cracks the original Zombie recipe.
Derek Brown launches DC Drinks.
2006
Ryan Magarian partners with distiller Christian Krogstad of House Spirits Distillery to create Aviation American Gin. Magarian wanted a gin that worked beautifully in cocktails without juniper overpowering the other ingredients. Aviation became an early leader in what became known as American or New Western gin. It was also an important Cocktail Renaissance milestone: a bartender wasn't just deciding which spirit to put in the cocktail—he was helping create the spirit itself.
And yes, this is that Aviation Gin. Actor Ryan Reynolds became a co-owner in 2018. Then in 2020, Diageo acquired Aviation Gin and Davos Brands in a deal worth up to $610 million.
Sasha Petraske, Christy Pope, and Chad Solomon launch Cuffs & Buttons.
Jamie Boudreau opens Vessel in Seattle.
Bridget Albert launches the Illinois chapter of Francesco Lafranconi’s Academy of Spirits and Fine Service for Southern Wine & Spirits.
Charlotte Voisey becomes one of the prominent early faces of the modern spirits-brand-ambassador movement For Hendrick's.
Wayne Curtis publishes And a Bottle of Rum.
Camper English launches Alcademics.
Karen Foley launches Imbibe magazine.
H. Joseph Ehrmann, Jeff Hollinger, and Duggan McDonnell respond to Dale and Jill DeGroff’s call to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first published definition of the cocktail on World Cocktail Day. The idea grows into San Francisco Cocktail Week, which officially launches in 2007 amid a thriving Bay Area cocktail community that includes Dave Nepove, Erik Adkins, Jonny Raglin, Marcovaldo Dionysos, Scott Beattie, Dominic Venegas, Jon Santer, Neyah White, Carlos Yturria, and others.
Dale DeGroff, Steve Olson, Doug Frost, Paul Pacult, David Wondrich, and Andy Seymour establish Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), creating advanced professional spirits and cocktail education.
Brian Sheehy, Dahi Donnelly, Doug Dalton, Todd Smith, and Jon Santer open Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle describes the opening staff as an “Avengers-style collection of talent." The article names bartenders Marcovaldo Dionysos, Dominic Venegas, and Neyah White. Later bartenders include Owen Westman and Kevin Diedrich.
Absinthe bartenders Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz published The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics, showcasing the San Francisco approach to classic cocktails, fresh herbs and juices, house-made syrups, and seasonal ingredients. The Art of the Bar won Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book at the 2007 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
David Kaplan and Ravi DeRossi opened Death & Co. in New York City. The opening bartender team was: Phil Ward (head bartender), Brian Miller, and Jim Kearns, who came from Pegu Club. Also, Joaquín Simó from Stanton Social. Alex Day joined shortly after opening, initially working one Sunday swing shift.
Todd Thrasher opens PX in Alexandria, Virginia.
At this point, calling it a “little cocktail movement” would be getting difficult.
2007
At Death & Co., Don Lee helps introduce fat-washing to the cocktail world, infusing bourbon with bacon fat to create the Benton’s Old-Fashioned.
Francesco Lafranconi expands his role beyond Nevada and develops Southern Wine & Spirits’ mixology and spirits education program nationally.
Andrew Pollard opens Noir Bar, described as Las Vegas's first dedicated speakeasy-style cocktail concept.
Lucy Brennan publishes Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits.
Eric Seed brings Rothman & Winter crème de violette back to America after decades of absence, allowing bartenders to properly recreate drinks such as the Aviation.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry publishes Sippin' Safari.
Lucid Absinthe, developed by Ted Breaux and Viridian Spirits, becomes the first traditional absinthe legally sold again in the United States following the long 95-year absinthe drought.
Robert Cooper launches St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur. Its floral flavor and ability to play nicely with seemingly everything make it an instant favorite behind craft bars.
Soon bartenders are putting it into so many cocktails that it earns one of the great industry nicknames:
Bartender's ketchup.
2007 — San Francisco Cocktail Week
H. Joseph Ehrmann of Elixir, Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe, and Duggan McDonnell of Cantina launch the first San Francisco Cocktail Week, May 14–21, to showcase the Bay Area’s rapidly growing cocktail community. More than 30 bars and restaurants participate, each featuring a classic cocktail alongside an original creation. Events include a citywide cocktail crawl and a closing celebration at Absinthe with Gary Regan guest bartending, with proceeds benefiting Tales of the Cocktail. The event helps establish San Francisco nationally as a major center of the Cocktail Renaissance.
Toby Maloney takes his New York cocktail philosophy to Chicago as a founding partner and head mixologist at The Violet Hour, which becomes an influential cocktail bar and training ground.
Jim Meehan opens PDT in New York City, famously entered through a telephone booth inside a hot-dog restaurant.
Because apparently simply having a front door was becoming terribly unfashionable.
David Wondrich publishes the James Beard Award-winning Imbibe!
Stanislav Vad'rna wins World's Best Cocktail Menu at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards for his bar Paparazzi in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Tony Abou-Ganim creates a Modern Mixology DVD.
Colin Kimball launches Small Screen Network, bringing professional cocktail instruction to online video.
2008
Julie Reiner opens Clover Club in Brooklyn
Pernod Ricard USA launches BarSmarts, bringing advanced bartender education to a much wider professional audience.
In an interview, Charlotte Voisey singled out Gina Chersevani when talking about exciting cocktail talent, saying she loved what Gina was doing in Washington, D.C. At Tales of the Cocktail, Chersevani collaborated with Charlotte Voisey on a Spirited Dinner at Restaurant August, creating cocktails paired with the food of chef John Besh. Their professional collaboration would continue for years.
Scott Beattie publishes Artisanal Cocktails.
Gläce Luxury Ice begins delivering premium spheres and large-format ice to bars and consumers.
Bridget Albert publishes Market Fresh Mixology.
Dale DeGroff publishes The Essential Cocktail.
New Orleans officially declares the Sazerac its city cocktail.
Natalie Bovis publishes Preggatinis, an early book devoted to sophisticated alcohol-free cocktails. Seven years later, the modern zero-proof era begins.
Cocktail Kingdom launches, helping make high-quality professional and Japanese-style bar tools much easier for American bartenders to obtain.
Drink — Boston
Barbara Lynch opens Drink, with John Gertsen leading the bar.
Instead of relying on a conventional cocktail menu, bartenders talk with guests about the spirits and flavors they enjoy and create something specifically for them.
Another evolution has arrived:
The bartender isn't just taking your order anymore. He's interviewing you.
Cocktails Go Mobile
The Apple App Store launches in 2008, and cocktail culture wastes little time jumping onto the smartphone.
Cocktails+ becomes one of the pioneering serious cocktail apps, combining researched recipes and cocktail knowledge with searchable mobile technology.
Beachbum Berry's Tiki+ follows, putting Berry's painstaking tropical-drink research into bartenders' pockets. Your existing timeline records both as part of this early transition from cocktail websites to mobile apps.
Cocktail knowledge had traveled from books → websites → phones.
2009
Sasha Petraske, Eric Alperin, and Cedd Moses open The Varnish in Los Angeles.
Brian Van Flandern publishes Vintage Cocktails.
Gina Cheresvani and chef Peter Smith were at PS 7 in Washington, D.C., where she was doing something very Renaissance-era: deliberately pairing cocktails with food and treating the cocktail menu as part of the culinary experience. She was also creating sophisticated alcohol-free versions of the cocktail menu, which was pretty forward-thinking for 2009.
Bridget Albert creates the Advanced Mixology Culinary Academy, bringing bartenders together with chefs, farmers, and distillers to study everything from seasonal ingredients and knife skills to bitters, distillation, and food-and-cocktail pairing.
Miss Trivia launches on the iPhone, my own little contribution to the early cocktail-app world. It eventually grows to 5,000 questions in five categories and three difficulty levels.
Sasha Petraske opens Dutch Kills in Long Island City.
Phil Ward and Ravi DeRossi open Mayahuel in New York City, helping put agave spirits—particularly tequila and mezcal—at the center of serious cocktail conversation.
Seattle bartender Keith Waldbauer joins Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen as an associate consulting mixologist. After three years at Union and a stint at Barrio, Waldbauer moves to the influential Vessel while traveling with Casey to develop cocktail programs and train bartenders in the U.S. and abroad. He also serves as vice president of the Washington State Bartenders Guild and, by 2010, becomes a partner in Seattle’s Liberty Bar.
Kate Gerwin opens Casa Vieja in Corrales, New Mexico, developing a fresh
craft-cocktail program. Her national profile would grow considerably in the following two decades.
I help BarProducts.com develop an online Master Mixology section featuring craft bar tools, tiki mugs, and early consumer ice-ball molds. Later, I helped them bring in vintage replica hollow-stemmed cocktail glasses and more tiki mugs and bowls.
Kathy Casey publishes Sips & Apps.
Tobin Ellis launches Social Mixology, an early traveling pop-up speakeasy concept.
Smuggler's Cove
Martin and Rebecca Cate open Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, combining serious rum scholarship, historically researched tropical cocktails, elaborate tiki culture, and modern craft-cocktail technique. Smuggler's Cove helps move tiki beyond kitschy mid-century nostalgia and firmly into the modern Cocktail Renaissance.
Cure
Neal Bodenheimer, Kirk Estopinal, and Matthew Kohnke open Cure in New Orleans, helping bridge the city's extraordinary historic cocktail tradition with the emerging modern craft movement.
The Cocktail Renaissance had finally arrived in a city that had been making serious cocktails for a couple hundred years.
New Orleans probably wondered what took everybody so long.
Rickhouse
Erick Castro helps open Rickhouse in San Francisco, another important addition to the Bay Area's rapidly expanding craft-cocktail scene and an early milestone in Castro's growing influence on American bartending.
2010 — The Cocktail Revolution Goes Mainstream
Slovakian-born bartender Erik Lorincz wins Diageo World Class Global Bartender of the Year while working at London's Connaught Bar. Later that year, he becomes head bartender of the legendary American Bar at The Savoy when the hotel reopens after a three-year restoration. Known for combining classic European bartending with precise Japanese techniques, Lorincz represents how international the Cocktail Renaissance had become by 2010.
At Clyde Common in Portland, Jeffrey Morgenthaler begins barrel-aging finished cocktails, helping popularize the technique internationally.
Before long, little oak barrels start appearing behind craft bars everywhere. If your bar didn't have one, were you even crafting cocktails?
Tony Abou-Ganim publishes The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails, sharing the philosophy, techniques, spirits, and recipes he spent the previous two decades helping bring into the modern bar. He followed it in 2013 with Vodka Distilled, a deep dive into vodka, its production, styles, and cocktails.
David Wondrich publishes Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl.
Darcy O'Neil publishes Fix the Pumps. It explores the American pharmacy soda fountain, including carbonated beverages, syrups, phosphates, egg drinks, ice-cream sodas, and the equipment used to produce them. The joke-of-the-books title "Fix the Pumps" is a historical piece of soda jerk slang from the early 20th century, meaning to step away from the counter to ogle an attractive, large-breasted female customer.
Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric publish Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined, sharing the cocktails, techniques, and hospitality philosophy behind Employees Only. By the end of the decade, the bar had become one of New York’s influential Cocktail Renaissance institutions—although its biggest international accolades were still to come.
Stanislav Vad'rna and Barbora Urbanova publish Paparazzi Bar Book.
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry publishes Beachbum Berry Remixed.
Dale DeGroff wins the first Best Bar Mentor award.
Brian Rea — Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award.
Seattle legend Murray Stenson, whose revival of the forgotten Last Word helped turn it into a modern classic, is named American Bartender of the Year at the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
Agostino “Ago” Perrone — International Bartender of the Year.
Charlotte Voisey of William Grant & Sons wins Best Brand Ambassador.
Death & Co. — Best American Cocktail Bar + World’s Best Cocktail Menu.
CLASS magazine — Best Cocktail Writing.
Ted Haigh — Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book for the revised Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.
Charlotte Voisey — Best American Brand Ambassador.
Mayahuel, opened by Phil Ward and Ravi DeRossi in 2009, wins World's Best New Cocktail Bar at the 2010 Spirited Awards.
Death & Co wins World's Best Cocktail Bar & Best American Cocktail Bar. While representing Death & Co (the bar that dominated the 2010 awards), Joaquin Simó created a drink that helped skyrocket mezcal into mainstream cocktail culture. It is a clever smoky riff on the equal-parts Last Word template. Formula: Equal parts Mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, and Fresh Lime Juice. It offers a complex blend of smoky, herbal, bittersweet, and citrus notes.
The Connaught Bar in London wins World's Best Hotel Bar.
Bar Lebensstern in Berlin wins World's Best Drink Selection.
Agostino Perrone of The Connaught Bar in London wins International Bartender of the Year: Perrone took top global honors for his meticulous precision and the famous Connaught Martini trolley experience. Prepared on a bespoke rolling cart right at the guest's table, the drink lets guests customize their flavor profile.
Sam Ross is a Top Global Nominee for his signature cocktail, The Penicillin. Formula: Muddled Fresh Ginger mixed with Blended Scotch, Fresh Lemon Juice, and Honey Syrup. After shaking and straining over a large ice cube, top with a float of smoky Islay Single Malt Scotch and garnish with candied ginger.
Manhattan Cocktail Classic
Lesley Townsend launches the first full Manhattan Cocktail Classic, May 14–18, following a successful two-day preview in 2009. New York finally gets its own major cocktail festival, joining Tales of the Cocktail and San Francisco Cocktail Week as a gathering place for the rapidly growing craft-cocktail community. The opening gala takes over the New York Public Library, with more than 2,000 guests, while dozens of seminars, tastings, parties, and events bring together bartenders, distillers, writers, educators, brands, and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world.
The original advisory board was Dale DeGroff, Simon Ford, Doug Frost, Allen Katz, Steve Olson, Paul Pacult, Sasha Petraske, Gary Regan, Julie Reiner, Audrey Saunders, Andy Seymour, Charlotte Voisey, and David Wondrich. That's basically a Cocktail Renaissance class photo.
And by 2010, something much bigger happened.
The seeds planted during the 1980s have grown into a full-blown international cocktail movement.
A new generation of bartenders takes what their mentors rediscovered and runs with it.
They move beyond the dark speakeasy and open neighborhood craft bars, dive craft bars, tiki bars, soda-fountain bars, hotel bars, and casual hangs.
They grow herbs.
Make bitters and syrups.
Carve, freeze, stamp, and brand ice.
Barrel-age cocktails.
Put cocktails on tap.
Experiment with molecular techniques.
Embrace Japanese tools and bartending techniques.
Resurrect forgotten spirits.
Explore mezcal, tequila, genever, rum, amari, and other previously neglected categories.
Create food-and-cocktail pairings.
Launch bartender exchanges and pop-up bars.
Develop artisanal mixers, syrups, bitters, and bar tools.
Start cocktail festivals.
Write books and blogs.
Teach classes.
And begin winning major culinary awards.
And Then There Was the Internet
Earlier generations of bartenders learned primarily from books, coworkers, mentors, travel, and good old-fashioned trial and error.
Now bartenders around the world could communicate almost instantly.
Websites, blogs, online videos, smartphones, apps, and eventually social media allowed a technique developed behind one bar to be seen, discussed, copied, challenged, improved, and taught thousands of miles away.
A bartender in Portland could learn what someone was doing in New York.
A bartender in New York could learn a Japanese technique.
Someone in San Francisco could resurrect a drink from an 1890 cocktail book.
And twenty-four hours later, bartenders around the country could be trying it.
For decades, the kitchen and bar had often operated like distant relatives who happened to live in the same restaurant.
The Cocktail Renaissance helped reconnect them.
Bartenders began thinking more like chefs—considering seasonality, ingredients, texture, aroma, presentation, technique, sourcing, and balance.
And perhaps most importantly, bartending itself changed.
The bartender was no longer viewed simply as the person who poured the drink.
Bartenders became historians, educators, authors, consultants, brand ambassadors, entrepreneurs, competition champions, product developers, media personalities, and respected culinary professionals.
What had begun with a relatively small group of people trying to rediscover something America had forgotten was no longer a niche movement.
The Cocktail Revolution had arrived.
And after thirty years of innovation, research, molecular mixology, hand-carved ice, obscure bitters, Japanese barspoons, speakeasy passwords, homemade syrups, vintage cocktail books, apps, blogs, and bartenders quoting Jerry Thomas...
Turns out Grandma was right. Fresh ingredients really were better.
Photo from Kathy Casey.com
San Francisco’s Bay Guardian article courtesy of Paul Harringtion.
Art of Ted Haigh by Saloon Artist, Jill DeGroff.
Art of Steve Olson by Saloon Artist, Jill DeGroff.
Robert Plotkin
Dave Nepove in 2007
Marcovaldo Dionysos
Ted A. Breaux in 2001 at an absinthe party he hosted at Pirate's Alley in the French Quarter in March.
Julie Reiner
Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller from Mixellany.com
Art of Beachbum Berry by Brad Abelson
Tobin Ellis
2008 Sasha Petraske at Tales of the Cocktail.
Darcy O'Neil
Dushan Zaric and Jason Kosmas. Photo from Simon & Schuster.
2009 Christy Pope and Chad Solomon
Jamie Boudreau in 2007
Jonathan Pogash
Eben Freeman
Craft Bars in America 1988-2014
Check your state! See if a bar is still there.
In 2014, while I was working on the fourth edition of The Everything Bartender’s Book, my publisher asked me to include a list of craft bars across America.
I explained that the landscape had changed dramatically. Ten years earlier, you could make a relatively short list. By 2014, there were craft bars in nearly every state—often many in each city.
They still wanted the list.
So I started researching.
When I reached 400 bars, I contacted my publisher and asked if they really wanted me to keep going.
I stopped at 400.
Then the book came out.
And the entire “Craft Bars Across America” chapter was gone.
When I asked what happened, they told me they cut it for word count.
So, after researching 400 craft bars for a chapter that never made it into the book, I figured I might as well put the list to use somewhere.
Below are the bars I researched then.
Many had opened before 2010. Some are probably long gone, others may still be pouring drinks, and a few might bring back a memory or two.
At least somebody finally gets to see the list.
Alabama
41st Street Pub & Aircraft Sales—Birmingham
130 Forty-First Street South, Suite 105 • 41ststreetpub.com
Classic cocktail happy hours, crafted cocktails, you are allowed to bring in your own food, and it’s a great place to watch your favorite game.
Carrigan’s Public House—Birmingham
2430 Morris Avenue • facebook.com/carriganspub
Offers craft cocktails, food, and $5 Old-Fashioneds on Wednesdays.
Highlands Bar & Grill—Birmingham
2011 Eleventh Avenue South • highlandsbarandgrill.com
Features a white marble bar top, classic cocktails, French cuisine, and oysters on the half shell at the bar.
The Collins—Birmingham
2125 Second Avenue North
Custom-made craft cocktails, elevated comfort food, and a giant periodic table of the elements as a backdrop for the backbar.
Haberdasher Bar—Mobile
451 Dauphin Street • facebook.com/thehabmobile
Craft and classic cocktails, rotating craft beer, fresh handmade food, twenty-one-plus, and no table service.
Arkansas
Capital Bar & Grill—Little Rock
111 West Markham Street • capitalbarandgrill.com
Award-winning bar and grill with a devotion to handmade classic and custom cocktails. This is the gathering spot of choice for Little Rock’s business and political leaders.
Local Lime—Little Rock
17815 Chenal Parkway • locallimetaco.com
Fresh Tex-Mex food and fresh cocktails.
South on Main—Little Rock
1304 South Main Street • southonmain.com
Restaurant performance venue with craft cocktails.
california
Carthay Circle Lounge—Anaheim
Disney California Adventure Park • 1313 South Disneyland Drive
disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/carthay-circle-lounge
Grand entrance, dimly lit, swanky signature cocktails served in unique glassware and bar bites.
Hammer Workshop & Bar—Anaheim
440 South Anaheim Boulevard • anaheimpackingdistrict.com
The building used to be a packing house. They offer original and classic handcrafted cocktails of the highest quality, and pub food, in a fun interactive atmosphere.
The Blind Rabbit—Anaheim
440 South Anaheim Boulevard • theblindrabbit.com
Craft cocktail speakeasy with rules: enter through the sake barrels, exit through the bookcase, no baseball caps, no shorts, no logo shirts, no flip-flops, you can only stay for ninety minutes, no switching seats, no talking on cell phones, text only, no flash photos, and no flashlights.
East Bay Spice Company—Anaheim
2134 Oxford Street • eastbayspicecompany.com
Crafted cocktails, food and spiced shandy happy hours.
The Pub at Chino Hills—Chino Hills
577 Pine Avenue, Suite A • thepubatchinohills.com
A British gastropub with high-end drinks and craft beers.
Arc Restaurant Food & Libations—Costa Mesa
3321 Hyland Avenue Suite F • arcrestaurant.com
Their cocktail program is dedicated to American spirits paired perfectly with European liqueurs with hand-cut ice. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner as well and their tagline is “Dirty. Sexy. Happiness.”
Pie Society—Costa Mesa
353 East Seventeenth Street • piesocietybar.com
Offers unique libations, classic cocktails, and delicious fare.
Wild Goose Tavern—Costa Mesa
436 East Seventeenth Street • goosebar.com
Serves straightforward, excellent cocktails, seasonal beers, and elevated pub grub in a space that is casual with vintage décor reminiscent of a hunting lodge saloon.
Lock & Key Social Drinkery—Downy
11033 Downy Avenue • lockandkeybar.com
They offer craft cocktails, craft beer, and craft burgers.
Prizefighter—Emeryville
6702 Hollis Street • prizefighterbar.com
Offering world-class cocktails in a casual and fun environment. You are encouraged to bring your own food.
The Famous—Glendale
154 South Brand Boulevard • facebook.com/thefamousbar
The cocktails served are identical to those served nearly a hundred years ago, when the building was constructed.
Roxane’s—Long Beach
1115 East Wardlow Road • roxanneslounge.com
theexhibitionroom.com
Have fun in Roxanne’s, then make your way to the back of the bar and go through the telephone booth to enter the Exhibition Room. This room has lots of rules, so check the website first.
The Stache Bar—Long Beach
941 East Fourth Street • thestachebar.com
Classic cocktails with house-made ingredients.
Bar Marmont—Los Angeles
8171 West Sunset Boulevard • chateaumarmont.com
Inside the Chateau Marmont hotel, and it’s a legendary Hollywood celebrity haunt.
Black Market Liquor Bar—Los Angeles
11915 Ventura Boulevard • blackmarketliquorbar.com
A Studio City craft cocktail bar and restaurant.
Blind Barber—Los Angeles
10797 West Washington Boulevard • blindbarber.com
Dive bar behind a barbershop, this lounge offers craft cocktails and modern pub bites in a hip setting.
A West Hollywood craft cocktail bar.
Cana Rum Bar—Los Angeles
714 West Olympic Boulevard • 213hospitality.com/project/canarumbar
A $20 annual membership is required.
Copa d’Oro—Los Angeles
217 Broadway • copadoro.com
A sophisticated Santa Monica craft lounge.
Harvard & Stone—Los Angeles
5221 Hollywood Boulevard • harvardandstone.com
Buzzy bar with a factory-like vibe that offers inventive cocktails, live music, and burlesque nights.
Library Bar—Los Angeles
630 West Sixth Street, Suite 116-A • facebook.com/librarybardtla
Tucked away in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. They have a seasonal cocktail menu.
Michael's—Los Angeles
1147 Third Street • michaelssantamonica.com
A Santa Monica restaurant and bar that practices farm-to-glass mixology.
Pour Vous—Los Angeles
5574 Melrose Avenue • pourvousla.com
A Parisian-style club with craft cocktails, velvet banquettes, live music, and burlesque dancers.
Sassafrass—Los Angeles
1233 North Vine Street • sassafrassaloon.com
A Hollywood craft bar in a house that was transported from Savannah, Georgia.
Shorebar—Los Angeles
112 West Channel Road • shorebarsm.com
Santa Monica beach-club inspired craft cocktail bar.
The Doheny Room—Los Angeles
714 West Olympic Boulevard • sbe.com/nightlife/brands/dohenyroom
A private member’s-only cocktail lounge inside the historic Petroleum Building.
The Edison—Los Angeles
108 West Second Street • edisondowntown.com
Once a power plant and now a craft bar opened and run by some of the best cocktail celebrities in the business.
Oldfields Liquor Room—Los Angeles
10899 Venice Boulevard • oldfieldsliquorroom.com
A Culver City classic cocktail bar.
The Roger Room—Los Angeles
370 North La Cienega Boulevard • therogerroom.com
West Hollywood’s first modern speakeasy. It is hidden behind the sign advertising a psychic.
Seven Grand—Los Angeles
515 West Seventh Street, Second Floor • 213hospitality.com/project/sevengrandla/
It has a historic men’s club feel, with an antique pool table, taxidermy, and a large whiskey selection.
Tiki-Ti—Los Angeles
4427 Sunset Boulevard • tiki-ti.com
A Hollywood tiki bar.
The Varnish—Los Angeles
118 East Sixth Street • 213hospitality.com/project/the-varnish/
Opened by Eric Alperin and Sasha Petraske, this bar is considered the godfather of Los Angeles’s craft cocktail movement. A Prohibition-era style bar that was opened by some of the best cocktail celebrities in the business. Located behind Cole’s French Dip Sandwich shop, behind an unmarked door. Oh, this is where Ryan Gosling learned how to make an Old-Fashioned for the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Jack Rose Libation House—Los Angeles
18840 Saratoga Los Gatos Road • jackrosebar.com
Serving artisan cocktails with a patio and a rustic-industrial interior.
Penrose—Oakland
3311 Grand Avenue • penroseoakland.com
Serves wood-fired Californian cuisine with a creative cocktail menu.
Bosscat Kitchen and Libations—Newport Beach
4647 MacArthur Boulevard • bosscatkitchen.com
Offers industrial-chic dining, craft cocktails, elevated Southern classic cuisine, and stocks one hundred-plus whiskeys.
Juliette Kitchen & Bar—Newport Beach
1000 Bristol Street North • juliettenb.com
A bistro serving locally sourced fare and innovative cocktails in a modern, farm-inspired space.
The Otis Bar—Pasadena
260 South Raymond Avenue • lgostationcafe.com/the-otis-bar-2
A hard-to-find craft bar between the Luggage Room and La Grande Orange Café.
W. Wolfskill—Riverside
4281 Main Street • facebook.com/WWolfskill
Specialty cocktails and creative bar bites served in a hip lounge with mid-century modern decor.
ProAbition—Riverside
3597 Main Street • proabition.com
Prohibition-era–themed nightclub with Prohibition cocktails, bar bites, and an extensive whiskey list.
Craft & Commerce—San Diego
675 West Beech Street • craft-commerce.com
Taxidermy and old books line the walls of this hip gastropub, serving seasonal eats and craft cocktails.
El Dorado—San Diego
1030 Broadway • eldoradobar.com
A Western-themed watering hole with a variety of seasonal craft cocktails and music spun by DJs.
Grant Grill—San Diego
326 Broadway • grantgrill.com
Hotel craft cocktail bar that has a rooftop garden.
Noble Experiment—San Diego
777 G Street • nobleexperimentsd.com
Hidden inside of a restaurant (the Neighborhood) behind a wall of beer kegs. Reservations only.
Polite Provisions—San Diego
4696 Thirtieth Street • politeprovisions.com
Mixologist Erick Castro is behind the bar program at this reinvention of a 1950s American drugstore hangout.
Prohibition—San Diego
548 Fifth Avenue • prohibitionsd.com
Stylish red-hued haunt has a 1930s vibe and features live music and seasonally inspired craft cocktails. No cell phones, sandals, flip-flops, shorts, or ball caps allowed.
Starlite—San Diego
3175 India Street • starlitesandiego.com
Stylish eatery offering craft cocktails and elevated American eats in a swanky setting or on the patio. They have Tequila Tuesdays and Whiskey Wednesdays.
Hook & Ladder—Sacramento
1630 S Street • hookandladder916.com
Serving new American comfort food, local beers, and housecraft cocktails in an industrial-chic space with a patio.
The Golden Bear—Sacramento
2326 K Street • goldenbear916.com
The little bar that could. Your friendly neighborhood bar and official stop for diners, drive-ins, and Dives. Serving innovative New American brunch, burgers, and dinners with craft cocktails at the bar. Known for their funny chalkboard sidewalk signs.
The Red Rabbit—Sacramento
2718 J Street • theredrabbit.net
A stylish, rustic-chic outpost for farm-to-table New American plates and artisanal cocktails. They believe in local and seasonal.
The Shady Lady Saloon—Sacramento
1409 R Street #101 • shadyladybar.com
Reminiscent of America’s 1920s era with live music and a menu of Southern cuisine and craft cocktails. Esquire voted them one of the top twenty-five bars in America.
15 Romolo—San Francisco
15 Romolo Place • 15romolo.com
The building has been home to speakeasies, brothels, and most famously, the Basque Hotel. They feature a Punch Drunk Brunch, craft cocktails, bar bites, and a jukebox.
ABV—San Francisco
3174 Sixteenth Street • abvsf.com
A large-scale mural sets the stage at this restaurant and cocktail bar.
Alchemist—San Francisco
679 Third Street • alchemistsf.com
Dim, trendy cocktail bar with steampunk decor prepares signature drinks with house-made ingredients. The cocktail menu uses a collection of herbs and tinctures from a Chinese herbalist, and the bar runs a rotating, twice-monthly guest bartender program.
Balboa Café—San Francisco
3199 Fillmore Street • balboacafe.com/san-francisco/
They have never stopped making classic cocktails since 1913.
Bar Agricole—San Francisco
355 Eleventh Street • baragricole.com
A contemporary tavern that features traditional cocktails from spirits that celebrate the rich tradition of farmhouse distilling and Northern California cuisine made with ingredients sourced from local organic and biodynamic farms.
Beretta—San Francisco
1199 Valencia Street • berettasf.com
Features handcrafted pizzas, small bites, and unique craft cocktails.
Bergerac—San Francisco
316 Eleventh Street • bergeracsf.com
Bergerac is half craft cocktail bar and half impromptu house party. It draws inspiration from the legendary Villa Nellcote, an old French mansion where the Rolling Stones recorded their seminal album Exile on Main Street. During their stay, the Stones not only threw great parties, but also savored the best food and drink while being waited on by their private staff and their renowned personal chef. Bergerac serves global eats and craft cocktails in bohemian digs with a bar, varied seating, and vintage furniture.
BIX—San Francisco
56 Gold Street • bixrestaurant.com
Doug “Bix” Biederbeck founded this elegant jazz club in 1988, when it was creating classic cocktails. You can find it if you know it is in an alley near the Transamerica Pyramid.
Blackbird—San Francisco
2124 Market Street • blackbirdbar.com
Rustic-modern neighborhood bar with craft beer, craft cocktails, pool table, and art that changes often.
Bourbon & Branch—San Francisco
501 Jones Street • bourbonandbranch.com
San Francisco’s original speakeasy bar that opened in 2006. Call 415-673-1921 to make a reservation and you will be given a password. Upon arrival, look for the unmarked door on the corner of Jones and O’Farrell under the Anti-Saloon League sign, then buzz in and give your password. Try to get into the Wilson room. You enter the Wilson through a bookshelf that opens into another room. Other rooms are Main Bar, Library, and Russell’s.
Comstock Saloon—San Francisco
155 Columbus Avenue • comstocksaloon.com
A fancy turn-of-the-century bar with house vintage cocktails, upscale bar fare, cozy booths, and live jazz.
Coqueta—San Francisco
Pier 5, Embarcadero • coquetasf.com
Coqueta means “flirt” and represents Michael Chiarello’s exploration of Spanish cuisine and inspired craft cocktails, while highlighting the bounty of Northern California.
Elixir—San Francisco
Sixteenth & Guerrero • elixirsf.com
A historic neighborhood bar that has been serving since 1858. They offer fresh and seasonal cocktails and local brews. Its owner, H. Joseph Ehrmann, and the bar have won many awards.
Fog City Diner—San Francisco
1300 Battery Street • fogcitysf.com
Opened in 1985. Neal Murray (creator of the first Cosmopolitan) was part of the opening bar team. This is where he created his first twist on his Cosmopolitan by switching out the vodka for Mt. Gay Barbados Rum and naming it the Barbados Cosmo. This is also the diner where Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff visited to try out a cocktail called a Cosmopolitan, then went back to New York to revamp it. In 2013, they restored the diner. They do have some fresh cocktails on their menu.
Hard Water—San Francisco
Pier 3, Embarcadero • hardwaterbar.com
Waterfront restaurant and American whiskey bar specializing in New Orleans–inspired cuisine.
Jasper’s Corner Tap & Kitchen—San Francisco
401 Taylor Street • jasperscornertap.com
A lively bar headed up by award-winning Kevin Diedrich. Known for their Negronis, but they also have an assortment of other cocktails.
Maven—San Francisco
598 Haight Street • maven-sf.com
Offers small plates and creative craft cocktails in a modern setting with wall-mounted plants and polished log tables.
Nopa—San Francisco
560 Divisadero • nopasf.com
This lively, open two-story restaurant and bar specializes in organic wood-fired cuisine and cocktails made with seasonal ingredients from local purveyors.
Novela—San Francisco
662 Mission Street • novelasf.com
Serving cocktails with character, Novela is a book-themed bar where classic literary references present themselves in the names of the house-crafted cocktails. They also have punch on tap.
Park Tavern—San Francisco
1652 Stockton Street • parktavernsf.com
Park Tavern is an upscale American tavern serving creative seasonal American eats and cocktails.
Rickhouse—San Francisco
688 Geary • rickhousebar.com
Winner of best high-volume cocktail bar in 2011. Rickhouse aims to provide guests with a superior beverage experience.
Romolo—San Francisco
15 Romolo Place • 15romolo.com
15 Romolo has been making craft cocktails since 1998.
Rye—San Francisco
688 Geary • ryesf.com
Fun modern-day saloon with crafted cocktails and a huge collection of amaros.
Smuggler’s Cove—San Francisco
650 Gough Street • smugglerscovesf.com
Award-winning rum and exotic cocktail destination. The interior features vintage tiki artifacts alongside historic nautical and rum décor, offering a dramatic, inviting escape from the city's hustle and bustle. The bar has over 400 rums and some top bartenders, including Marco Dionysos and Steve Liles.
The Alembic—San Francisco
1725 Haight Street • alembicbar.com
Classic handcrafted cocktails and an inventive bar food menu in a dimly lit, rustic space with booths.
The Elite Café—San Francisco
2049 Fillmore Street • theelitecafe.com
They have been serving classic cocktails since they opened. Today, they have a New Orleans theme, and the cocktail menu follows suit with New Orleans cocktails. This is also the bar and café where Neal Murray (first inventor of the Cosmopolitan) worked in 1982 1981.
The Hideout at Dalva—San Francisco
3121 Sixteenth Street • dalvasf.com
Tiny cocktail bar the back room of a neighborhood bar with karaoke on Sundays.
The Slanted Door—San Francisco
1 Ferry Building #3 • slanteddoor.com
Modern Vietnamese home cooking and craft cocktails using local ingredients.
The Tonga Room—San Francisco
950 Mason Street • tongaroom.com
Located at the Fairmont Hotel, the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar has delighted guests with its tropical décor, decadent libations, and Asian cuisine since 1945. They feature Pacific Rim cuisine and fresh tiki drinks. They also offer a Top 40 band from a thatch-covered barge on the lagoon, a dance floor built from the remains of the SS Forester, a lumber schooner that once traveled regularly between San Francisco and the South Sea Islands, and periodic light tropical rainstorms, complete with thunder and lightning.
Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant—San Francisco
5929 Geary Boulevard • tommysTequila.com
Opened in 1965 and run today by Tommy’s son, Julio Bermejo. In the 1980s, Julio turned the bar into a 100 percent blue agave tequila bar. It has made international headlines and is “the” tequila bar in America. All drinks are made fresh.
Tradition—San Francisco
441 Jones Street • tradbar.com
From its main bar to reservation-only spaces, this hip venue delivers handcrafted American cocktails. Reservations are encouraged.
Trick Dog—San Francisco
3010 Twentieth Street • trickdogbar.com and bonvivants.com
This popular, no-frills, straight-to-the-point bar is headed up by the award-winning Bon Vivant bar team of Josh Harris, Scott Baird, and Jason Henton. They are known for inventive cocktail menu presentations such as a Pantone formula guide, an astrology zodiac layout, a Chinese menu, and, during the political season, a flag menu layout.
Paper Plane—San Jose
72 South First Street • paperplanesj.com
This easygoing bar has a fun atmosphere and features craft cocktails.
Playground—Santa Ana
220 East Fourth Street • playgrounddtsa.com
Creative chef Jason Quinn’s modern gastropub offers changing New American fare and craft cocktails.
320 Main—Seal Beach
320 Main Street • 320mainsealbeach.com
A quality-driven restaurant that specializes in classic American dishes and freshly crafted cocktails with simple but inspired twists.
Indiana
Old Crown—Fort Wayne
3417 North Anthony Boulevard • oldcrown.com
Casual café and bar featuring house-roasted coffees, craft cocktails, and eclectic New American fare.
The Golden—Fort Wayne
Anywhere in Fort Wayne • facebook.com/thegoldenfortwayne
Pop-up craft bar from two chefs-turned-bartenders. You’ll have to follow their Facebook page to find where they are.
Ball & Biscuit—Indianapolis
331 Massachusetts Avenue • ballandbiscuit.com
Arty cocktails and small plates served amid dimly lit pendant bulbs with a speakeasy vibe.
Libertine—Indianapolis
38 East Washington Street • libertineindy.com
Featuring craft cocktails, boutique wines, microbrews, and elevated bar bites.
Plat 99—Indianapolis
333 South Delaware Street • thealexander.com/dining/lounge.asp
Offers delightful small plates and creative cocktails with the best view in the city.
Thunderbird—Indianapolis
1127 Shelby Street • thunderbirdindy.com
In their words: Troublemakers and rabble-rousers with craft cocktails and Southern-inspired food.
Oak & Alley—Warsaw
114 South Buffalo Street • oakandalley.com
Offering craft cocktails, craft beer, and craft burgers.
Kentucky
Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar—Covington
629 Main Street • wellmannsbrands.com
A Molly Wellman bar where there are over 300 bottles of domestic Bourbon and whiskey to choose from, as well as a craft cocktail menu.
Decca—Louisville
812 East Market Street • deccarestaurant.com
Adventurous New American eatery and cellar lounge featuring live music in a circa-1870s building and craft cocktails.
Garage Bar—Louisville
700 East Market Street • garageonmarket.com
Hip bar and eatery in a former garage for brick-oven pies, craft cocktails, Southern chow, and a huge patio.
Meta—Louisville
425 West Chestnut Street • metalouisville.com
Craft cocktails, beer, sake, and more served in an upscale speakeasy with vintage-style decor.
Milkwood—Louisville
316 West Main Street • milkwoodrestaurant.com
Restaurant with Southern food with Asian ingredients and a bar serving craft cocktails.
Proof on Main—Louisville
702 West Main Street • proofonmain.com
Contemporary artwork, locally sourced Southern fare, and fresh cocktails.
Rye—Louisville
900 East Market Street • ryeonmarket.com
Chic spot for innovative cocktails and locally sourced New American cuisine.
The Silver Dollar—Louisville
1761 Frankfort Avenue • whiskeybythedrink.com
Modern honky-tonk Bourbon bar with fresh cocktails and Southern eats such as chicken ’n’ waffles.
Volare—Louisville
2300 Frankfort Avenue • volare-restaurant.com
White-linen fine dining, new Italian cuisine, and a top-shelf craft cocktail bar.
Maine
Portland Hunt + Alpine Club—Portland
75 Market Street • huntandalpineclub.com
Offers Scandinavian-inspired fare and classic, clever cocktails.
Maryland
Level—Annapolis
69 West Street • lannapolis.com/level
Casual, eco-friendly New American small plates and creative cocktails.
B&O American Brasserie—Baltimore
2 North Charles Street • bandorestaurant.com
An approachable American brasserie focused on locally farmed fare and fresh cocktails.
Rye—Baltimore
807 South Broadway • ryebaltimore.com
Sophisticated bar with upscale pub food and a menu of classic and creative cocktails.
W.C. Harlan—Baltimore
400 West Twenty-Third Street
Under-the-radar bar offering handcrafted cocktails in a cozy 1920s-inspired atmosphere.
Wit & Wisdom—Baltimore
200 International Drive
witandwisdombaltimore.com/menus/lounge
Craft bar located in the Four Seasons Hotel.
Massachusetts
Deep Ellum—Allston
47 Cambridge Street • deepellum-boston.com
Small gastropub with craft cocktails, craft beer, eclectic fare, and a patio.
Citizen Public House—Boston
1310 Boylston Street • citizenpub.com
A modern English-style neighborhood tavern located behind Fenway Park. The food menu is a fresh twist on Tavern Cuisine and the bar features craft cocktails, world-class wines, a selection of over 200 whiskeys, and local and national microbrews.
Drink—Boston
348 Congress Street • drinkfortpoint.com
A bar entirely dedicated to the craft of the cocktail, drink blends, time-honored techniques, and the classic cocktails of the Prohibition era with modern innovation and the very best artisanal ingredients.
Eastern Standard—Boston
528 Commonwealth Avenue • easternstandardboston.com
A neighborhood restaurant with a happening scene starring masterful cocktails and modern brasserie fare in a glamorous atmosphere.
Highball Lounge—Boston
90 Tremont Street • highballboston.com
A craft bar filled with fun games, quirky garnishes, and fresh food.
jm Curley—Boston
21 Temple Place • jmcurleyboston.com
Eatery specializing in innovative American comfort food, craft cocktails, and boozy shakes.
Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale—Boston
48 Temple Place • stoddardsfoodandale.com
Gastropub serving vintage cocktails and craft beer in a historical building that was a corset shop.
The Brahmin American Cuisine & Cocktails—Boston
33 Stanhope Street • thebrahmin.com
This classy space that evokes an early-1900s brownstone offers craft cocktails and plates made for sharing. Rules: no athletic wear, no baseball caps, no sneakers, no sweatpants or shirts, no hoodies, no work boots, and no flip-flops.
The Beehive—Boston
541 Tremont Street • beehiveboston.com
An underground Bohemian bistro featuring amazing cuisine, libations, artwork, and live music nightly.
The Gallows—Boston
1395 Washington Street • thegallowsboston.com
Trendy gastropub with crafted cocktails.
The Hawthorne—Boston
500 Commonwealth Avenue • thehawthornebar.com
Craft cocktails served in a snazzy setting that feels like a modernist living room.
Vintage Lounge—Boston
72 Broad Street • vlboston.com
Award-winning cocktails, 500 wines, and tapas menu in a stylish lounge with leather sofas and a patio.
Ward 8—Boston
90 North Washington Street • ward8.com
A casual, energetic neighborhood restaurant and bar featuring New American cuisine, craft cocktails, and local microbrews. They also offer cocktail classes.
Michigan
Sugar House—Detroit
2130 Michigan Avenue • sugarhousedetroit.com
Intimate pub serving classic and specialty cocktails, beers, organic wine, and small plates.
The Oakland Art Novelty Company—Ferndale
201 West Mile Road • theoaklandferndale.com
Represents a grateful nod to earlier times with nostalgic decor, exotic fresh ingredients, handcrafted intricate cocktails, and a gracious, hospitable staff.
Missouri
Extra Virgin—Kansas City
900 Main Street • extravirginkc.com
Offers inventive Mediterranean tapas and cocktails.
Grünauer—Kansas City
101 West Twenty-Second Street • grunauerkc.com
Austrian-German fare, craft cocktails, and European beer in a historic dark-wood-and-brick Freight House space.
Julep—Kansas City
4141 Pennsylvania Avenue #104 • julepkc.com
Sleek bar featuring whiskey-centric cocktails and bites with a Southern twist.
Manifesto—Kansas City
1924 Main Street • manifestokc.com
A fun, laid-back cocktail lounge that takes its cocktails seriously. Featuring a seasonal, culinary approach to the classics as well as original recipes. Need to call or text 816-536-1325 for a reservation.
Blood & Sand—St. Louis
1500 St. Charles Street • bloodandsandstl.com
A swanky private cocktail club and restaurant that has a unique way of presenting itself. They offer craft cocktails and inventive New American fare.
Cielo Bar—St. Louis
999 North Second Street • cielostlouis.com
Craft bar located in the Four Seasons Hotel.
Frazer’s Soulard—St. Louis
1811 Pestalozzi Street • frazergoodeats.com
Globally influenced cuisine and craft cocktails are served in a colorful eclectic space with a patio.
Planter’s House—St. Louis
1000 Mississippi Avenue • plantershousestl.com
A cocktail bar and restaurant that celebrates Saint Louis’s grand history of hospitality and cocktails.
Sanctuaria Wild Tapas—St. Louis
4198 Manchester Avenue • sanctuariastl.com
Offering exclusive, delicious menu selections served with a modern twist. Their unique cocktail selections are fresh and handcrafted with extra love and a touch of naughtiness.
Taste—St. Louis
4584 Laclede Avenue • tastebarstl.com
A tavern serving craft cocktails and New American small plates.
New Hampshire
San Francisco Kitchen—Nashua
133 Main Street • sfkitchen.com
Casual Pan-Asian kitchen with sushi, shabu-shabu hot-pot dishes, and crafted cocktails.
Surf Bar—Nashua
207 Main Street • surfseafood.com/nashua.html
Creative coastal cuisine and craft cocktails.
New Jersey
King Edward Bar—Cape May
301 Howard Street • chalfonte.com
Classic cocktail bar located inside the Chalfonte Hotel.
Catherine Lombardi—New Brunswick
6855 Fourth Street NW • catherinelombardi.com
Historic restaurant and bar with craft cocktails.
Verve—Somerville
18 East Main Street • vervestyle.com
The craft bar is above the restaurant.
New Mexico
Vernon’s Speakeasy—Albuquerque
6855 Fourth Street NW • thehiddensteakhouse.com
A speakeasy-style steakhouse that has won many awards.
Vintage 423—Albuquerque
8000 Paseo del Norte Boulevard NE • vintage-423.com
They take pride in sourcing the highest-quality ingredients for the kitchen and bar.
Anasazi Lounge—Santa Fe
113 Washington Avenue • rosewoodhotels.com
Located in the Rosewood Inn and known for its Silver Coin Margaritas and classic cocktails. The bar also features a lounge area with additional seating and a dedicated tequila table, where guests can taste the restaurant’s comprehensive collection of premium tequilas and enjoy unique tequila-and-food pairings.
Secreto Lounge—Santa Fe
210 Don Gaspar Avenue • secretolounge.com
Secreto Lounge is Santa Fe’s premier craft cocktail bar specializing in award-winning garden-to-glass and vintage cocktails. They create their cocktails using local fruits, vegetables, and herbs, often with local spirits and bitters. Head bartender Chris Milligan took first place in Las Vegas’s “Shake It Up 2010” competition with his cocktail Spicy Secreto.
North Carolina
Buffalo Nickel—Asheville
747 Haywood Road • buffalonickelavl.com
Focuses on local cuisine and fresh, crafted cocktails.
Chestnut—Asheville
48 Biltmore Avenue • chestnutasheville.com
Offering creative cuisine and craft cocktails.
Cucina 24—Asheville
24 Wall Street • cucina24restaurant.com
An Italian bar and restaurant that uses ingredients found in the mountains of the American South.
Imperial Life—Asheville
48 College Street • imperialbarasheville.com
A craft cocktail bar specializing in classic and original cocktails and house-made charcuterie and cheese boards.
MG Road—Asheville
19 Wall Street • mgroadlounge.com
Serving handmade cocktails from fresh ingredients.
Sovereign Remedies—Asheville
Walnut and Market Street • sovereignremedies.com
Craft cocktails and great food.
The Junction—Asheville
348 Depot Street #190 • thejunctionasheville.com
A farm-to-table restaurant and bar with Southern roots.
Top of the Monk—Asheville
92 Patton Avenue • topofthemonk.com
A private club above the Monk Pub. When you order a drink, you are given a key that opens a snack box.
Foundation—Raleigh
213 Fayetteville Street • foundationnc.com
Features seasonal, handcrafted cocktails that are carefully selected to represent the best and most diverse offerings from nearby sources.
North Dakota
Humpback Sally’s—Bismarck
510 East Main Avenue • facebook.com/humpbacksallys
Their seasonal cocktail menu introduces twists on classics that were designed by world bartending champion and renowned consultant Kate Gerwin.
Lüft—Bismarck
510 East Main Avenue • facebook.com/luftbeergarden
A year-round, fully heated rooftop beer garden and bar with fresh cocktails, sixteen craft brews on tap, and hot hoagies. Located on the top floor at 510 East Main Street and affiliated with Humpback Sally’s.
Ohio
Igby’s—Cincinnati
122 East Sixth Street • igbysbar.com
You might walk right past the rustic doorway on Sixth, which is the entrance to Igby’s. In the bar, guests are instantly greeted by the crackle of an oversized fireplace and a cordial ambiance accented by wood-planked walls. The huge space was once a Civil War–era building. The atrium features balconies on each level, so patrons can look up or down onto the other floors. There are also two outdoor patios.
Ivy Cincinnati—Cincinnati
645 Walnut Street • ivycincinnati.com
An ultra lounge and nightclub serving craft cocktails and featuring live music.
Japp’s—Cincinnati
1136 Main Street • japps1879.com
At Japp’s, they specialize in handcrafted cocktails made in-house with the freshest ingredients, inspired by classic cocktails from the 1700s to the 1950s. Proprietor Molly Wellmann heads the team of trained mixologists.
Myrtle’s Punch House—Cincinnati
2723 Woodburn Avenue • wellmannsbrands.com/myrtles
Freshly made punch is the focus of Myrtle’s and the proprietor, Molly Wellmann, heads the team of trained mixologists.
Crop Bistro and Bar—Cleveland
2537 Lorain Avenue • cropbistro.com
A bank turned into an upscale New American eatery with a chef’s table and craft cocktails focused on local ingredients.
Porco Lounge and Tiki Room—Cleveland
2527 West Twenty-Fifth Street • porcolounge.com
An exotic getaway with creative tiki cocktails served in a cozy Polynesian hangout with a patio.
Society Lounge—Cleveland
2063 East Fourth Street • societycleveland.com
Large snazzy speakeasy-type bar featuring diverse craft cocktails, bites, and live music.
Velvet Tango Room—Cleveland
2095 Columbus Road • velvettangoroom.com
The Velvet Tango Room is a pioneer of fresh craft bars in America. Its owner, Paulius Nasvytis, opened in 1996 with fresh-squeezed juices and transitioned to a full craft cocktail bar in 2004. The building was known to host bootleggers during Prohibition and bullet holes in the ceiling are proof of this.
Curio Harvest—Columbus
491 South Fourth Street • curioatharvest.com
A craft bar serving classic and modern libations and wood-fired pizza.
Mouton—Columbus
954 North High Street • mouton954.com
Offering vintage cocktails and artisan food.
Watershed Distillery—Columbus
1145 Chesapeake Avenue • watersheddistillery.com
A distillery with a cocktail bar.
Oregon
The Dogwood Cocktail Cabin—Bend
147 Minnesota Avenue • thedogwoodcocktailcabin.com
Modern cocktails with classic charm.
Rye—Eugene
444 East Third Avenue • ryeon3rd.com
European–inspired cuisine made with the amazing ingredients found in the Northwest, featuring pre- and post-Prohibition cocktails.
Clyde Common—Portland
1014 Southwest Stark Street • clydecommon.com
European-style tavern serving delicious food and drinks in a casual and energizing space. Cocktail celebrity Jeffrey Morgenthaler heads up the bar.
Hale Pele—Portland
2733 Northeast Broadway • halepele.com
Tropical tiki craft bar with puffer fish lamps.
Imperial—Portland
410 Southwest Broadway • imperialpdx.com
James Beard Award–winner and Iron Chef winner Vitaly Paley heads up this bar. It’s located in the Hotel Lucia.
Kask—Portland
1215 Southwest Alder Street • grunerpdx.com/kask
Their menu features handmade bar bites and craft cocktails.
Mint/820—Portland
816 North Russell Street • mintand820.com
One of the first craft bars, opened by Lucy Brennan in 2001.
Rum Club—Portland
720 Southeast Sandy Blvd • rumclubpdx.com
Cozy lounge with a chill vibe, horseshoe-shaped bar, and fresh tropical cocktails.
Teardrop Lounge—Portland
1015 Northwest Everett Street • teardroplounge.com
Craft cocktail bar with a seasonal menu.
The Rookery at Raven & Rose—Portland
1331 Southwest Broadway • ravenandrosepdx.com
An elegant craft bar.
The Woodsman Tavern—Portland
4537 Southeast Division Street • woodsmantavern.com
Offers small plates and platters, plus inventive cocktails, in a cavernous space with a rustic vibe.
Rhode Island
The Eddy—Providence
95 Eddy Street • eddybar.com
A stylish, dimly lit cocktail bar serving classic and creative concoctions, plus unique snacks.
Fluke Wine Bar & Kitchen—Newport
41 Bowens Wharf • flukewinebar.com
The third-floor bar area is lively, with an array of signature cocktails and artisanal wines.
Dorrance—Providence
60 Dorrance Street • thedorrance.com
This elegant eatery housed in a historic bank features European-influenced fare and craft cocktails.
Local 21—Providence
121 Washington Street • local121.com
Chic venue in the former Dreyfus Hotel with locally harvested New American food and cocktails.
The Avery—Providence
18 Luongo Memorial Square • averyprovidence.com
Speakeasy-style bar offering handcrafted cocktails in a dark and cozy setting.
The Grange—Providence
166 Broadway • providencegrange.com
All-in-one vegetarian hub serving seasonal dishes with a juice bar, vegan bakery, and cocktail bar.
The Gin Joint—Providence
182 East Bay Street • theginjoint.com
Offers balanced cocktails alongside defiant bar food.
Malt—Newport
150 Broadway Street
A vintage-chic tavern offering New American fare and fresh cocktails.
Tennessee
Acre—Memphis
690 South Perkins • acrememphis.com
Syrups and infusions are house-made, cherries are house-cured, and freshness rules the bar. The menu features variations of classic Prohibition-era cocktails.
Alchemy—Memphis
940 South Cooper • alchemymemphis.com
Sleek spot with a menu of New American dishes and handcrafted cocktails.
Bar DKDC—Memphis
964 South Cooper • bardkdc.com
Global street food pairs with house cocktails in a funky space with a photo booth and live soul music.
Holland House Bar and Refuge—Nashville
935 West Eastland Avenue • hollandhousebarandrefuge.com
Internationally renowned for superior proprietary cocktails and house-made ingredients.
Husk—Nashville
37 Rutledge Street • husknashville.com
Has an apothecary cocktail program using house-made ingredients.
No. 308—Nashville
407 Gallatin Avenue • bar308.com
Trendy late-night hangout featuring craft cocktails amid mid-century-modern decor, plus patio seating.
Rolf and Daughters—Nashville
700 Taylor Street • rolfanddaughters.com
Industrial-chic restaurant with clever New American dishes, communal tables, and inventive cocktails.
The Patterson House—Nashville
1171 Division Street • thepattersonnashville.com
Upscale bar serving craft cocktails in a cozy setting.
Pinewood Social—Nashville
33 Peabody Street • pinewoodsocial.com
Trendy hangout featuring New American cuisine, craft cocktails, and bowling.
Utah
Bar-X—Salt Lake City
155 East 200 S • barxsaltlake.com
Prohibition-era cocktail bar owned by Ty Burrell of the TV show Modern Family.
Vermont
Guild Tavern—South Burlington
1633 Williston Road • guildtavern.com
The menu offers classic steakhouse entrees, wood-fired mixed grills, seafood and vegetarian options, and an innovative cocktail program.
Virginia
PX—Alexandria
728 King Street • eamonnsdublinchipper.com
The first Virginia craft bar headed up by Todd Thrasher. Look for a blue light next to a red door.
Acacia Midtown—Richmond
2601 West Cary Street • acaciarestaurant.com
Offers American fare with an emphasis on seafood and fresh cocktails.
Heritage—Richmond
1627 West Main Street • heritagerva.com
Restaurant and bar with craft cocktails.
Juleps—Richmond
1719-21 East Franklin Street • juleps.net/cocktails
Opened in 2003. Strives to capture the fresh flavors of Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, and Savannah in their food and drink.
Lemaire—Richmond
101 West Franklin Street • lemairerestaurant.com
The food and cocktail menu features Virginia-grown ingredients and the Southern influences of Richmond’s food culture.
Pasture—Richmond
416 East Grace Street • pastureva.com
Offers small plates and craft cocktails.
Saison—Richmond
21 West Marshall Street • saisonrva.com
Features locally sourced Southern and Latin American fare and craft cocktails.
The Roosevelt—Richmond
623 North Twenty-Fifth Street • rooseveltrva.com
A neighborhood restaurant in a turn-of-the-last-century building that opened in 2011. One year later, they were named Restaurant of the Year by Style magazine, Best New Restaurant in the Region by Richmond magazine, and were awarded an Elby as the city’s Best New Restaurant. In 2013, they won for Best Cocktail Program. Thomas “T” Leggett heads the bar.
The Rogue Gentlemen—Richmond
618 North First Street • theroguegentlemen.com
Bar manager Ethan Craig and head bartender Shaun Loughran lead this award-winning cocktail program. Award-winning cocktail writer David Wondrich even joins seminars at this cozy establishment.
Washington
Prime 21 Spirits Lounge—Bellevue
10500 Northeast Eighth, Twenty-First Floor • schwartzbros.com/daniels-broiler/daniels-bellevue
Located on the twenty-first floor of the Bank of America building and offering craft cocktails, full lunch and dinners, and stunning views of the Olympic Mountains, downtown Bellevue, and the Seattle skyline.
The Loft—Edmonds
515 Main Street • theloftlounge.com
This two-floored space with a heated covered courtyard is open year-round, serving Northwest cuisine with a Mediterranean influence alongside unique and classic cocktails.
Dillinger’s Cocktails and Kitchen—Olympia
404 South Washington Street • dillingers.weebly.com
A downtown speakeasy with craft cocktails, New American nibbles, and a cozy ambiance.
Swing—Olympia
825 Columbia Street Southwest • swingwinebar.com
A wine bar with a view that also serves crafted cocktails.
Artusi—Seattle
1535 Fourteenth Avenue • artusibar.com
Modern Italian-influenced craft cocktails and small plates with a patio.
Barrio—Seattle
1420 Twelfth Avenue • barriorestaurant.com
A restaurant that combines Mexican cuisine with innovative craft cocktails in an energetic urban environment.
Bathtub Gin & Co.—Seattle
2205 Second Avenue • bathtubginseattle.com
Prohibition-era cocktails and international gin menu in the basement boiler room of a former hotel.
Canon Whiskey and Bitters Emporium—Seattle
928 Twelfth Avenue • canonseattle.com
Recognized as one of the world’s Fifty Best Cocktail Bars with many awards and accolades. Cocktail celebrity Jamie Boudreau owns this bar. He features over 3,500 labels in this cozy bar.
Damn the Weather—Seattle
116 First Avenue South • damntheweather.com
Upscale gastropub with gourmet bar menu and craft cocktails.
E. Smith Mercantile—Seattle
208 First Avenue South • esmithmercantile.com
This clothing shop’s back bar is a quaint craft bar providing nibbles.
Hazelwood—Seattle
2311 Northwest Market Street
Hip space serving craft cocktails in the rustic-chic main bar or the tiny upstairs loft.
Il Bistro—Seattle
93A Pike Street • ilbistro.net
Serving classic cocktails since 1975.
Liberty—Seattle
517 Fifteenth Avenue East • libertybars.com
One of Seattle’s first Capitol Hill craft bars.
Ocho—Seattle
2325 Northwest Market Street
A changing tapas menu, sangria, and craft house cocktails served in a tiny candlelit space.
Oliver’s Twist—Seattle
6822 Greenwood Avenue North and 3217 West McGraw Street • oliverstwistseattle.com
Restaurant and bar with craft cocktails.
Percy’s and Co.—Seattle
5233 Ballard Avenue Northwest • percysseattle.com
An apothecary-style bar in Seattle inspired by infused spirits, fresh purees, and beneficial tinctures.
Re:public—Seattle
429 Westlake Avenue North • republicseattle.com
RE:PUBLIC (regarding the public) is a gorgeous warehouse space with exposed brick walls, wooden beams, and beautiful lighting fixtures throughout and is happy to navigate the shortest distance between the farm and your plate or glass with a creative seasonal menu.
Rob Roy—Seattle
2332 Second Avenue • robroyseattle.com
A dark lounge serving classic and seasonal cocktails and small plates.
Rocco’s—Seattle
2228 Second Avenue • roccosseattle.com
A hip hangout serving gourmet pizza, craft cocktails, and craft beers.
Rumba—Seattle
1112 Pike Street • rumbaonpike.com
They feature delicious rum-forward craft drinks with freshly squeezed juices, balanced house syrups, and sourced best-quality ingredients in a Caribbean-styled atmosphere.
Suite 410—Seattle
410 Stewart Street • suite410bar.com
A neighborhood bar featuring craft cocktails and refined bar snacks.
Sun Liquor—Seattle
607 Summit Avenue East • sunliquor.com
A distillery with a craft bar.
Tallulah’s—Seattle
550 Nineteenth Avenue East • aneighborhoodcafe.com
Veggie-friendly, Mediterranean-influenced American fare and craft cocktails in a stylish room with mid-century decor.
Tavern Law—Seattle
1406 Twelfth Avenue • tavernlaw.com
Look for the old phone near the vault door in the back. Sophisticated drinkers with a reservation will be invited to the upstairs speakeasy, Needle & Thread. You won’t be handed a menu. Just tell the bartender what flavor profiles you like, sit back, and enjoy.
The Hideout—Seattle
1005 Boren Avenue • hideoutseattle.com
Opened in 2005, they feature hand-squeezed cocktails, bar snacks, juice, and many paintings hung on the walls.
Tin Table—Seattle
915 East Pine Street • thetintable.com
They aim to create beauty in their food, drink, and atmosphere and to make you feel special whether you’re having a leisurely meal or a quick snack.
Vito’s—Seattle
927 Ninth Avenue • vitosseattle.com
Storied lounge since the 1950s, serving Italian fare and craft cocktails in an old-school setting with music.
Witness—Seattle
410 Broadway East • witnessbar.com
A Southern-influenced craft cocktail bar that places emphasis on warm hospitality.
Zig Zag Café—Seattle
1501 Western Avenue • zigzagseattle.com
Craft cocktails and gourmet snacks in a hip space tucked away by a staircase near Pike Place Market.
Bon Bon—Spokane
926 West Garland Avenue • garlandtheater.com/bon-bon
Features craft cocktails and a rotating selection of micros on tap.
Clover—Spokane
913 East Sharp Avenue • cloverspokane.com
This is cocktail godfather Paul Harrington’s bar. Gracious hospitality, thoughtful food, and craft cocktails set in a beautifully restored 1910-era Craftsman-style home.
Sapphire Lounge—Spokane
901 West First Avenue • hotelrubyspokane.com
Craft bar located inside the Hotel Ruby.
The Volstead Act—Spokane
12 North Post • volsteadactspokane.com
Inspired by the speakeasies and history of the 1920s Prohibition era, this spot brings back a piece of history through handcrafted libations and cocktails.
Wandering Table—Spokane
1242 West Summit Parkway • thewanderingtable.com
Offers small plates and cocktails showcasing the best the Inland Northwest has to offer from local seasonal farms and producers.
1022southj—Tacoma
1022 South J • ten22southj.com
A cozy speakeasy-style bar spotlighting creative cocktails and small and large plates.
Alaska
Crow’s Nest—Denali Park
Mile 238.5 Parks Highway • denalicrowsnestcabins.com/bar/cocktails
You’ll stay in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, but there are craft cocktails in the bar.
Arizona
Monte Vista Cocktail Lounge— Flagstaff
100 North San Francisco Street • hotelmontevista.com/MVLounge.php
The first speakeasy in Flagstaff, now serving craft cocktails.
Bitter & Twisted—Phoenix
1 West Jefferson Street • bitterandtwistedaz.com
Award-winning cocktail lounge and craft cocktails with a great atmosphere and innovative bar bites.
The Gladly—Phoenix
2201 East Camelback Road • thegladly.com
The stylish bar houses more than 240 whiskeys, craft cocktails, unique ice balls, and comfort cuisine.
Second Story Liquor Bar—Scottsdale
4166 North Scottsdale Road • secondstoryliquorbar.com
Upscale cocktail lounge, chef-driven restaurant, over 200 whiskeys and crafted cocktails.
Sidebar—Scottsdale
1514 North Seventh Avenue • sidebarphoenix.com
Swinging retro cocktail vibe, craft cocktails, and flatbreads.
Shady’s—Scottsdale
2701 East Indian School Road • facebook.com/Shadys.az
Retro 1980s vibe, classic cocktails, craft drafts, pool table, and a jukebox.
Scott & Co.—Tucson
47 North Scott Avenue • 47scott.com
Hip bar and restaurant, craft cocktails, and Mule Mondays.
Sidecar—Tucson
139 Eastbourne • facebook.com/barsidecar
Bar with serious craft cocktails.
The Shelter—Tucson
4155 East Grant Road • facebook.com/TheShelterCocktailLounge
Sixties retro lounge, classic and modern Martinis and cocktails, and classic and movies in this go-go-boot-wearing, Martini-drinking, swanky, groovy lounge.
The House Brasserie—Tucson
6936 East Main Street • thehousebrasserie.com
Culinary artistry with cutting-edge world cuisine and hand-pressed cocktails in a vintage-chic, cozy setting.
The Mission—Tucson
3815 North Brown Avenue • themissionaz.com
Modern Latin cuisine and hand-pressed cocktails in a sophisticated yet casual setting.
colorado
Chefs Club—Aspen
315 East Dean Street • stregisaspen.com/dining/chefs-club/
Located in the St. Regis Aspen Resort. This award-winning restaurant and bar features seasonal, innovative, and one-of-a-kind recipes.
Justice Snow’s—Aspen
328 East Hyman Avenue • justicesnows.com
A bar in a historic space with a landmark location in the Wheeler Opera House building that was originally constructed in 1889. This Victorian-era bar features a New American menu, craft cocktails, and live music.
Living Room Lounge—Aspen
330 East Main Street • hoteljerome.aubergeresorts.com/dining
Located in the Hotel Jerome and is designed to feel exactly as it sounds. They offer small plates and creative cocktails.
The Bitter Bar—Boulder
835 Walnut Street • thebitterbar.com
They embrace the spirit of the original cocktail-making method and strive to serve simple cocktails made with passion, not pretense.
503W—Colorado Springs
503 West Colorado Avenue • 503w.co
Specializes in uniquely handcrafted food and drinks made with fresh, natural, local ingredients.
Adrift Tiki Bar—Denver
218 South Broadway • adriftbar.com
Tropical-themed tiki bar offering fresh island-style drinks and Polynesian-inspired bites.
Colt & Gray—Denver
1553 Platte Street #120 • coltandgray.com
Restaurant and bar serving top-quality food and cocktails.
Green Russell—Denver
1422 Larimer • greenrussell.com
This underground, chef-driven craft cocktail bar with rules is entered by walking through a pie shop. The rules: use your cell phone in the phone booths; keep groups to six; keep conversations lively but quiet; and dress smart.
Old Major—Denver
3316 Tejon Street • oldmajordenver.com
Rustic-chic restaurant and bar specializing in house-made and locally sourced ingredients.
Prohibition—Denver
504 East Colfax Avenue • prohibitiondenver.com
A pub for those who enjoy classic libations and scrumptious gastro-tavern fare.
Ste. Ellie—Denver
1553 Platte Street
Downstairs from Colt & Gray, this sleek and comfy lounge offers creative cocktails and small plates.
TAG—Denver
1441 Larimer Street • tag-restaurant.com
An open-concept kitchen with chef counter seats and a ten-seat bar serving shareable dishes and fresh cocktails.
Williams and Graham—Denver
3160 Tejon Street • williamsandgraham.com
Named “Best Bar in America” in 2015. This Prohibition-era speakeasy is owned by American Bartender of the Year 2015, Sean Kenyon. Kenyon is a third-generation bartender and bar owner. He offers handcrafted cocktails, small plates, and desserts.
Laundry Kitchen & Cocktails—Steamboat Springs
127 Eleventh Street • thelaundryrestaurant.com
Rustic-chic kitchen and bar serving globally inspired small plates and craft cocktails.
Connecticut
Walrus + Carpenter—Black Rock
2895 Fairfield Avenue • walruscarpenterct.com
A simple brick-walled space offering smoked barbecue, craft beer, and craft cocktails.
Craft 260—Fairfield
260 Post Road • craft260.com
A craft beer bar with pub fare and craft cocktails.
116 Crown—Hartford
116 Crown Street • 116crown.com
A craft bar that also offers cocktail classes.
NIXS—Hartford
40 Front Street • nixshartford.com
This vibrant hangout offers New American small plates, craft cocktails, and weekend DJs.
ON20—Hartford
400 Columbus Boulevard • ontwenty.com
Located on the twentieth floor, this elegant restaurant and bar offers city and river views, American fare, and craft cocktails.
Treva—Hartford
980 Farmington Avenue • trevact.com
Treva is inspired by the cuisine of Italy's Central and Northern regions. Using only the freshest and finest in-season ingredients, dishes and cocktails are handcrafted daily. It also has an elegant outdoor patio.
Match—Norwalk
98 Washington Street • matchsono.com
This restaurant and bar offers classic worldly dishes and a uniquely creative menu that changes daily.
Bailey’s Backyard—Ridgefield
23 Bailey Avenue • baileysbackyard.com
This restaurant, bar, and catering company features creative new farm-to-table fare, craft cocktails, quaint décor, and a covered patio.
Neat Coffee and Craft Cocktails—Westport
6 Wilton Road • neatwestport.com
Hip café in a former fire station serving sandwiches and caffeine drinks in the day and craft cocktails at night.
Delaware
14 Global—Bethany Beach
14 North Pennsylvania Avenue • 14global.com
A family-friendly bar and restaurant offering small plates, pizzas, and handcrafted cocktails.
Jam Bistro—Rehoboth Beach
20 Baltimore Avenue • jambistro.com
A bistro offering food and cocktails and committed to using fresh, organic ingredients that are locally sourced from the finest purveyors that Sussex County has to offer.
District of Columbia
Bourbon Steak—DC
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue NW • fourseasons.com/washington/dining/bourbon_steak.html
Located inside the Four Seasons Hotel. They grow their own herbs to make syrups, bitters, and tinctures.
Columbia Room—DC
1539 Seventh Street NW • columbiaroomdc.com and passengerdc.com
Small ten-seat craft bar headed up by Derek Brown. It is located inside the Passenger. Open three nights a week and reservations are required. The price comes with small gourmet nibbles.
Founding Fathers—DC
1924 Pennsylvania Avenue NW • wearefoundingfarmers.com
This restaurant and bar is owned by the more than 40,000 family farmers of NDFU (North Dakota Farmers’ Union) and is supplied by hundreds of family farms everywhere. All the food and drink is made from scratch.
The Gibson—DC
2009 Fourteenth Street NW • thegibsondc.com
This dim, sexy space offering Prohibition-era cocktails and a charming outdoor patio can be hard to find. You enter through the black door in the U Street corridor/alley. If it’s unlocked, then enter. If not, ring the bell, and someone will take you to your table, provided you have a reservation.
POV—DC
515 Fifteenth Street NW
W Hotel’s rooftop lounge draws a hip crowd and offers seasonal craft cocktails and city views.
Florida
Sweetwater—Boynton Beach
1507 South Federal Highway • Sweetwater33.com
New American restaurant and bar featuring small plates and inventive craft cocktails.
Swine—Coral Gables
2415 Ponce de Leon Boulevard • runpigrun.com
Serving up the freshest and most inventive takes on regional Southern fare and cocktails seven days a week with a foot-stompin’, soul-healin’ brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
Tap 42—Fort Lauderdale
1411 South Andrews Avenue • Tap42.com
Slick space offering creative cocktails and creative burgers. They have three more locations in Miami, Boca Raton, and Coral Gables.
Dos Gatos—Jacksonville
143 East Forsyth Street • dosgatosjax.com
Hipster hangout for handmade cocktails and Martinis. They also have theme nights.
Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails—Jacksonville
4972 Big Island Drive • moxiefl.com
This industrial-chic restaurant and bar is committed to sustainable sourcing and working with local and artisan producers. They offer American fare and stylish drinks.
Sidecar Jax—Jacksonville
1406 Hendricks Avenue • drinksidecar.com
Relaxed urban beer bar serving microbrews and craft cocktails.
2 Cents—Key West
416 Appelrouth Lane • 2centskw.com
Casual bar and restaurant with craft cocktails and American fare in a creatively painted space with a patio.
The Other Side—Key West
429 Caroline Street • facebook.com/theothersidekw
Located inside the oldest Victorian-style house/bar in Key West, called “The Porch.” Inside, there is a door to “The Other Side.”
Blackbird Ordinary—Miami
729 Southwest First Avenue • blackbirdordinary.com
A stylish cocktail bar featuring craft cocktails, a dance floor, host DJs, and bands. They also have an herb wall on the patio.
Sweet Liberty—Miami
237 B Twentieth Street • mysweetliberty.com
Conceived and operated by award-winning bartender John Lermayer and Dan Binkiewicz along with restaurateur David Martinez.
The Corner—Miami
1035 North Miami Avenue • thecornermiami.com
This hip corner bar serves creative sandwiches, small plates, and classic and craft cocktails. They have an herb garden and buy from local farmers.
The Cypress Room—Miami
3620 Northeast Second Avenue • thecypressroom.com
An American grill and cocktail bar rooted in top-notch food and service with an old-world sensibility from a James Beard Award-winning chef.
The Broken Shaker—Miami Beach
2727 Indian Creek Drive • thefreehand.com/venues/the-broken-shaker
A small romantic bar in the Freehand Hostel offering inventive cocktails and a large backyard. Cocktail celebrities Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi created this bar.
The Regent Cocktail Club—Miami Beach
1690 Collins Avenue • galehotel.com/nightlife/regent-cocktail-club
Located inside the Gale Hotel, offering craft cocktails.
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar—Miami Beach
1600 Lenox Avenue • runchickenrun.com
Farm-fresh ingredients used in their food and cocktails.
Todd English’s BlueZoo—Lake Buena Vista
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
1500 Epcot Resorts Boulevard • swandolphinrestaurants.com/bluezoo/index.html
This is Orlando’s first real fresh craft cocktail bar, which opened in 2004.
The Courtesy—Orlando
114 North Orange Avenue • thecourtesybar.com
Orlando’s first craft bar is low-lit and brick-lined. They serve handcrafted cocktails made with boutique spirits.
Hanson’s Shoe Repair—Orlando
27 East Pine Street • facebook.com/hansonsshoerepair
The speakeasy-type cocktail bar that asks you to call 407-476-9446 between the hours of one p.m. and seven p.m. and “speak easily into your telephone receiver,” and they will contact you with the evening’s password.
The Woods—Orlando
49 North Orange Avenue, 2nd-floor • thewoodsorlando.com
A boutique bar offering craft cocktails and seventy-plus craft beers.
Ciros—Tampa
2109 Bayshore Boulevard • cirostampa.com
A supper club with the finest cocktail bar serving an elite list of handcrafted cocktails true to the Prohibition era.
Fly Bar—Tampa
1202 North Franklin Street • flybarandrestaurant.com
Hopping bar with a rooftop deck offering craft cocktails, small plates, live music, and a city view.
Haven—Tampa
2208 West Morrison Avenue • haventampa.com
Mediterranean dishes and crafted cocktails served in a stylish space with an attached wine shop.
Pané Rustica—Tampa
3225 South MacDill Avenue • panerusticabakery.com
By day, it is a casual breakfast and lunch spot; by night, it serves crafted cocktails and dinner.
Mandarin Hide—Saint Petersburg
231 Central Avenue • mandarinhide.com
Their goal is to give guests a unique experience with unparalleled craft cocktails, a refreshingly warm staff, an unpretentious vibe, and invigorating music. Their happy hour is called the Violet Hour.
Georgia
The Sound Table—Atlanta
483 Edgewood Avenue • thesoundtable.com
Small plates and craft cocktails served in an industrial space that morphs into a dance club at night. Dancing is encouraged.
Holeman and Finch—Atlanta
2277 Peachtree Road • holeman-finch.com
Modern gastropub serving vintage eats and custom cocktails.
JCT Kitchen and Bar—Atlanta
1198 Howell Mill Road • jctkitchen.com
A welcoming, low-key rooftop bar with craft cocktails, delicious bites, live music, and a spectacular view of the skyline.
Restaurant Eugene—Atlanta
2277 Peachtree Road • restauranteugene.com
An intimate and sophisticated farm-to-table dining and drinking space.
Leon's Full Service—Decatur
131 East Ponce de Leon Avenue • leonsfullservice.com
The inspired modern eatery in an ex-gas station that offers New American fare, craft cocktails, and a bocce court.
Alligator Soul—Savannah
114 Barnard Street • alligatorsoul.com
Bar and restaurant that uses handmade dishes and cocktails created with fresh and local ingredients.
Hawaii
Lewers Lounge—Honolulu
2199 Kalia Road • halekulani.com/dining/lewers-lounge-bar
Halekulani Hotel’s upscale jazz lounge is a plush setting for craft cocktails and high-end snacks. Cocktail celebrities Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff and Francesco Lafranconi trained the bartenders.
Manifest—Honolulu
32 North Hotel Street • manifesthawaii.com
Sophisticated cocktail spot highlighting inventive drinks and artisanal small plates.
Nobu—Honolulu
118 Ala Moana Boulevard • noburestaurants.com/waikiki/experience
Japanese-Peruvian fare and cocktails with upscale prices.
Pig & the Lady Restaurant—Honolulu
83 North King South • thepigandthelady.com
Modern Vietnamese cooking and craft cocktails with communal tables.
Pint + Jigger Gastropub—Honolulu
1936 South King Street • pintandjigger.com
Gastropub with innovative bar food, creative cocktails, and a craft beer garden.
Town Restaurant—Honolulu
3435 Waialae Avenue #104 • townkaimuki.com
Their philosophy is to find the shortest, simplest way between the earth, the hands, and the mouth. Local first, organic whenever possible, with Aloha always.
Idaho
Mai Thai—Boise
750 West Idaho Street • maithaigroup.com
Creative Asian-fusion dishes and craft cocktails served in a sleek modern setting with patio seating.
Red Feather—Boise
246 North Eighth Street • bcrfl.com
Upscale lounge serving seasonal American comfort food and craft cocktails in a chic, modern space.
Cornerstone—Ketchum
211 North Main Street • cornerstoneketchum.com
Inventive American fare and craft cocktails lure locals to this hip yet historic, stylish brick venue.
Illinois
Bar Deville—Chicago
701 North Daman Avenue • bardeville.com
Headed up by acclaimed bartender Brad Bolt. He has received numerous accolades for his creative approach to cocktails, including winning first place in the 2010 Bacardi Legacy Chicago Competition, being named Chicago’s 2010 Most Inspired Bartender by Bombay Sapphire, and a nomination for a 2015 Jean Banchet Award for Best Mixologist. This art deco bar with cozy booth seating creates a warm ambiance in the front room, while the middle space has a parlor feel with a pool table and lounge seating. The multifaceted back room plays host to a variety of entertainment, including the free weekly comedy series, Parlor Car, every Thursday and up-and-coming DJ acts every weekend.
The Barrelhouse Flat—Chicago
2624 North Lincoln Avenue • barrelhouseflat.com
A sprawling craft cocktail menu and foodie-friendly bar eats in a hip space with an upstairs lounge.
Big Star—Chicago
1531 North Damen Avenue • bigstarchicago.com
A Bourbon and beer-focused, taco-slinging, late-night honky-tonk in the heart of Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Housed in a defunct 1940s gas station. The taqueria’s soundtrack of classic country and rock ’n’ roll is selected and spun by the bar staff.
Boka—Chicago
1729 North Halsted Street • bokachicago.com
Offers inspirational cuisine and cocktails with an emphasis on the freshest seasonal ingredients. Also has a candlelit back garden patio.
Hubbard Inn—Chicago
110 West Hubbard Street • hubbardinn.com
European-inspired small plates, quintessential mid-century cocktails, and an old-world décor.
Maude's Liquor Bar—Chicago
840 West Randolph Street • maudesliquorbar.com
A dimly lit lounge with exposed brick, serving craft cocktails, seafood, and classic French dishes.
Sable Kitchen & Bar—Chicago
505 North State Street • sablechicago.com
Located in Hotel Palomar, serving inventive small plates and creative cocktails in a high-energy bar scene. The bartenders were trained by tequila and mezcal expert and mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout.
Sepia—Chicago
123 North Jefferson Street • sepiachicago.com
A seasonal, inventive, upscale bar and restaurant serving craft cocktails in a brick, tile, and wood interior evoking classic Chicago.
Scofflaw—Chicago
3201 West Armitage Avenue • scofflawchicago.com
A gin-focused Victorian-style salon with beautifully crafted cocktails, American craft beer, small plates, and fresh-baked cookies at midnight.
The Aviary—Chicago
953-955 West Fulton Street • theaviary.com
Swanky cocktail lounge featuring a daily selection of chef-inspired cocktails and food. Bartender Charles Joly won the 2014 Diageo World Class Bartending Competition.
Three Dots and a Dash—Chicago
435 North Clark Street • threedotschicago.com
Award-winning modern tiki bar with 200+ rums and luau bites.
The Violet Hour—Chicago
1520 North Damen Avenue • theviolethour.com
A 2015 James Beard Outstanding Bar Program–winning craft cocktail bar with loads of cocktail talent behind the bar. Rules: no cell phones, no baseball hats, and no reservations. They ask that you don't bring anyone you wouldn’t bring to your mother’s house for Sunday dinner. You will not find a sign for this bar. Look for people under a yellow light.
The Whistler—Chicago
2421 North Milwaukee Avenue • whistlerchicago.com
Trendy yet laid-back bar featuring creative cocktails plus DJs or live music nightly with no cover.
Weegee's Lounge—Chicago
3659 West Armitage Avenue • weegeeslounge.com
Low-key pub with a 1940s vibe featuring classic cocktails, craft beers, and a shuffleboard table.
Iowa
The Continental—Des Moines
428 East Locust Street • continental-lounge.com
Stylish lounge decorated with contemporary art featuring craft cocktails, tapas, and jazz.
Kansas
4 Olives Wine Bar—Manhattan
121 South Fourth Street • fourolives.biz
Owner, chef, and mixologist Scott Benjamin put together a long list of classic cocktails as well as original craft cocktails, barrel-aged cocktails, house-made tonic, and more.
Louisiana
Cypress Bar—Covington
428 East Boston Street • southernhotel.com
A craft bar located in the Southern Hotel that is decorated with hand-painted murals, arched floor-to-ceiling windows, and a fireplace.
21st Amendment Bar at La Louisiane—New Orleans | French Quarter
725 Iberville Street • 21stamendmentlalouisiane.com
The small, quaint craft cocktail bar is located where the cocktail La Louisiane was invented in the late 1800s. Its décor pays tribute to the Prohibition era. They have live jazz bands every day.
Bar Tonique—New Orleans | French Quarter
820 North Rampart Street • bartonique.com
Offers original, adapted, and classic cocktails.
Bourbon O Bar—New Orleans | French Quarter
730 Bourbon Street • Bourbono.com
This cocktail and jazz bar is located in the Bourbon Orleans Hotel. In 2013, I revamped this dive bar into the first fresh bar on Bourbon Street—it also became the first nonsmoking bar on Bourbon.
The bar has a unique and diverse clientele because there is a Bourbon Street entrance and a guest hotel entrance. At any given time, the bar staff can be making a row of Old-Fashioneds and Sazeracs next to a row of Jager Bombs—and it’s okay because we want everyone to have a good time. The menu changes every season and each bartender contributes a cocktail.
In 2014, we became the first bar since 1919 to shake the Ramos Gin Fizz for six minutes—there’s a registry to sign after you order one. In the 2016 book 100 Things to Do in New Orleans Before You Die by Beth D’Addono, the bar was listed as the best place to get a Ramos Gin Fizz mustache.
A different live jazz band plays each night; we offer over eighty whiskeys (yes, we have Pappy’s); the default channel on six big screens is Turner Classic Movies with captions; there are twelve local beers on tap, and a few small bites that include New Orleans fare of gumbo, jambalaya, and mini-muffaletta sandwich baskets.
Cane & Table—New Orleans | French Quarter
1113 Decatur Street • caneandtablenola.com
Features rum-based cocktails, eclectic small and large plates in an Old Havana atmosphere that is run by Nick Deitrich.
Carousel Bar—New Orleans | French Quarter
214 Royal Street • hotelmonteleone.com/entertainment/carousel-bar
The Carousel Bar is New Orleans' most visited bar. It’s not so much a craft bar, but more of a classic cocktail bar. The Vieux Carré cocktail was invented here in 1938. The best bartender for your cocktails is the head bartender, Marvin Allen. Allen works during the day and gets off at six o’clock, but it’s New Orleans and daytime drinking is encouraged. The bar has live entertainment seven nights a week.
Cure—New Orleans
4905 Freret Street • curenola.com
New Orleans’s first craft bar.
French 75 Bar—New Orleans | French Quarter
813 Rue Bienville • arnaudsrestaurant.com/french-75
Local celebrity bartender Chris Hannah heads up this cozy bar with lovely décor. The monkey lamps are fun! It is the best place to get a French 75, and between Thanksgiving Day and Mardi Gras Day, Hannah makes handmade Tom & Jerrys. Also, do not be surprised if you see a celebrity.
Latitude 29—New Orleans | French Quarter
320 Decatur Street • latitude29nola.com
This is Beachbum Berry’s first tiki bar, located in the quaint Bienville Hotel. The bar offers classic and modern tiki drinks as well as Polynesian cuisine. This is the best place in the world to order a Zombie.
Loa—New Orleans
221 Camp Street • ihhotel.com/loa
Seasonal handcrafted cocktails in a warm and sophisticated space at the International House Hotel.
Revel—New Orleans
133 North Carrollton Avenue • revelcafeandbar.com
After many years of working for others in New Orleans, fourth-generation bartender Chris McMillian finally opened his own bar in 2015. McMillian is New Orleans' most famous bartender. He is the cofounder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a cocktail historian. McMillian has been featured in many periodicals, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and has spoken publicly at institutions such as the Smithsonian. Imbibe magazine mentioned McMillian as one of the top twenty-five most influential cocktail personalities of the last century.
His bar serves classic and crafted cocktails (and don’t be surprised if you get a story while he’s making your cocktail) and gourmet sandwiches and small plates made by a chef who trained under Emeril Lagasse.
Roost Bar—New Orleans | French Quarter
417 Royal Street • brennansneworleans.com
The Roost Bar is located inside Brennan’s. Famous New Orleans bartender Lu Brow leads it, serving crafted and classic cocktails.
SoBou—New Orleans | French Quarter
310 Chartres Street • sobounola.com
This craft bar is located in the French Quarter “W” Hotel. SouBo stands for “South of Bourbon Street.”
Sylvain—New Orleans | French Quarter
625 Chartres Street • sylvainnola.com
Serves straightforward, no-nonsense food and crafted cocktails using the best ingredients from the southern United States.
The Bombay Club—New Orleans | French Quarter
830 Conti Street • bombayclubneworleans.com
Blake Kaiser oversees the bar program with craft cocktails. They also offer small bites to full dinners and live entertainment seven nights a week.
The Sazerac Bar—New Orleans
130 Roosevelt Way • therooseveltneworleans.com/dining/the-sazerac-bar.html
It’s located in the Roosevelt Hotel. This isn't where the Sazerac was invented, but they adopted it in the 1930s. This is the bar where Governor Huey “Kingfish” P. Long (1932–1935) would stroll in and order a Ramos Gin Fizz. You can even watch him drink one on YouTube.
The Victorian Lounge—New Orleans
3811 Saint Charles Avenue • thecolumns.com/the-victorian-lounge
This grand and romantic bar is located in the Columns Hotel. It serves classic and craft cocktails and has been written about in many publications.
Twelve Mile Limit—New Orleans
500 South Telemachus Street • facebook.com/twelve.mile.limit
A dive craft cocktail bar owned by T. Cole Newton. They also sell cheap beer, BBQ, cake, and have a pool table.
Minnesota
Marvel Bar—Minneapolis
50 North Second Avenue • marvelbar.com
A small neighborhood cocktail bar where a team of bartenders put thought and care into the drinks they make. You can locate the bar behind a purple door.
Mississippi
Parlor Market—Jackson
115 West Capitol Street • parlormarket.com
Local Southern food and cocktails served in upscale rustic digs with brick walls, wood beams, and a marble bar.
The Apothecary at Brent’s Drugs—Jackson
655 Duling Avenue • apothecaryjackson.com
Apothecary soda fountain–type cocktail bar.
Snackbar—Oxford
21 North Lamar • snackbaroxford.com
Stylish bistro and oyster bar offering Southern-influenced French eats, craft cocktails, and live music.
Montana
Walkers—Billings
2700 First Avenue North • walkersgrill.com
Offers house-crafted cocktails and fresh food in a setting with barbed wire, chandeliers, and local art.
Red Room Basement Bar—Whitefish
147 Central Avenue • latitude48bistro.com/red-room-whitefish.php
A bar below the restaurant serving crafted cocktails and tapas.
Nebraska
The Berry & Rye—Omaha
Eleventh and Howard Streets • theberryandrye.com
This bar draws inspiration from pre–Prohibition–era drinks but approaches its cocktails from an experimental, contemporary, culinary perspective.
V. Mertz—Omaha
1022 Howard Street • vmertz.com
Elegant restaurant and bar with gourmet New American plates and cocktails.
Nevada
Downtown Cocktail Room—Las Vegas
111 Las Vegas Boulevard South • downtowncocktailroom.com
An intimate speakeasy-type room with craft cocktails.
Frankie’s Tiki Room—Las Vegas
1712 West Charleston Boulevard • frankiestikiroom.com
A fresh drink tiki bar filled with art and carvings from the world’s top tiki artists.
Herbs and Rye—Las Vegas
3713 West Sahara Avenue • herbsandrye.com
A true craft cocktail bar.
Libertine Social—Las Vegas
3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard • mandalaybay.com
The Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim's first bar is located in Mandalay Bay. Look for the bar that has the large blue neon light that says “Stay Wild.”
Nora’s—Las Vegas
5780 West Flamingo Road • norascuisine.com
Italian cuisine and craft cocktails.
Petrossian Bar
3600 Las Vegas Blvd South • bellagio.com/nightlife-diversions/petrossian-bar.aspx
Inside the Bellagio Hotel. Las Vegas’s first craft cocktail bar, under the direction of Tony Abou-Ganim.
Vesper Bar—Las Vegas
3708 South Las Vegas Boulevard • cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
Located in the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
New York
Clover Club—Brooklyn
210 Smith Street • cloverclubny.com
A Julie Reiner bar. Exquisite cocktails, real food, and an atmosphere of true hospitality. But it’s a Brooklyn cocktail bar, so that also means no velvet rope, a low-key, neighborhood vibe, live jazz from time to time, and a cozy back room with a fireplace. Oh, and brunch, because you need brunch.
Long Island Bar—Brooklyn
110 Atlantic Avenue • thelongislandbar.com
Owned by Joel Tompkins and Toby Cecchini. (1988 Cosmopolitan creator).
Tooker Alley—Brooklyn
793 Washington Avenue • tookeralley.com
This is craft bartender Del Pedro’s bar. It’s a hip hangout with bar bites, a retro vibe, and Edison light bulbs.
Death & Co.—Manhattan
433 East Sixth Street • deathandcompany.com
Opened by David Kaplan on December 31, 2006, to ring in the New Year. Look for a storefront with wooden panels in place of windows. The name Death & Co. is printed in metal on the sidewalk in front of the bar’s main entrance. Give your number to the bouncer at the door, and he will call you when you can come inside. They also have a book.
Angel’s Share—Manhattan
6 Stuyvesant Street 2nd Floor • facebook.com/Angels-Share-534149856600355
A small craft bar inside the Yokocho Japanese Restaurant. It is the bar that Sasha Petraske modeled Milk & Honey after.
Apothéke—Manhattan
9 Doyers Street • apothekenyc.com
Inspired by the history and rise of the apothecary in Europe as well as the artistic influence of absinthe dens in nineteenth-century Paris.
Attaboy—Manhattan
134 Eldridge Street
This small space was originally Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey from New Year’s Eve 1999 to New Year’s Eve 2012. Today, longtime M&H bartenders Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy are the proprietors. The entrance door simply says, “AB 134.” Long gone is the reservation system, so you just have to keep knocking and pressing the buzzer every so often and you will be let in if space is available. Do not come with a party of more than four, as there are only two booths, twelve barstools, and no menu.
Employees Only—Manhattan
510 Hudson Street • employeesonlynyc.com
This restaurant and bar opened in 2004 and was founded by five bar industry friends: Dushan Zaric, Henry Lafargue, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmos, and Bill Gilroy. The bar has won numerous awards, including “Best American Bar Team,” “World’s Best Cocktail Bar,” and “World’s Best Drinks Selection.” It is also featured in the 2013 film Hey Bartender, which follows one of their bartenders, Steve Schneider.
Flatiron Lounge—Manhattan
37 West Nineteenth Street • flatironlounge.com
Opened by Julie Reiner in 2003. A high-volume craft bar located in a landmark building that was constructed in 1910. The Flatiron Lounge evokes the decadence and romance of a bygone era. Jazz draws you in through a dramatic archway to the meticulously restored thirty-foot mahogany bar.
Huckleberry Bar—Manhattan
588 Grand Street • huckleberrybar.com
Offers something for almost everyone. They offer seasonal and classic cocktails; their kitchen is open late every night, and their private garden is open every day until one a.m.
Little Branch—Manhattan
20 Seventh Avenue South on the corner of Leroy
Opened by Sasha Petraske in 2005. An underground room of mixology and crafted cocktails. To enter, look for a rusted metal door with no signs. Inside, a long stairway leads to the bar. Little Branch accepts cash only.
The Library at Nomad—Manhattan
1170 Broadway and Twenty-Eighth Street • thenomadhotel.com/#/dining/library
Craft bar located inside the Nomad Hotel.
Macao Trading Co.—Manhattan
311 Church Street, Ground Floor • macaonyc.com
They take their inspiration from the opium dens and brothels of the 1930s. It’s an exotic, bi-level parlor serving craft cocktails and Chinese-Portuguese small plates.
Mayahuel—Manhattan
304 East Sixth Street • mayahuelny.com
Opened in 2009 and, one year later, won “Best New Cocktail Bar in the World.” It's an agave-spirit cocktail bar.
Pegu Club—Manhattan
77 West Houston Street • peguclub.com
Audrey Saunders’s pioneering cocktail lounge serves classic and creative drinks in a stylish setting.
PDT—Manhattan
113 St. Marks Place • pdtnyc.com
PDT stands for “Please Don’t Tell.” Jim Meehan, the first cocktail winner of a James Beard Award, created it. Make reservations by calling 212-614-0386. Once you arrive, walk down a set of stairs into Crif Dogs Restaurant, then look for a phone booth. Pick up the phone and press the buzzer once.
Pouring Ribbons—Manhattan
225 Avenue B • pouringribbons.com
Bartender Joaquin Simo heads up this hip contemporary craft cocktail bar with a small menu of sophisticated bites.
Raines Law Room—Manhattan
48 West Seventeenth Street. • raineslawroom.com
To enter look for the unmarked stairwell and ring the doorbell at the bottom. The tables inside have a private button to call the server. It’s first come, first served, but reservations are accepted Sunday through Tuesday by e-mailing the exact time, the number in your party, and a contact number.
Saxon + Parole—Manhattan
316 Bowery • saxonandparole.com
Craft cocktails are served at this equestrian-themed American eatery.
The Dead Rabbit—Manhattan
30 Water Street • deadrabbitnyc.com
This bar is won “World’s Best Bar” in 2016. Owned by Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon, it has three rooms across two floors to explore.
The Tippler—Manhattan
425 West Fifteenth Street • thetippler.com
The Tippler is a classic New York cocktail destination nestled in a cellar space serving craft cocktails.
Oklahoma
The Tavern—Tulsa
201 North Main Street • taverntulsa.com
The Tavern is a modern interpretation of the classic neighborhood pub. They offer pub-inspired cuisine and craft cocktails made with the best local and seasonal ingredients.
The Vault—Tulsa
624 South Cincinnati Avenue • vaulttulsa.com
Featuring classic American fare and craft cocktails in a mid-century modern setting.
Valkyrie—Tulsa
13 East Brady Street • valkyrietulsa.com
A playful neighborhood bar with a focus on comfort and personality as well as serving top-quality drinks without pretense. The continually revolving menu offers classic and new cocktails made from whole fresh ingredients.
Pennsylvania
Stocks on 2nd—Harrisburg
211 North Second Street • stocksonsecond.com
Offers a farm-to-fork gastropub with a bar specializing in American whiskeys and Bourbons.
John J. Jefferies—Lancaster
300 Harrisburg Avenue • johnjjeffries.com
Farm-to-table, seasonal fare and crafted cocktails. Located in the Lancaster Arts Hotel.
Hunger n Thirst—Lancaster
920 Landis Avenue • hungernthirst.com
A warehouse-style operation combining a New American kitchen, craft bar, craft beer store, and gourmet market.
Horse Inn—Lancaster
540 East Fulton Street • horseinnlancaster.com
Historic site offering a seasonal menu of refined pub grub, specialty cocktails, and a speakeasy vibe.
Aussie and the Fox—Lancaster
38 West King Street • aussieandthefox.com
Elevated Australian and American fare and crafted cocktails served in a space with kitschy style.
The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.—Philadelphia
112 South Eighteenth Street • thefranklinbar.com
This building was used by Max “Boo Boo” Hoff to run a bootlegging ring during Prohibition. Look for the bouncer—the door’s entrance is unmarked—who will direct you into the cavernous, fifty-seat speakeasy.
Southwark—Philadelphia
701 South Fourth Street • southwarkrestaurant.com
Farm-to-table dishes served alongside classic cocktails in a handsome tavern setting.
Village Whiskey—Philadelphia
118 South Twentieth Street • philadelphia.villagewhiskey.com
Gourmet pub grub and cocktails.
Acacia—Pittsburgh
2108 East Carson Street • acaciacocktails.com
Sophisticated cocktail bar with a Prohibition theme serving craft drinks in elegant glassware.
Bar Marco—Pittsburgh
2216 Penn Avenue • barmarcopgh.com
Intimate minimalist wine bar with a winning menu, creative cocktails, and weekend brunch.
South Carolina
The Bar at Husk—Charleston
76 Queen Street • huskrestaurant.com/about/bar
Craft cocktail bar with a large selection of Bourbons and madeiras.
The Cocktail Club—Charleston
479 King Street • thecocktailclubcharleston.com
Offers an extensive selection of house-made infusions, rare liquors, and one-of-a-kind beverages.
Fig—Charleston
232 Meeting Street • eatatfig.com
Southern classics cooked with seasonal ingredients and a fresh cocktail bar.
The Gin Joint—Charleston
182 East Bay Street • theginjoint.com
A cozy intimate bar/eatery serving craft cocktails and eclectic small plates in a 1920s-inspired setting.
McCrady’s—Charleston
2 Unity Alley • mccradysrestaurant.com
Offers locally sourced American fare and crafted cocktails.
Texas
CU29 Cocktail Bar—Austin
720 Brazos Street • cu29cocktailbar.com
A bar for creative cocktails with house-made infusions and mixers.
Firehouse Lounge—Austin
605 Brazos Street • firehousehostel.com
Located in the Firehouse Hostel, they pride themselves on recreating some of the world’s best classic cocktails with a focus on quality and presentation.
Garage—Austin
503 West Colorado Street • garagetx.com
Unassuming bar crafting inventive cocktails in a hip, mid-century-inspired space in a parking garage.
Bolsa—Dallas
3232 McKinney Avenue • bolsadallas.com
Offers locally sourced New American fare and fresh cocktails.
Mansion Bar—Dallas
2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard • rosewoodhotels.com/en/mansion-on-turtle-creek-dallas/dining/mansion-bar
Located inside the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.
Midnight Cowboy Cocktail Salon—Dallas
313 East Sixth Street • midnightcowboymodeling.com
This bar has no sign. Look for a red light above a doorway, then buzz your way by hitting the “Harry Craddock” button.
Midnight Rambler—Dallas
1530 Main Street • midnightramblerbar.com
Midnight Rambler is a craft cocktail salon located in the Joule Hotel. Chad Solomon and Christy Pope of Cuffs & Buttons conceived and operate it. Midnight Rambler's DNA is cocktails, music, and atmosphere. Midnight Rambler serves Neoclassical cocktails to a rock ’n’ soul soundtrack in a warm analog environment. A service style of offhanded excellence shows in the quality of staff, the quality of the product, and attention to detail. There is complimentary valet parking.
Parliament
2418 Allen Street • facebook.com/ParliamentBar
A craft cocktail bar owned by famous Dallas bartender Eddie “Lucky” Campbell. Parliament serves as both an advanced cocktail lounge and a neighborhood bar, designed to be widely accessible, while housing one of the most sophisticated cocktail programs in the world. Rooted in timeless style, Parliament draws inspiration from the barrooms and clubs of the early 1900s, the excitement of the avant-garde period, and the approachability of a Parisian sidewalk café.
Proof + Pantry—Dallas
1722 Routh Street • proofandpantry.com
An American restaurant and bar featuring American fare along with a diverse and original bar program.
Smoke—Dallas
901 Fort Worth Avenue • smokerestaurant.com
A craft bar located in the Belmont Hotel.
Tate’s—Dallas
2723 McKinney Avenue • tatesdallas.com
They believe handcrafted cocktails offer a haven of romance, culinary delight, and fun.
The Cedars Social—Dallas
326 South Lamar Street • thecedarssocial.com
Famous Dallas bartender Michael Martensen leads the bar program with a list of handcrafted cocktails, and award-winning chef John Tesar offers the fare.
The Dram—Dallas
2918 North Henderson Avenue • thedramdallas.com
Offers handcrafted cocktails and classics, creating a balanced drink menu with nightly and seasonal specialty libations.
The People’s Last Stand Bar + Bistro—Dallas
5319 Mockingbird Lane • thepeopleslaststand.com
Perched atop Mockingbird Station, this bar offers classic cocktails with unique, flavorful inventions made from fresh-squeezed juices and house-made syrups, infusions, and mixers.
The Standard Pour—Dallas
2900 McKinney Avenue • tspdallas.com
A neighborhood restaurant and bar inspired by 1920s nouveau nostalgia. This cocktail den offers craft cocktails and bites from the kitchen.
Victor Tangos—Dallas
3001 North Henderson Avenue • victortangos.com
Intensely fresh cocktails and bold adventurous food with a neon sign over the door that says, “Kitchen Open Late.”
Whiskey Cake—Dallas
3601 Dallas Parkway • whiskey-cake.com
Serves farm-to-kitchen made-from-scratch fare and cocktails.
The Usual—Fort Worth
148 West Magnolia Avenue • facebook.com/theusualbar
Mixologists pour Prohibition-era cocktails from top-shelf ingredients at this stylish bar.
Anvil—Houston
1424 Westheimer Road, Suite B • anvilhouston.com
Houston’s first serious craft bar, since 2009. They are dedicated to making the best drinks they can with the highest quality spirits and ingredients they can find.
The Edison Experiment—San Antonio
1846 North Loop 1604 W • facebook.com/edisonexperiment
A craft cocktail bar specializing in craft cocktails, both classic and modern.
Wisconsin
Wickman House—Ellison Bay
11976 Mink River Road • wickmanhouse.com
New American meals and craft cocktails in a quaint rambling home with outdoor seating.
The Libertine—Green Bay
209 North Washington Street • forequartermadison.com
A craft cocktail bar serving the finest spirits and a knowledgeable and hospitable staff.
Boone & Crockett—Milwaukee
2151 South Kinnickinnic Avenue • boonemilwaukee.com
Classically crafted cocktails from shelf to glass.
Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge—Milwaukee
1579 South Ninth Street • bryantscocktaillounge.com
Open since 1938, Bryant’s is Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail lounge. They offer craft cocktails in a stylish atmosphere with exotic lighting and plush velvet walls.
The Libertine—Madison
708 Johnson Street • thelibertine209.com
An award-winning neighborhood restaurant and bar with a menu that changes a little bit almost every day, with a focus on seasonal produce and provisions.
Wyoming
The Rose—Jackson Hole
50 West Broadway • therosejh.com
Craft cocktail bar located inside the Pink Garter Theatre.