204 North: The Banker ($12)
Made with bourbon, Reagan’s No. 6 and angostura bitters, demerara sugar and topped with a brandied cherry. See the full selection here. (Note: Each of 204 North’s signature cocktails will run you $12.)
204 North is located at 204 North Tryon Street, and is open Sunday (10 a.m.-12 a.m.), Monday through Wednesday (11 a.m.-12 a.m.) and Friday and Saturday (11 a.m.-2 a.m.). Connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Broken Spoke: Drum Circle Mai Tai ($12)
A combination of Great Wagon Road’s Drumlish Poitín whiskey, Goslings Black Seal rum, Cointreau, Orgeat, lime and Pama.
The Broken Spoke is located at 227 Southside Drive, and is open Sunday and Monday (3-10 p.m.), Tuesday through Thursday (3-11 p.m.) and Friday and Saturday (12 p.m.-12 a.m.). See the full seasonal cocktail menu here, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.
The Imperial: Imperial Old Fashioned ($12)
The cocktail bar’s take on the staple includes Bulliet Rye Whisky, angostura bitters, agave simple syrup, orange oil extract, an ice sphere with an orange peel and is hickory smoked. (Note: Every cocktail on The Imperial’s menu is $12.)
Summit Room: The Seven Summits ($12 each)
Drink your way through the highest summits in the world with this collection of specialty cocktails, which includes the Mount Everest (Firefly, Ketel One Oranje, lemon, cranberry and muddled mint), Denali (Midnight Moon 100 proof, Midnight Moon Apple Pie, honey lemon syrup and apple cider) and Mount Vinson (Tito’s, vanilla bean syrup, Barritt’s Ginger Beer and a cinnamon sugar orange wheel).
Note: Beyond The Seven Summits, each specialty cocktail is $12.
Summit Room is located at 1531 East Boulevard, and is open Monday through Thursday (5-10 p.m.) and Friday and Saturday (5-11 p.m.). See the full cocktail menu here, and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Essex: Besito ($13)
Made with reposado tequila, orange liqueur, apricot nectar, fresh lemon juice, agave and prosecco – and available on tap.
Note: A number of Essex’s cocktails, including the Harvest Moon and Queen Scarlett, cost $13.
Essex is located at 101 South Tryon Street, and is open Monday through Thursday (11 a.m.-11 p.m.), Friday (11-12 a.m.), Saturday (10:30-12 a.m.) and Sunday (10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.). See the full cocktail list here, and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Soul Gastrolounge: French Intervention ($14)
This French-inspired, shaken cocktail is one of two $14 cocktails on the menu, and made with Casamigos Reposado tequila, Hennesy V.S. cognac, Grand Marnier, Orange Oleo, lemon and spiced sugar crust.
Soul Gastrolounge is located at 1500-B Central Avenue, and is open daily (5 p.m.-2 a.m.). See the full cocktail menu here, and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Dogwood Southern Table: Barkeep’s Call ($15)
You could order a Legends of the Fall (Ceylon cinnamon bark smoked glass, rye whiskey, spiced simple syrup, house bitters and orange zest) or Cognac-erac (cognac, vanilla cordial, bitters and absinthe rinse) for the same price, but why not leave it up to the bartender? Choose your liquor base and drink style, they’ll handle the rest.
The Barkeep’s Special is delivered with a card describing the custom drink via Instagram
Dogwood Southern Table & Bar is located at 4905 Ashley Park Lane, and is open for lunch (Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.) and dinner (Sunday through Wednesday, 5-9 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m.-til). See the full cocktail menu here, and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Fahrenheit: Alexis Aviation ($15)
To be fair, all of Fahrenheit’s specialty cocktails are $15 so there’s no particularly expensive one, but the bright purple Alexis Aviation — made with Hendrix Gin, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Roth and Winter Crème de Violette — might just be the prettiest.
Fahrenheit is located at 222 S. Caldwell Street. It’s open Monday – Thursday 4-11 p.m., Friday – Saturday 4 p.m. – 2 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 4-11 p.m.
City Lights Rooftop: Summer Blossom ($15)
You might think the highly Instagrammable $14 popsicle cocktails would take the cake here, but it’s actually the Summer Blossom, a mix of watermelon, cucumber, lemon, Tanqueray and St. Germaine. They’re rolling out a new spring menu so something else may take the throne this year.
City Lights is located on Le Meridien’s rooftop and is open Monday through Thursday (4 p.m.-12 a.m.) and Friday and Saturday (4 p.m.-2 a.m.). Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Merchant and Trade: Cyclone ($16)
Nothing says Charlotte like sipping a $16 cocktail on a rooftop bar. This one’s made with Sutler’s gin, Plantation 5 Year rum, ginger syrup and Bittermens tiki bitters.
Merchant and Trade is located on the rooftop of the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel (303 South Church Street), and is open Monday through Thursday (4:30 p.m.-12 a.m.) and Friday and Saturday (4:30 p.m.-1 a.m.). See the full cocktail list here, and connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Sophia’s Lounge: Shakespeare ($16)
Made with Absolut, egg white, citrus, rosewater and orange blossom water, it’s one of 3 cocktails on the menu that cost $16 – see the other two, as well as the rest of the cocktail menu, here.
Sophia’s Lounge is located in Ivey’s Hotel (127 North Tryon Street), and is open Monday through Saturday (6 p.m.-til). Connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Stoke: Canadian Vacation ($16)
Canada, eh? Made with Knob Creek Smoked Maple, ginger syrup, lime and chocolate bitters.
Stoke is located in the Marriott City Center (100 West Trade Street), and the bar menu is available every day of the week until 12 a.m. See the full list of cocktails here, and connect on Facebookand Instagram.
Zeppelin: The Edison ($16)
Though the Room to Grow cocktail is also the same price, The Edison, made with bourbon, cashew-infused sorghum, barrel-aged bitters, cold-smoked cherry bark and a spiced cherry) is the cocktail lounge’s most dramatic cocktail yet. Take a look:
The Cellar at Duckworth’s: Boulevardier ($17)
A rye-heavy version of a classic gin Negroni with Campari and a spiced cherry.
The Cellar at Duckworth’s is located at 330 North Tryon Street and is open Sunday (5-11 p.m.), Monday through Thursday (5 p.m.-12 a.m.) and Friday and Saturday (5 p.m.-2 a.m.). Connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Dot Dot Dot: The Hot Box ($18)
The members-only speakeasy offers plenty of one-of-a-kind elements, but The Hot Box, served in a literal hot, smoking box, is one to write home about. Made with Booker’s bourbon, Islay scotch, sweet vermouth, Hellfire bitters and pecan smoke, served short over ice.
Dot Dot Dot is located at 4237 Unit B Park Road in the Backlot, and is open Tuesday through Thursday (5 p.m.-12 a.m.), Friday and Saturday (5 p.m.-2 a.m.) and Sunday (5 p.m.-12 a.m.). See its full cocktail menu here and connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Fin & Fino: Adventures in Paradise ($18)
Take a vacation in the heart of Uptown with a mix of plantation rums, amaro and torched coconut flakes served in pineapple.
Fin & Fino is located at 135 Levine Avenue of the Arts. It’s Monday – Thursday (11 a.m. – 2 p.m., 4-10 p.m.), Friday (11 a.m. – 2 p.m., 4-11 p.m.) and Saturday 5-11 p.m.
Haberdish: The Honey Bee and the Buzzing Monk ($18)
A combination of Sipsmith gin, lemon and vanilla saffron honey and served with a side of szechuan flower and chartreuse tincture.
Haberdish is located at 3106 North Davidson Street, and is open Sunday (11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.), Tuesday through Friday (9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-12 a.m.) and Saturday (11:30-12 a.m.). Connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Stanley: Mezcal is the New Black ($20)
Bartender Larry Suggs created this smokey mezcal cocktail with Casamigos and pulverized black sesame seeds that create a glittering galaxy effect.
Mezcal is the New Black ($20) – Casamigos mezcal, black sesame seed, rice wine shrub and agave nectar
The Stanley is located at 1961 E. 7th Street and is open for dinner Tuesday – Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. Connect on Instagramand Facebook.
Seoul Food Meat Company: Pineapple, Watermelon or Coconut Soju ($25)
The Korean spirit is served in your choice of hollowed out pineapple, watermelon or coconut. The head-turning drink is a summer classic.
Seoul Food Meat Company is located at 1400 S. Church Street. It’s open Monday – Wednesday (11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., 4 p.m. – midnight), Thursday – Friday (11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., 4 p.m. – 2 a.m.), Saturday (11:30 a.m. – 2 a.m.) and Sunday (11:30 a.m. – midnight).
The Punch Room: The $400 Cocktail ($400)
The “luxurious” cocktail is made with 2 ounces of Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac (which is $3,500 per bottle), Byrrh and sassafrass and sorghum bitters – yes, it’s really $400, and yes, it gets ordered.
The Punch Room is located on the 15th floor of the Ritz-Carlton (201 East Trade Street), and is open Wednesday and Thursday (5-11 p.m.) and Friday and Saturday (5:30 p.m.-1 a.m.).
[Header photo shows craft cocktails at Haberdish]
VIA CHAROTTE AGENDA
