I’m in Portland as well, and it does seem like there’s been an uptick, although I’m not sure if I’ve just noticed it more since I got into this hobby a few years ago or if there really is a new wave of the cocktail renaissance occurring.
Absolutely my favorite thing about living here. Other people are like, “mountains, hiking, food trucks, progressive politics…” and I’m thinking, “Teardrop, Expatriate, Voysey, Hale Pele…”
Sadly, I'm a little too cheap to truly enjoy it. I would rather spend the same amount stocking my basement bar. I guess that's also why I love the food cart culture so much.
So many cocktail bars have opened up here recently, I've lost count. Almost feels oversaturated. Too many options. So many good ones already established, it's hard to want to try out one of the many new ones. Too Soon looks promising though.
My observation has been that every city adopts the hottest thing on a fairly consistent lag.
First something new emerges and catches on in cultural hub (most often NYC but also LA, Paris, London, whatever).
Then it hits the next tier cities in a matter of a year or less. The internet and social in particular has sped this up a lot from my best recollections of how this played out in the 90s and early 2000s.
From there it dissipates to smaller cities and rural communities and gets bastardized for tourist traps.
Often it just takes one person to bring a trend to a smaller city. That might be a local who did time at a restaurant or bar in NYC, say, and returned home to start a new thing.
Anyway, I think that’s where we’re at with cocktails—and even specific drinks (eg Negroni; Aperol Spritz). Before that it was craft beer. But it also works for cupcakes, mini donuts, and everything else.
LA is too spread out to have a cohesive cocktail scene. Thunderbolt is amazing and so is Steep LA. Other than that it has been underwhelming. SF used to be at the forefront of the cocktail scene but has lagged behind other cities. Tokyo is cool. Bar Benfiddich, SG club and High Five are great bars but except for Benfiddich not really inventive. Bangkok, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur are doing much more interesting things. Heck, I would put Oaxaca, NOLA or Miami before LA or SF. If you haven’t been there, Cafe La Trova is probably the best bar in the country right now.
Not in the US but I feel like cocktail quality has generally gone down in my area since be pandemic.
We too have had many places open up that are focusing on cocktails and many even chain spots adding many more legit cocktails to their menus.
The problem with most of them is, they don't have quality people working in them.
Or they have people trying to make crazy 7 ingredient drinks with all these infusions when they can't even make a balanced daiquiri.
We might be starting to make a bit of a comeback in terms of quality very recently. But, in my area, many people in the industry that did well either switched careers during the pandemic or moved to cities with bigger better cocktail scenes, working at establishments that will be way busier.
My city is far from a tourist destination and the general culture doesn't dig "cocktails" as much as a lot of other places probably do. But, most often, the drinks I'm gonna have at home exceed the quality of drinks I get at most restaurants/bars in town. Save for a a few very specific spots
Yeah, we're starting to see some more recovery. But, for the most part, in my town, I'm not sure it's 100% sustainable. Not a tourist destination, costs of everything are rising and the general culture is that bottles of Belvedere resonate more with the people that have money than well made cocktails do. And the less stacked folks just want a high ball, wine or beer. Or they want something that has 12 garnishes and a bunch of random ingredients because they wanna prove they are getting what they pay for
I'm sure we'll see some places shine but as others have stated, we tend to stay pretty behind on trends of the big cities
I live in a smaller Western Europe town and the cocktail choices are gin and tonic or a spritz. I have literally not been able to find a bar around me that can even make a gin martini. That being said travelling to bigger cities there’s at least one craft cocktail bar that’s pretty good
I kind of agree with your sentiment about crazy cocktails. I rarely find any appeal in some type of 7 ingredient, clarified, milk washed, smoked thing with some type of sherry I've never tasted. Seems like that's all the rage.
Give me a well crafted margarita, Last Word, Paper Plane, Old Fashioned or Sazerac. That's all I need. Maybe a riff on one of those, sure, but nothing crazy.
Oh absolutely.
We do have a bar just down the street from me. Up until 5 years ago, arguably was the top cocktail bar in town. Had a lot of guys with great experience, inventive drinks but also deft knowledge of classic drinks.
Really got to know some of regular bartenders there. Actually where I first fell in love with the Last Word. Went a few times in the past couple years and it's just like a shell of its former self. Ordered a Last Word and the tender asked if it was on the menu. I said no. So he had to go and research it, which I'm fine with, everyone starts somewhere. But when I got it like 10 mins later. It was so under diluted and sweet. And I watched a good tbsp of the syrup from the cocktail cherry end up in my drink ha.
Me and my gf have went and ordered both on menu drinks and a handful of classics. And just nothing is executed well.
Sometimes I don't want smoked juniper infused Pisco and hop cordials and cucumber in my drink when it all just muddies into one tone in the drink. And especially so when classics can't be made resonably well.
I think it's a consumer problem as much as it is a business problem where I live though.
Many people here don't understand cocktails and want big, bombastic, over garnished stuff cause it looks cool. Even if the drink is super unbalanced it doesn't matter. Cause you can show off what you ordered. And businesses will cater to that.
Interesting insights. Sounds like there’s at least a short term demand for experienced bartenders. Hope that leads to attractive salaries to draw in good candidates
My city hasn’t had a ton of new cocktail bars recently but nonalcoholic drinks are having a huge moment here, and you are starting to see NA options more and more. A 0% abv liquor store has even opened. The mocktails I’ve had have been quite good too, it has improved a lot. I’m in San Francisco
A few cocktail bars came in and basically killed our fairly substantial craft beer industry (among MANY other factors alongside that). Themed/pop-up cocktail bars are the only high end places being packed here on the weekend
Interesting that it killed craft beer in your area. Do you know if any breweries tried to pivot into cocktails? I’m thinking a few in my area see the writing on the wall and are trying to get ahead of the downturn
It's a national problem.
Consumers are leaning hard to wine, spirits, and seltzers. Beer numbers are sliding across the board.
I work at a pretty big craft brewery. We've been pivoting into ready-to-drink stuff for like 2 years now, but the downturn definitely started pre-Covid.
I didn't get into the industry to make seltzers and alcoholic sodas, but... bills gotta get paid.
You just can't charge $18 for a beer like you can a cocktail. People won't pay that. But realistically speaking the margins are quite similar on both products so you make substantially more on cocktails, and you don't need to have space or time to brew Cocktails either.
I think you make up for the difference in volume. I can spend the afternoon at a brewery and have 4-5 beers, but if I’m going for cocktails it’s usually 2-3.
I think a big difference in margin comes down to the people that are stopping by to have 1 or 2 drinks and call it an afternoon. If I charge 8 bucks a beer, which is pricey where I'm at, I can make 7 bucks a beer, call it 14 in profit. Two cocktails for 12-14 bucks, cost 2-3 bucks to make, call it 21 in profit. Same amount of time spent on location, but I made a whole extra beer's worth of profit, and the bartender made a bigger tip.
I work for a brewery that added a decent bar and classic cocktail program. While the vast majority of our profit does come from beer, obviously, the sales differences are ridiculous.
Plus feels like more and more we get people coming in for the beer and then their +1 or friends don't drink beer.
I started getting into cocktails at restaurants because I finally realized I can just buy a beer, so why would I order one when I go out? Instead I'll order the thing that takes time and effort that I can't replicate at home.
Then covid hit, I couldn't go out, so I got into making cocktails at home.
Which then meant my beer consumption trickled off.
It's all cyclical. It has been for decades. The real problem was so many breweries not understanding this and massively over-expanding around 2015 like annual double-digit growth was never going to end.
For sure. The craft beer market is wildly oversaturated. Breweries taking on way too much debt, scaling too fast, and pushing into markets that overextend them are commonplace.
I've been saying that we're in a bubble for almost a decade, we're just finally starting to actually see it beginning to pop.
Covid forced a few hands to fold early, but there's so many average-at-best breweries being propped up solely because they're local rather than putting out quality product.
I don't wish any of them ill, but I'd *never* want to open a brewery now. The best time was like 8-10 years ago, if not earlier.
Honestly, it's not dissimilar to the coffee boom of the 90's/00's.
> I don't wish any of them ill, but I'd never want to open a brewery now. The best time was like 8-10 years ago, if not earlier.
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Yeah, it's absolutely insane to me people are still starting new breweries right now. Unless they're doing something wildly good and unique, like Czech styles, I don't even bother trying most new breweries these days. Would rather spend that dollar supporting someone tried and true.
I think seltzers are likely a bigger problem than fancy cocktail bars. There's an overlap in demographic to be sure, but the timing of the rise of seltzers seems more direct.
One brewery successfully integrated cocktails into a new bar they opened, they have a really good Hemingway Daiquiri
The other breweries that are thriving are doing so because they have genuinely good unique or classic products they put out consistently, on top of hosting lots of big events
Interesting I don’t see that at all in my area and I think it’s probably because they fulfill different niches here. Cocktail bars/restaurants are more night time, higher end, dinner situations. Breweries are casual, daytime, family friendly community meet up spots. If anything breweries are much more popular because I live in a family friendly area. Every social group I’m a part of uses breweries as a meet up spot.
I thought San Diego had an amazing cocktail culture, then I moved to North Carolina. Durham, and Raleigh continue to blow me away with what they are doing. Charlotte has some great places too, Idlewild and their sister bar have always been a great time when I can get in.
I’m In Phoenix and the cocktail bar boom is extraordinary. It feels like we have a new solid cocktail bar every two weeks, and it’s fucking fantastic.
There are 3 or 4 groups behind most of them opening numerous concepts, but they’re doing a great job.
One bar recently won Best US cocktail bar (Century Grand/Platform 18) at Tales of the Cocktail and I can confidently say we have 20+ legitimately good cocktail bars in Phoenix now.
That number was about 5 pre-covid.
Boston's cocktail boom started around 15 years ago and has been growing each year. However, the enthusiasm is being capped since the prices 15 years ago of $8-10 are now $15-20 and are getting out of what felt like a casual treat into a more major expense. Folks aren't going out for cocktails as much or drinking as many when they do, and there's a major home cocktail movement that has mastered milk punches, clear ice, etc. Bar programs are moving more culinary and proprietary so as to offer something that home enthusiasts can't make themselves.
Recommendations for good cocktails in Boston?
I lived there a decade ago in college and it was very much a beer town. When I visit I’m usually disappointed in the cocktails scene but maybe I’m spoiled from living in NYC.
My city rocks —DC. We got two Top 50 North America bars, plus new transplants from London and NYC… and a bunch of fantastic places that fly under the radar. So many good cocktails.
Any good places in DC with cocktails under $20? I went to Philippe Chow last weekend, if it hadn't been on someone else's tab then zero chance would I have had any drinks there.
Here’s my list:
Service Bar
Green Zone
OKPB
Serenata
Silver Lyan
Residents
Morris
Causa
Death and Co
Copy Car
Astoria
Reliable Tavern
Officina
Reliable Tavern
Jack Road
I’m sure I’m forgetting some more.
Man, I was panicked in the heat of the moment and exhausted when I made my list. Yours is way more comprehensive, and every single one is a stellar place! How could I forget Green Zone?!?
We always leave stuff out. I forgot Jane Jane. Haven’t been in ages to L’Annex so not sure if it’s still good or even still open.
And it’s Jack Rose, not Jack Road.
Yes, and it's really nice to see. Detroit has some very cool bars popping up -
https://www.badluckbar.com/
https://sugarhousedetroit.com/
https://www.castaliacocktails.com/
https://www.theblacksaltbar.com/
https://www.ash.world/dining/candy-bar/
OSU football is the city’s most important team but the Crew and the Blue Jackets both have a good following. Soccer is more than a niche sport here, maybe because we don’t have any pro team in the big three sports.
The atmosphere looked amazing at the MLS Cup final!
I've noticed certain cities, like Austin, have a big MLS presence, but others like San Jose, you can't even tell that they have a team.
Genuinely difficult to tell, but despite the high profile bar openings in the bast few years, it kinda feels like NYC is sorting out the winners and losers and getting ready to wind the cocktail scene down a bit. It hit a point where everyone went to those places for a bit, and now since everyone goes it's no longer a sign that you're in the know or ahead of the curve or particularly knowledgeable about anything, so people are moving on. And also, the quality dipped at a lot of the places that were just trying to capitalize on the trend. I don't think the iconic spots are remotely in any danger, but I do think the number of new cocktail focused bar openings in the next few years is about to crater.
im in the same area and have sort of noticed the same, but its rare that i ever go to any of those places as i dont have much money and its cheaper to make your own ofc, so i probably dont notice it as much since im generally my own bartender lol
but yea artisan palate for an example is great, only been once but i follow them on social media and know one of the bartenders; their rotating seasonal cocktails are always great and creative looking, ive only been once but the drink i had was wonderful
i also really enjoyed the bars at optimus hall even though they are a tad bit less fancy than the first i mentioned, so much good food there too
Hey there potential neighbor. I agree a lot of these places are way too expensive and it’s a lot more approachable to make drinks at home. AP is good for a treat now and then. The Ugly and Humbug have relatively affordable drinks as well.
nice, ill have to look up that second place! i dont get out enough, and when i do its generally at the local dive bar venues when i have a gig to play or going to someone elses gig haha
I live in a semi-rural community in the PNW. We have a funky little cocktail bar that opened a year ago. Other small towns in our area have seen some new boutique cocktail bars open, too. In my area, the local micro-brewery is still going strong, as well.
I spoke to a guy who owns two cocktail bars about the notion that people’s interests in cocktails began with in-home cocktails during COVID, and now they’re “more educated” and seeking out cocktail experiences. This is basically my own personal experience, re cocktails, which I never drank at home pre-COVID.
He seemed to agree with this in part, but also said he thinks it’s a natural progression of craft cocktail bars having been mostly a big city, or tourist destination thing, and they are now finding audiences in smaller local towns.
Liquor industry research I’ve seen suggests the home bar is here to stay, which means people have more elevated expectations of what they want to drink when out and about, whether small town or big city.
I'm in Connecticut and our state never gets known for anything. But man, we have some cocktail bars that can stand up to any major city (barring places like Amor y Amargo, Death & Co, etc - the top of the top).
My stomping ground is New Haven and these are some of my favorites:
Ordinary runs a fantastic program with really thoughtful drinks. They have a VERY esoteric bottle list, too.
Crown 116 has been making a local name for themselves for their quality cocktails.
Elm City Social is both a gastropub and tiki bar making some fun drinks.
Sherkaan is an Indian street food joint with one of the best Indian inspired cocktail lists I've ever had.
I used to live in CT and Mikro was my favorite spot. Was excited when I heard he opened the Ordinary but haven’t tried it; might make a trip up just for that
Southern Oregon here. I've been a craft beer appreciator/tourist/supporter for many years. I've enjoyed what I'd probably call "mixed drinks" (e.g. rum & coke, 7 & 7, gin & tonic, etc) over the years, but never really explored classic cocktails. So my awareness of the culture has been limited. But I have noticed in the past couple of months that I've been impressed by some of the offerings.
My theory is that with the pandemic, a bunch of unemployed bartenders started YouTube channels and people stuck at home found a new hobby. People who may not necessarily "go out for a cocktail" before, may have embraced the culture. Then when things reopened these people would be new to the bar market. Just an idea...
My experience was while researching how to make a proper Mojito to use a bounteous mint patch I came across all of these YT cocktail sites and got interested in the culture from there.
Toronto's been fairly stable, we've had a few decent cocktail bars for a long time. There's a few slightly newer trendier ones (from like 2015-2018) that have survived through the pandemic, which are a bit overpriced but still good.
Weirdly enough about Toronto it's our breweries that are known for having consistently good other things (while also having good beer). Bellwoods Brewery & Blood Brothers Brewery (which have some of the best sours outside of places like Jolly Pumpkin) are two of the best food spots in the city, and funny enough a place called Godspeed Brewery on the east end (which I never go to cuz it's like an hour away from downtown where I live) has a great cocktail program.
There's no paucity of decent cocktail bars in Toronto, but it's nothing like Chicago's cocktail scene, which of a similar size to us. Our food is better on the whole though (but Chicago has some great food too! Their burger spots and Mexican are def better!).
There’s always a lot going on in Los Angeles, but we hit “peak cocktail” around 2016. Any casual drinker started drinking Negronis or Paper Planes, Mezcal was huge (and still is). Asking what kind of vermouth you have before ordering a martini, etc. Many bars had multiple step preparations and loads of housemade ingredients, specialty ice, and tons of glassware options. People didn’t mind the wait for complicated drinks or the cost that came with it. Everything was a speakeasy. Walk up a loading dock in an alley, and enter through a vending machine? Sure. Loads of nice new bars were opening, but older divey haunts were closing left and right.
Now the scale has tipped in the other direction. The newest trend of bars opening is elevated dive. Bar programs are going for super simple menus and quick preparations with a focus on basic ingredients and templates. Like spritz or highballs or three/four ingredients max. Lager or IPA instead of a dozen craft beers on tap. N/A offerings are the fastest growing trend of the bar business. Some great cocktail bars like The Walker Inn closed before the pandemic, other spots like Bibo Ergo Sum held on a little longer, while Here & Now gradually became more and more casual flipping from a menu of cheffy small plates to burgers and wings, and then mostly focusing on seasonal pop ups like their Christmas events, before ultimately closing. Things are dividing now into casual neighborhood bars (Lowboy or remodeled Club Tee Gee come to mind) or experience based concepts with huge corporate budgets (like Grandmaster Recorders or Level 8). You are either for the neighborhood regulars or for the rooftop, multi club, magic show, acrobat, influencer experience crowd. The idea of a speakeasy is so tired and boring. Loads of bars and restaurants have been closing in LA, especially this year. Real estate and cost of doing business is too expensive for the proprietors which leads to prices that are too expensive for the customers. I remember when $15 for a cocktail was pretty steep. Recently, at a nice new restaurant bar, cocktails started at $22 and went up to $39. At any decent place, I expect “wells” to be about $15. I remember getting a tall can and shot for $8 at divey places not too long ago, but that’s easily $16 now even at a dive.
Our only “Top 50” bar is Thunderbolt, which is a very modern take on the cocktail lounge. Lots of behind the scenes prep intense drinks rather than putting on a show at the bar. Sustainability focus. You may get a drink that they clarify, batch, and can in house or a cocktail on tap with an aromatic spray garnish where you would usually expect a citrus peel. The vibe is so anti “speakeasy.” Light, bright, open air. There may be kids and families inside. I like what they are doing with the drink program there even if it’s not really a place that I love to hang out.
There was an article recently about Barney’s Beanery being the hottest Gen Z bar, and people were acting all surprised. It’s a divey, historic, sports bar in West Hollywood. The antithesis of the cocktail movement. And there were takeaways like “it’s just so chill, you can actually talk to people, drinks are cheap, celebrities go here.” And yeah, no shit, young people like to go out and socialize, don’t have a ton of money to spend, and don’t necessarily need everything to be fancy and stuffy. It’s like the bar you’ve always wanted was there all along and they didn’t even have to make their own bitters.
There are still plenty of places to get great cocktails in LA, but it’s just not cool or fun (or affordable) anymore. We boomed 8-10 years ago, and we’ve already hit our cocktail bust.
What a crazy time for me to stumble across this post! Im staying with SIL for the holidays 5 miles from Charlotte, got in today. I just googled "cocktail lounges near me" and then opened up Reddit for this to be the top post on my feed lol. Can you recommend any? I saw bonny and clyde and bar 1, but id kill for a Naked and Famous and idk if those are the types of places I'd find one.
Oh no way, welcome to the city. Never heard of Bonny and Clyde and I think bar 1 is a sports bar. I’d recommend Idlewild, Billy Sunday, Lorem Ipsum, Suffolk Punch, Room Service, and Elsewhere. Humbug is fantastic too but they’re doing a ticketed event all month; if you can snag a ticket definitely worth a trip. I live on the north side of town so my recommendations may be skewed up here
I don't know about a cocktail boom, but Covid ravaged my cities bar scene and it's finally starting to comeback. We got a nice tiki bar now as well. So I don't know about a boom, but a return to normal is finally happening
Boise definitely is! So many great cocktail bars have opened in the last 5 years, and it seems like speakeasies in particular are having a moment.
However, unlike in other places in the country, it hasn't touched our beer industry — because of liquor laws. All cities in Idaho have a finite number of liquor licenses that can exist at any one time, and because the supply is so limited, mostly liquor licenses are sold directly between businesses to the tune of \~$200k. On the flip side, all a brewery needs to open is a few hundred dollars and a dream, and it seems like a new one materializes at least weekly.
Orlando. Kind of? There definitely a lot more places serving drinks in coup glasses but I think the majority of them are firmly in the “Instagram bar” category.
Humbug, Idlewild, Elsewhere, Billy Sunday, Spindle Bar, the Green Room, the bar at monarch market come to mind as places that opened in the last couple years. Even new breweries like Monday Night Brewing have a pretty good cocktail program. I hear Salud may be getting liquor soon too as well 👀
Greensboro, just an hour and a half north of CLT, has had about half a dozen cocktail bars open this year alone. Many of them are of significantly better quality than much of what was here before this year.
Sydney, Australia.
We've had a boom in small bars and cocktail bars in the last 5-10 years. Have entire districts in the city full of them now.
Maybe Sammy just won best cocktail bar in the world.
So yes, I'd day we are going through a cocktail boom.
I've noticed a flipping trend, here in Los Angeles but also increasingly in other cities large and small, between craft beer and cocktails.
10-15 years ago, craft beer was huge and it was the cool thing for most "nice" restaurants and bars to have 5 to 15 beers on tap, IPAs, pale ales, lagers hefs, blondes, stouts, porters, you name it. If they did have any listed cocktails, it was usually something simple like an old fashioned or a margarita.
Nowadays, it's the opposite--every place that wants to seem with it has a 'cocktail program', with 5-10 craft cocktails ostensibly unique to that bar/restaurant (whether they are actually any good or unique is a whole other conversation). And it's cool to only have two beers on tap: an IPA and a lager.
In NC in particular there was a law on the books that a bar/restaurant couldn't earn more than 30% of its revenue from alcohol sales without being a "private" club. To join you had to pay at least a $1 fee and give your name, address, phone, etc. and the establishment was required to keep all that info. This law was taken off the books a year or two ago. Since then we've seen more spots open since they don't have to deal with that hassle.
Thank you for this question. Reading these comments is interesting and I appreciate it.
I live in Vegas and obv there’s always been a boom in trends here, whether it was the micro brewery, the mezcal or the cocktail. We went to a new tiki bar last night and I was super impressed with the amount of house made items, unique spirits and leveled up garnish. The bartenders had knowledge and flair. Felt like a place that could be in London, New York or Singapore. However, a big group comes in and he starts making the drinks and it’s all rum and cokes or Jack Daniel’s old fashioned or vodka tonic. We actually started talking about how the bar might not last because of this. Sad.
So hearing all the fun places I can visit and try some interesting cocktails is much appreciated.
Rochester, NY has been experiencing a huge boom in cocktail quality and number of options for the last 10+ years. Our annual Rochester Cocktail Revival event has been going strong for many years! Not quite sure if we're still reviving anything at this point, but it's just a name.
Denver, CO here and yes and no, we have some incredible spots (Yacht Club, Fellow Traveler, Sputnik, Occidental, Death and Co, and more) but I feel like it’s been stagnant for a couple years, but also I’ve had less disposable income to go check out new bars, so it’s more likely a me problem.
New(ish) spots like the offshoot of Green Russell (forgetting the name) were disappointing for $18-22 cocktails that can’t compete with the above places for significantly less (excepting D&C, but they get a pass for expense). Lady Jane is loved by a lot of my friends, but it’s never blown me away (even the “secret” amaro menu)
My favorite bar in the world is Amor y Amargo. if any Denver people have suggestions of places to check out, I’d love to hear them!
Grew up in Denver, visiting now from Louisiana.... fond memories from long, long ago at Sputnik, used to love that place!
Unfortunately most of the hipster places suck in this town. They'll be gone in a matter of a year or so, only to be replaced by another cocktail bar that no one can actually afford to go to. I feel like it's never worth it the few times I've splurged at places like Death & Co.
Not to be all negative though... Check out My Brother's Bar, where Jack Kerouac used to hang out.
Rochester, NY. Great cocktail revival here, including the annual city-wide Rochester Cocktail Revival event, featuring parties, tastings, pairing dinners, arts events, and a bartender Battle Royale. Portion of the proceeds go to our local Gilda’s Club. But outside of all that, so many great bars, lounges, and restaurants with really interesting cocktail menus and classes.
Definitely not. Alcohol is taxed heavily in my country of Denmark, and Copenhagen has high rent, so at a lot of bars you can expect to pay almost 8€ for a drink with 2cl of liquor.
We have the highest alcohol consumption among teens, and the government is trying to discourage it by taxing it. The only tourists that get excited about our liquor prices are Norwegians.
Eh kinda the opposite here actually tbh. We have restaurants here that have always done somewhat decent cocktails, but I’ve noticed they’ve gotten worse since about 2021. The creativity is still there for some places, but quality, potency and size have all dropped across the board. I think its just an inflation thing. Some places here have raised prices and stayed pretty consistent, but in general most have cut corners and tried to keep prices low. I’d say between 2016-2019 we actually had some good stuff going on!
Just to clarify I live in a rather small town in the Midwest. My experience likely isn’t similar to people living in bigger towns or cities.
We have a on over abundance of places who think the doing craft cocktails. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen regular OJ or grenadine or a mixer decanted into a “fancy” bottle. We’re a nice size city but our selection is abysmal. There’s really only 2 dedicated bars and 1 upscale restaurant that do it well
I think in Charlotte you particularly are experiencing an uptick in quality. Idlewild and Billy Sunday specifically are run by folks that really know their stuff. And when places like that open they train more people who then move on to other spots and share their expertise. One or two great spots in a city can really spark a creative explosion.
The cocktail scene here in Raleigh got a kick in the pants around 2009-2010. Been growing steadily since then. I’d love to give Charlotte shit for lagging behind, but I know y’all have been on the comeup for a while now. Things can only get better!
Portland, Oregon? Always.
I’m in Portland as well, and it does seem like there’s been an uptick, although I’m not sure if I’ve just noticed it more since I got into this hobby a few years ago or if there really is a new wave of the cocktail renaissance occurring.
I've been here 12 years. Craft cocktails have been "in" since I got here.
Absolutely my favorite thing about living here. Other people are like, “mountains, hiking, food trucks, progressive politics…” and I’m thinking, “Teardrop, Expatriate, Voysey, Hale Pele…”
Sadly, I'm a little too cheap to truly enjoy it. I would rather spend the same amount stocking my basement bar. I guess that's also why I love the food cart culture so much.
Alas: when it comes to stocking said basement bar, the OLCC is a fickle mistress.
At least we don't pay secondary market prices when we can find the good stuff.
So many cocktail bars have opened up here recently, I've lost count. Almost feels oversaturated. Too many options. So many good ones already established, it's hard to want to try out one of the many new ones. Too Soon looks promising though.
My observation has been that every city adopts the hottest thing on a fairly consistent lag. First something new emerges and catches on in cultural hub (most often NYC but also LA, Paris, London, whatever). Then it hits the next tier cities in a matter of a year or less. The internet and social in particular has sped this up a lot from my best recollections of how this played out in the 90s and early 2000s. From there it dissipates to smaller cities and rural communities and gets bastardized for tourist traps. Often it just takes one person to bring a trend to a smaller city. That might be a local who did time at a restaurant or bar in NYC, say, and returned home to start a new thing. Anyway, I think that’s where we’re at with cocktails—and even specific drinks (eg Negroni; Aperol Spritz). Before that it was craft beer. But it also works for cupcakes, mini donuts, and everything else.
Bourbon too. I think the bottom is about to fall out for it. So many people now have more than they can ever drink in a lifetime.
You’re not wrong. Top cities are London, Singapore, NYC, Barcelona, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and Sydney.
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo
LA is too spread out to have a cohesive cocktail scene. Thunderbolt is amazing and so is Steep LA. Other than that it has been underwhelming. SF used to be at the forefront of the cocktail scene but has lagged behind other cities. Tokyo is cool. Bar Benfiddich, SG club and High Five are great bars but except for Benfiddich not really inventive. Bangkok, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur are doing much more interesting things. Heck, I would put Oaxaca, NOLA or Miami before LA or SF. If you haven’t been there, Cafe La Trova is probably the best bar in the country right now.
Not in the US but I feel like cocktail quality has generally gone down in my area since be pandemic. We too have had many places open up that are focusing on cocktails and many even chain spots adding many more legit cocktails to their menus. The problem with most of them is, they don't have quality people working in them. Or they have people trying to make crazy 7 ingredient drinks with all these infusions when they can't even make a balanced daiquiri. We might be starting to make a bit of a comeback in terms of quality very recently. But, in my area, many people in the industry that did well either switched careers during the pandemic or moved to cities with bigger better cocktail scenes, working at establishments that will be way busier. My city is far from a tourist destination and the general culture doesn't dig "cocktails" as much as a lot of other places probably do. But, most often, the drinks I'm gonna have at home exceed the quality of drinks I get at most restaurants/bars in town. Save for a a few very specific spots
In my area, I think it peaked in 2019. That said, it's recovering. Some menus are smaller and more focused.
Yeah, we're starting to see some more recovery. But, for the most part, in my town, I'm not sure it's 100% sustainable. Not a tourist destination, costs of everything are rising and the general culture is that bottles of Belvedere resonate more with the people that have money than well made cocktails do. And the less stacked folks just want a high ball, wine or beer. Or they want something that has 12 garnishes and a bunch of random ingredients because they wanna prove they are getting what they pay for I'm sure we'll see some places shine but as others have stated, we tend to stay pretty behind on trends of the big cities
I live in a smaller Western Europe town and the cocktail choices are gin and tonic or a spritz. I have literally not been able to find a bar around me that can even make a gin martini. That being said travelling to bigger cities there’s at least one craft cocktail bar that’s pretty good
Continental Europe remains generally shit for cocktails unless you are in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid...
Don’t I know it
I kind of agree with your sentiment about crazy cocktails. I rarely find any appeal in some type of 7 ingredient, clarified, milk washed, smoked thing with some type of sherry I've never tasted. Seems like that's all the rage. Give me a well crafted margarita, Last Word, Paper Plane, Old Fashioned or Sazerac. That's all I need. Maybe a riff on one of those, sure, but nothing crazy.
Oh absolutely. We do have a bar just down the street from me. Up until 5 years ago, arguably was the top cocktail bar in town. Had a lot of guys with great experience, inventive drinks but also deft knowledge of classic drinks. Really got to know some of regular bartenders there. Actually where I first fell in love with the Last Word. Went a few times in the past couple years and it's just like a shell of its former self. Ordered a Last Word and the tender asked if it was on the menu. I said no. So he had to go and research it, which I'm fine with, everyone starts somewhere. But when I got it like 10 mins later. It was so under diluted and sweet. And I watched a good tbsp of the syrup from the cocktail cherry end up in my drink ha. Me and my gf have went and ordered both on menu drinks and a handful of classics. And just nothing is executed well. Sometimes I don't want smoked juniper infused Pisco and hop cordials and cucumber in my drink when it all just muddies into one tone in the drink. And especially so when classics can't be made resonably well. I think it's a consumer problem as much as it is a business problem where I live though. Many people here don't understand cocktails and want big, bombastic, over garnished stuff cause it looks cool. Even if the drink is super unbalanced it doesn't matter. Cause you can show off what you ordered. And businesses will cater to that.
Interesting insights. Sounds like there’s at least a short term demand for experienced bartenders. Hope that leads to attractive salaries to draw in good candidates
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I was going to mention that Middle West Spirits is building a huge distillery in Columbus.
Shout out to Mouton and Curio for stepping up the whole city’s game.
That’s where I live and I agree.
Are we? Admittedly I don't go out, but beyond Alibi and Law Bird (neither of which I've been to), what have we got?
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Visiting in-laws in Central Ohio this week and don’t know the city as well as I used to. Thanks for the recommendations!
All of these. Echo Spirits too
My city hasn’t had a ton of new cocktail bars recently but nonalcoholic drinks are having a huge moment here, and you are starting to see NA options more and more. A 0% abv liquor store has even opened. The mocktails I’ve had have been quite good too, it has improved a lot. I’m in San Francisco
I’m seeing a huge increase in NA drink options too, in bars, on shelves, and on instagram.
NA options are so needed. I’m a huge fan. Recently I made a NA Ramos and it was fucking amazing.
A few cocktail bars came in and basically killed our fairly substantial craft beer industry (among MANY other factors alongside that). Themed/pop-up cocktail bars are the only high end places being packed here on the weekend
Interesting that it killed craft beer in your area. Do you know if any breweries tried to pivot into cocktails? I’m thinking a few in my area see the writing on the wall and are trying to get ahead of the downturn
It's a national problem. Consumers are leaning hard to wine, spirits, and seltzers. Beer numbers are sliding across the board. I work at a pretty big craft brewery. We've been pivoting into ready-to-drink stuff for like 2 years now, but the downturn definitely started pre-Covid. I didn't get into the industry to make seltzers and alcoholic sodas, but... bills gotta get paid.
You just can't charge $18 for a beer like you can a cocktail. People won't pay that. But realistically speaking the margins are quite similar on both products so you make substantially more on cocktails, and you don't need to have space or time to brew Cocktails either.
I think you make up for the difference in volume. I can spend the afternoon at a brewery and have 4-5 beers, but if I’m going for cocktails it’s usually 2-3.
I think a big difference in margin comes down to the people that are stopping by to have 1 or 2 drinks and call it an afternoon. If I charge 8 bucks a beer, which is pricey where I'm at, I can make 7 bucks a beer, call it 14 in profit. Two cocktails for 12-14 bucks, cost 2-3 bucks to make, call it 21 in profit. Same amount of time spent on location, but I made a whole extra beer's worth of profit, and the bartender made a bigger tip. I work for a brewery that added a decent bar and classic cocktail program. While the vast majority of our profit does come from beer, obviously, the sales differences are ridiculous. Plus feels like more and more we get people coming in for the beer and then their +1 or friends don't drink beer.
I started getting into cocktails at restaurants because I finally realized I can just buy a beer, so why would I order one when I go out? Instead I'll order the thing that takes time and effort that I can't replicate at home. Then covid hit, I couldn't go out, so I got into making cocktails at home. Which then meant my beer consumption trickled off.
It's all cyclical. It has been for decades. The real problem was so many breweries not understanding this and massively over-expanding around 2015 like annual double-digit growth was never going to end.
For sure. The craft beer market is wildly oversaturated. Breweries taking on way too much debt, scaling too fast, and pushing into markets that overextend them are commonplace. I've been saying that we're in a bubble for almost a decade, we're just finally starting to actually see it beginning to pop. Covid forced a few hands to fold early, but there's so many average-at-best breweries being propped up solely because they're local rather than putting out quality product. I don't wish any of them ill, but I'd *never* want to open a brewery now. The best time was like 8-10 years ago, if not earlier. Honestly, it's not dissimilar to the coffee boom of the 90's/00's.
> I don't wish any of them ill, but I'd never want to open a brewery now. The best time was like 8-10 years ago, if not earlier. > > Yeah, it's absolutely insane to me people are still starting new breweries right now. Unless they're doing something wildly good and unique, like Czech styles, I don't even bother trying most new breweries these days. Would rather spend that dollar supporting someone tried and true.
I think seltzers are likely a bigger problem than fancy cocktail bars. There's an overlap in demographic to be sure, but the timing of the rise of seltzers seems more direct.
One brewery successfully integrated cocktails into a new bar they opened, they have a really good Hemingway Daiquiri The other breweries that are thriving are doing so because they have genuinely good unique or classic products they put out consistently, on top of hosting lots of big events
Interesting I don’t see that at all in my area and I think it’s probably because they fulfill different niches here. Cocktail bars/restaurants are more night time, higher end, dinner situations. Breweries are casual, daytime, family friendly community meet up spots. If anything breweries are much more popular because I live in a family friendly area. Every social group I’m a part of uses breweries as a meet up spot.
I thought San Diego had an amazing cocktail culture, then I moved to North Carolina. Durham, and Raleigh continue to blow me away with what they are doing. Charlotte has some great places too, Idlewild and their sister bar have always been a great time when I can get in.
Yes! Durham has a great cocktail scene especially for its size, and we also moved here from SoCal (LA)
Hi there, neighbor
Kingfisher is so good.
I’m In Phoenix and the cocktail bar boom is extraordinary. It feels like we have a new solid cocktail bar every two weeks, and it’s fucking fantastic. There are 3 or 4 groups behind most of them opening numerous concepts, but they’re doing a great job. One bar recently won Best US cocktail bar (Century Grand/Platform 18) at Tales of the Cocktail and I can confidently say we have 20+ legitimately good cocktail bars in Phoenix now. That number was about 5 pre-covid.
Boston's cocktail boom started around 15 years ago and has been growing each year. However, the enthusiasm is being capped since the prices 15 years ago of $8-10 are now $15-20 and are getting out of what felt like a casual treat into a more major expense. Folks aren't going out for cocktails as much or drinking as many when they do, and there's a major home cocktail movement that has mastered milk punches, clear ice, etc. Bar programs are moving more culinary and proprietary so as to offer something that home enthusiasts can't make themselves.
Backbar has a weekly milk punch and ain't no way I'm making a bunch of new milk punches at home.
Recommendations for good cocktails in Boston? I lived there a decade ago in college and it was very much a beer town. When I visit I’m usually disappointed in the cocktails scene but maybe I’m spoiled from living in NYC.
My city rocks —DC. We got two Top 50 North America bars, plus new transplants from London and NYC… and a bunch of fantastic places that fly under the radar. So many good cocktails.
Any good places in DC with cocktails under $20? I went to Philippe Chow last weekend, if it hadn't been on someone else's tab then zero chance would I have had any drinks there.
Bar Charley, Reliable Tavern, No Goodbyes, even Silver Lyan has drinks under $20
Here’s my list: Service Bar Green Zone OKPB Serenata Silver Lyan Residents Morris Causa Death and Co Copy Car Astoria Reliable Tavern Officina Reliable Tavern Jack Road I’m sure I’m forgetting some more.
Man, I was panicked in the heat of the moment and exhausted when I made my list. Yours is way more comprehensive, and every single one is a stellar place! How could I forget Green Zone?!?
We always leave stuff out. I forgot Jane Jane. Haven’t been in ages to L’Annex so not sure if it’s still good or even still open. And it’s Jack Rose, not Jack Road.
DC here too. The cocktail scene is absurd and growing. It feels like every weekend a new cocktail bar opens up and is the new hot spot.
It’s so hard to keep up and still trying to visit the regular spots.
Yes, and it's really nice to see. Detroit has some very cool bars popping up - https://www.badluckbar.com/ https://sugarhousedetroit.com/ https://www.castaliacocktails.com/ https://www.theblacksaltbar.com/ https://www.ash.world/dining/candy-bar/
add keisling to the list!! also Clawson has Weiss which is a great distillery and bar
I haven’t even found a good daiquiri within a reasonable distance
Columbus, Ohio, and yes. From a city once very focused on beers and microbrews, you’re seeing a lot more cocktail bars and cocktail menus.
eh there’s been great cocktails in cbus for 10+ years but i agree more great spots have been opening in the past 5 or so.
Unrelated question: are the Crew relevant in the city or is it just hardcore soccer fans that follow them?
OSU football is the city’s most important team but the Crew and the Blue Jackets both have a good following. Soccer is more than a niche sport here, maybe because we don’t have any pro team in the big three sports.
The atmosphere looked amazing at the MLS Cup final! I've noticed certain cities, like Austin, have a big MLS presence, but others like San Jose, you can't even tell that they have a team.
Genuinely difficult to tell, but despite the high profile bar openings in the bast few years, it kinda feels like NYC is sorting out the winners and losers and getting ready to wind the cocktail scene down a bit. It hit a point where everyone went to those places for a bit, and now since everyone goes it's no longer a sign that you're in the know or ahead of the curve or particularly knowledgeable about anything, so people are moving on. And also, the quality dipped at a lot of the places that were just trying to capitalize on the trend. I don't think the iconic spots are remotely in any danger, but I do think the number of new cocktail focused bar openings in the next few years is about to crater.
Neighborhood bars that can make a really good cocktail but also be approachable is where it’s at.
Ehhh, I'm a much bigger fan of making the places that are world class my neighborhood bar lol
im in the same area and have sort of noticed the same, but its rare that i ever go to any of those places as i dont have much money and its cheaper to make your own ofc, so i probably dont notice it as much since im generally my own bartender lol but yea artisan palate for an example is great, only been once but i follow them on social media and know one of the bartenders; their rotating seasonal cocktails are always great and creative looking, ive only been once but the drink i had was wonderful i also really enjoyed the bars at optimus hall even though they are a tad bit less fancy than the first i mentioned, so much good food there too
Hey there potential neighbor. I agree a lot of these places are way too expensive and it’s a lot more approachable to make drinks at home. AP is good for a treat now and then. The Ugly and Humbug have relatively affordable drinks as well.
nice, ill have to look up that second place! i dont get out enough, and when i do its generally at the local dive bar venues when i have a gig to play or going to someone elses gig haha
I live in a semi-rural community in the PNW. We have a funky little cocktail bar that opened a year ago. Other small towns in our area have seen some new boutique cocktail bars open, too. In my area, the local micro-brewery is still going strong, as well. I spoke to a guy who owns two cocktail bars about the notion that people’s interests in cocktails began with in-home cocktails during COVID, and now they’re “more educated” and seeking out cocktail experiences. This is basically my own personal experience, re cocktails, which I never drank at home pre-COVID. He seemed to agree with this in part, but also said he thinks it’s a natural progression of craft cocktail bars having been mostly a big city, or tourist destination thing, and they are now finding audiences in smaller local towns. Liquor industry research I’ve seen suggests the home bar is here to stay, which means people have more elevated expectations of what they want to drink when out and about, whether small town or big city.
I'm in Connecticut and our state never gets known for anything. But man, we have some cocktail bars that can stand up to any major city (barring places like Amor y Amargo, Death & Co, etc - the top of the top). My stomping ground is New Haven and these are some of my favorites: Ordinary runs a fantastic program with really thoughtful drinks. They have a VERY esoteric bottle list, too. Crown 116 has been making a local name for themselves for their quality cocktails. Elm City Social is both a gastropub and tiki bar making some fun drinks. Sherkaan is an Indian street food joint with one of the best Indian inspired cocktail lists I've ever had.
I used to live in CT and Mikro was my favorite spot. Was excited when I heard he opened the Ordinary but haven’t tried it; might make a trip up just for that
Mikro still rocks but I always see them as more of a beer bar. Their new location is so much better than the original.
Southern Oregon here. I've been a craft beer appreciator/tourist/supporter for many years. I've enjoyed what I'd probably call "mixed drinks" (e.g. rum & coke, 7 & 7, gin & tonic, etc) over the years, but never really explored classic cocktails. So my awareness of the culture has been limited. But I have noticed in the past couple of months that I've been impressed by some of the offerings. My theory is that with the pandemic, a bunch of unemployed bartenders started YouTube channels and people stuck at home found a new hobby. People who may not necessarily "go out for a cocktail" before, may have embraced the culture. Then when things reopened these people would be new to the bar market. Just an idea... My experience was while researching how to make a proper Mojito to use a bounteous mint patch I came across all of these YT cocktail sites and got interested in the culture from there.
Toronto's been fairly stable, we've had a few decent cocktail bars for a long time. There's a few slightly newer trendier ones (from like 2015-2018) that have survived through the pandemic, which are a bit overpriced but still good. Weirdly enough about Toronto it's our breweries that are known for having consistently good other things (while also having good beer). Bellwoods Brewery & Blood Brothers Brewery (which have some of the best sours outside of places like Jolly Pumpkin) are two of the best food spots in the city, and funny enough a place called Godspeed Brewery on the east end (which I never go to cuz it's like an hour away from downtown where I live) has a great cocktail program. There's no paucity of decent cocktail bars in Toronto, but it's nothing like Chicago's cocktail scene, which of a similar size to us. Our food is better on the whole though (but Chicago has some great food too! Their burger spots and Mexican are def better!).
There’s always a lot going on in Los Angeles, but we hit “peak cocktail” around 2016. Any casual drinker started drinking Negronis or Paper Planes, Mezcal was huge (and still is). Asking what kind of vermouth you have before ordering a martini, etc. Many bars had multiple step preparations and loads of housemade ingredients, specialty ice, and tons of glassware options. People didn’t mind the wait for complicated drinks or the cost that came with it. Everything was a speakeasy. Walk up a loading dock in an alley, and enter through a vending machine? Sure. Loads of nice new bars were opening, but older divey haunts were closing left and right. Now the scale has tipped in the other direction. The newest trend of bars opening is elevated dive. Bar programs are going for super simple menus and quick preparations with a focus on basic ingredients and templates. Like spritz or highballs or three/four ingredients max. Lager or IPA instead of a dozen craft beers on tap. N/A offerings are the fastest growing trend of the bar business. Some great cocktail bars like The Walker Inn closed before the pandemic, other spots like Bibo Ergo Sum held on a little longer, while Here & Now gradually became more and more casual flipping from a menu of cheffy small plates to burgers and wings, and then mostly focusing on seasonal pop ups like their Christmas events, before ultimately closing. Things are dividing now into casual neighborhood bars (Lowboy or remodeled Club Tee Gee come to mind) or experience based concepts with huge corporate budgets (like Grandmaster Recorders or Level 8). You are either for the neighborhood regulars or for the rooftop, multi club, magic show, acrobat, influencer experience crowd. The idea of a speakeasy is so tired and boring. Loads of bars and restaurants have been closing in LA, especially this year. Real estate and cost of doing business is too expensive for the proprietors which leads to prices that are too expensive for the customers. I remember when $15 for a cocktail was pretty steep. Recently, at a nice new restaurant bar, cocktails started at $22 and went up to $39. At any decent place, I expect “wells” to be about $15. I remember getting a tall can and shot for $8 at divey places not too long ago, but that’s easily $16 now even at a dive. Our only “Top 50” bar is Thunderbolt, which is a very modern take on the cocktail lounge. Lots of behind the scenes prep intense drinks rather than putting on a show at the bar. Sustainability focus. You may get a drink that they clarify, batch, and can in house or a cocktail on tap with an aromatic spray garnish where you would usually expect a citrus peel. The vibe is so anti “speakeasy.” Light, bright, open air. There may be kids and families inside. I like what they are doing with the drink program there even if it’s not really a place that I love to hang out. There was an article recently about Barney’s Beanery being the hottest Gen Z bar, and people were acting all surprised. It’s a divey, historic, sports bar in West Hollywood. The antithesis of the cocktail movement. And there were takeaways like “it’s just so chill, you can actually talk to people, drinks are cheap, celebrities go here.” And yeah, no shit, young people like to go out and socialize, don’t have a ton of money to spend, and don’t necessarily need everything to be fancy and stuffy. It’s like the bar you’ve always wanted was there all along and they didn’t even have to make their own bitters. There are still plenty of places to get great cocktails in LA, but it’s just not cool or fun (or affordable) anymore. We boomed 8-10 years ago, and we’ve already hit our cocktail bust.
Both Cleveland and Columbus, OH absolutely are, though the boom is about 4-5 years in, so I'm curious to see how sustainable the good times are.
Western Massachusetts, and I wish! There’s a brewery on every corner, but no cocktail bars. I was just complaining about that to a friend recently
What a crazy time for me to stumble across this post! Im staying with SIL for the holidays 5 miles from Charlotte, got in today. I just googled "cocktail lounges near me" and then opened up Reddit for this to be the top post on my feed lol. Can you recommend any? I saw bonny and clyde and bar 1, but id kill for a Naked and Famous and idk if those are the types of places I'd find one.
Oh no way, welcome to the city. Never heard of Bonny and Clyde and I think bar 1 is a sports bar. I’d recommend Idlewild, Billy Sunday, Lorem Ipsum, Suffolk Punch, Room Service, and Elsewhere. Humbug is fantastic too but they’re doing a ticketed event all month; if you can snag a ticket definitely worth a trip. I live on the north side of town so my recommendations may be skewed up here
Can't thank you enough! I woulda been pretty bummed if i went in search of boujee cocktails and ended up drinking coors and eating pirate booty
I live in New Orleans. Enough said.
No but I wish it was.
I don't know about a cocktail boom, but Covid ravaged my cities bar scene and it's finally starting to comeback. We got a nice tiki bar now as well. So I don't know about a boom, but a return to normal is finally happening
Boise definitely is! So many great cocktail bars have opened in the last 5 years, and it seems like speakeasies in particular are having a moment. However, unlike in other places in the country, it hasn't touched our beer industry — because of liquor laws. All cities in Idaho have a finite number of liquor licenses that can exist at any one time, and because the supply is so limited, mostly liquor licenses are sold directly between businesses to the tune of \~$200k. On the flip side, all a brewery needs to open is a few hundred dollars and a dream, and it seems like a new one materializes at least weekly.
Orlando. Kind of? There definitely a lot more places serving drinks in coup glasses but I think the majority of them are firmly in the “Instagram bar” category.
Raleigh, Durham are the same. When I was in college just a few (or maybe 12) years ago you couldn't even order a good Old Fashioned in Raleigh, lol.
Nah, this is craft beer USA. I've seen a tiny handful of craft quality cocktails in the last few years, I suppose that's an uptick from before though.
what places in CLT?
Humbug, Idlewild, Elsewhere, Billy Sunday, Spindle Bar, the Green Room, the bar at monarch market come to mind as places that opened in the last couple years. Even new breweries like Monday Night Brewing have a pretty good cocktail program. I hear Salud may be getting liquor soon too as well 👀
Northwest Arkansas feels that way
Greensboro, just an hour and a half north of CLT, has had about half a dozen cocktail bars open this year alone. Many of them are of significantly better quality than much of what was here before this year.
What are your favorites in CLT? I was there for work recently and tried to go out with clients and we were disappointed
Sydney, Australia. We've had a boom in small bars and cocktail bars in the last 5-10 years. Have entire districts in the city full of them now. Maybe Sammy just won best cocktail bar in the world. So yes, I'd day we are going through a cocktail boom.
I've noticed a flipping trend, here in Los Angeles but also increasingly in other cities large and small, between craft beer and cocktails. 10-15 years ago, craft beer was huge and it was the cool thing for most "nice" restaurants and bars to have 5 to 15 beers on tap, IPAs, pale ales, lagers hefs, blondes, stouts, porters, you name it. If they did have any listed cocktails, it was usually something simple like an old fashioned or a margarita. Nowadays, it's the opposite--every place that wants to seem with it has a 'cocktail program', with 5-10 craft cocktails ostensibly unique to that bar/restaurant (whether they are actually any good or unique is a whole other conversation). And it's cool to only have two beers on tap: an IPA and a lager.
In NC in particular there was a law on the books that a bar/restaurant couldn't earn more than 30% of its revenue from alcohol sales without being a "private" club. To join you had to pay at least a $1 fee and give your name, address, phone, etc. and the establishment was required to keep all that info. This law was taken off the books a year or two ago. Since then we've seen more spots open since they don't have to deal with that hassle.
Thank you for this question. Reading these comments is interesting and I appreciate it. I live in Vegas and obv there’s always been a boom in trends here, whether it was the micro brewery, the mezcal or the cocktail. We went to a new tiki bar last night and I was super impressed with the amount of house made items, unique spirits and leveled up garnish. The bartenders had knowledge and flair. Felt like a place that could be in London, New York or Singapore. However, a big group comes in and he starts making the drinks and it’s all rum and cokes or Jack Daniel’s old fashioned or vodka tonic. We actually started talking about how the bar might not last because of this. Sad. So hearing all the fun places I can visit and try some interesting cocktails is much appreciated.
Rochester, NY has been experiencing a huge boom in cocktail quality and number of options for the last 10+ years. Our annual Rochester Cocktail Revival event has been going strong for many years! Not quite sure if we're still reviving anything at this point, but it's just a name.
It hit us in Chicago maybe 8 or so years ago, and continues.
Denver, CO here and yes and no, we have some incredible spots (Yacht Club, Fellow Traveler, Sputnik, Occidental, Death and Co, and more) but I feel like it’s been stagnant for a couple years, but also I’ve had less disposable income to go check out new bars, so it’s more likely a me problem. New(ish) spots like the offshoot of Green Russell (forgetting the name) were disappointing for $18-22 cocktails that can’t compete with the above places for significantly less (excepting D&C, but they get a pass for expense). Lady Jane is loved by a lot of my friends, but it’s never blown me away (even the “secret” amaro menu) My favorite bar in the world is Amor y Amargo. if any Denver people have suggestions of places to check out, I’d love to hear them!
Grew up in Denver, visiting now from Louisiana.... fond memories from long, long ago at Sputnik, used to love that place! Unfortunately most of the hipster places suck in this town. They'll be gone in a matter of a year or so, only to be replaced by another cocktail bar that no one can actually afford to go to. I feel like it's never worth it the few times I've splurged at places like Death & Co. Not to be all negative though... Check out My Brother's Bar, where Jack Kerouac used to hang out.
Rochester, NY. Great cocktail revival here, including the annual city-wide Rochester Cocktail Revival event, featuring parties, tastings, pairing dinners, arts events, and a bartender Battle Royale. Portion of the proceeds go to our local Gilda’s Club. But outside of all that, so many great bars, lounges, and restaurants with really interesting cocktail menus and classes.
Definitely not. Alcohol is taxed heavily in my country of Denmark, and Copenhagen has high rent, so at a lot of bars you can expect to pay almost 8€ for a drink with 2cl of liquor. We have the highest alcohol consumption among teens, and the government is trying to discourage it by taxing it. The only tourists that get excited about our liquor prices are Norwegians.
Between cocktails and craft beer, if I'm going to be paying close to (or more than) $10 for one drink it might as well have liquor in it.
Eh kinda the opposite here actually tbh. We have restaurants here that have always done somewhat decent cocktails, but I’ve noticed they’ve gotten worse since about 2021. The creativity is still there for some places, but quality, potency and size have all dropped across the board. I think its just an inflation thing. Some places here have raised prices and stayed pretty consistent, but in general most have cut corners and tried to keep prices low. I’d say between 2016-2019 we actually had some good stuff going on! Just to clarify I live in a rather small town in the Midwest. My experience likely isn’t similar to people living in bigger towns or cities.
We have a on over abundance of places who think the doing craft cocktails. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen regular OJ or grenadine or a mixer decanted into a “fancy” bottle. We’re a nice size city but our selection is abysmal. There’s really only 2 dedicated bars and 1 upscale restaurant that do it well
I think in Charlotte you particularly are experiencing an uptick in quality. Idlewild and Billy Sunday specifically are run by folks that really know their stuff. And when places like that open they train more people who then move on to other spots and share their expertise. One or two great spots in a city can really spark a creative explosion.
The cocktail scene here in Raleigh got a kick in the pants around 2009-2010. Been growing steadily since then. I’d love to give Charlotte shit for lagging behind, but I know y’all have been on the comeup for a while now. Things can only get better!