Autumn is for drinking a mite more seriously. Not in a snobby way, rather by sipping your well-crafted drink rather than tanking endless low-alcohol beers or cheery rosés. These bars all serve admirable cocktails — without taking themselves or the drinks too seriously.
Allegory, Washington, D.C.
Whimsy and political materiality crash into each other at Allegory, where a mural of Alice in Wonderland stars the inadvertent child civil rights icon Ruby Bridges. The bar, with its lively cocktails, is “very much about storytelling, and our drinks reflect that,” said beverage director Princess “PJ” Johnson to Punch magazine.
Holywater, New Orleans
Any time a new bar opens in New Orleans’ French Quarter serving cocktails that are made well and might get you righteously tipsy, an angel gets its wings. Holywater is a bar, yes. But it’s also an oyster house and, thanks to the return of beloved chef Alex Harrell to town, a destination for great eats.
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Lonely’s Bar, Minneapolis
How refreshing to see a bar debut that “doesn't exist to serve the algorithm but rather to be a true respite for bargoers looking to meet friends face-to-face,” said Callisto Martinez at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Lonely’s Bar serves solid drinks at admirable prices in an 1890 building.
Mothership, San Diego
Tiki remains a forever fraught concept. Is it still appropriation if a bar like Mothership harnesses the “same tropical escapism but in a different, non-earthly way”? said Kory Stetina, the co-owner of this space-inspired bar, to Imbibe. Drink up, and discuss.
