Humankind cannot live on booze alone. But this collection of bars might have you trying to convince yourself otherwise. From brass-tacks classics in Chicago to a luxe nine-seater in Boston, these bars offer a glass of something for every kind of someone.
1. Moneygun, Chicago
No muss, no fuss, just great classic cocktails including a Paloma, cosmopolitan and sidecar. That old-guard approach should not be revolutionary, yet finding a bar that does this while also being a grand ole time does indeed feel like a blessed upheaval. Moneygun nails it all.
2. Barndiva, Healdsburg, California
Scott Beattie, beverage director of this spot in Sonoma County, was one of the forebears of the garden-to-glass movement. As such, anytime is a good time to drink at Barndiva. But spring is when the restaurant’s bar becomes extra vibrant, green and teeming with life.
3. Enswell, Philadelphia
There are familiar cocktails, like martinis and Paper Planes, on Enswell’s menu. But also draft old fashioneds and, perhaps more surprisingly, great cocktails made with coffee or tea. An example: the Good Hope Gimlet, with rooibos-grapefruit cordial, vodka and pink peppercorn.
4. Punch Room, Tampa
Little in the beverage world is as communally festive as a big bowl of punch. This bar, a child of the first Punch Room in London, honors that conviviality while honoring Florida itself. Exhibit P: The Madame Francis, which is a tribute to Haiti and features mango, Rhum Barbancourt and clairin, a rum-like Haitian spirit.
5. Sip & Guzzle, New York City
New York loves an intimate bar and adores a huge, big-idea endeavor. Sip & Guzzle is unabashedly the latter, divided into two differing concepts. The lower level is Sip, a swank bar with cocktails by bar legend Shingo Gokan, who owns a number of award-winning bars across the globe. Upstairs is Guzzle, a low-key bar run by Steve Schneider, formerly of Employees Only, designed for ease and fun.
6. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
Whatever fantasy you might have about drinking in a creole cottage courtyard in New Orleans’ French Quarter, doing so at Jewel of the South will make it all the better. Yes, the locale is transporting. Better still are Chris Hannah and team’s sublime cocktails, which pay thoughtful homage to Crescent City classics.
7. Farmacia, Boston
Precise, particular, intimate: Phillip Rolfe’s nine-seat bar in the North End neighborhood of Boston is a reverent drinking experience. You pay ahead to secure a seat, so this is no wing-it night out. But don’t you sometimes want to drink exactly like you dine for a special occasion?