Year in Review: Our 13 Bars of the Year
We stopped in at countless cocktail bars, taverns, and dives in 2024. Here are the 13 places that stood out.
Welcome to the weekend! Here’s what you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:
Bars of the Year: Cheers to our bars of the year! We covered lots of classic bars, taverns, and dives this year — these 13 stood out for their thoughtful drinks, quality spirits, and great service.
December’s Featured Field Guides: This month, paid subscribers will have access to all our current Field Guides. We have guides to destinations such as New Orleans, Nashville, Boston, Ann Arbor, and much more. All are available as a complimentary download through the end of the month.
Weekend Reading:
takes a Cleveland road trip, shares her favorite international spots in Philadelphia, and chronicles the decline and fall of the in-flight magazine.
We’re taking a look back at the places we’ve covered this year on American Weekender and picked out 13 bars that stuck with us. They all serve great drinks in a range of styles — from the classic sours at Eastern Standard to the scientifically perfect highballs at Cure to casual afternoon beers at Burnhearts. A round of drinks at any of these bars means you’re going to start your night off right.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks
Why you should go: We lost a lot during the pandemic, so a place as wonderful as Eastern Standard returning gives us hope again. A longtime Boston staple for American fare and cocktails, Eastern Standard was reborn in a new location in 2023. We were thrilled to visit this spring after having been to the original location many times, and were especially thrilled since the upscale classic yet comfortable vibe made the move, as did exceptional cocktails from the team led by beverage director Jackson Cannon. The whiskey smash and bitter mai tai are among our favorites, but exploring is rewarded – for instance, Latavia Hunter’s take on a black Manhattan, with Ten to One rum, Cocchi di Torino vermouth, Averna, and housemade tart cherry syrup, is superb. If you’re hungry, snack on perfectly shucked oysters and steak tartare. After drinks here, head next door to the also-great, more-experimental Equal Measure for a nightcap.
What to get: Whiskey smash, bitter mai tai, black Manhattan
775 Beacon St, Boston, MA | @eskdboston
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI
Bar Muse
Why you should go: A tiny bar tucked within the Lyric theater, with just a few bar seats and tables, Bar Muse is a must-visit spot from two local beverage pros. Joe Stinchcomb is on cocktails, while Ross Hester handles the wine. Both programs are excellent, so consider starting with a glass of French pet-nat or a citrusy Spanish chardonnay before moving onto classics like a terrific Martinez or house concoctions like Franklin Comes Alive, a Fernet buck that goes down almost too easily. The duo are also behind Good Day Cafe, where the menu features great sandwiches and comfort food classics.
What to get: Wine, Martinez
1006 Van Buren Ave, Oxford, MS | @barmuse_oxford
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
Cure
Why you should go: Located in the Rochester Public Market, this little French restaurant serves stellar drinks. Snag a seat at the bar and order the Scotch Louie, a Vieux Carré variation made with Scotch, Bénédictine, and Punt e Mes. Other delightful concoctions include a cosmopolitan made with gin, and a gimlet with house clarified lime cordial. The carbonated cocktail program is among the most inventive we’ve seen, with fridges behind the bar storing drinks at different temperatures. All are great, but if we had to pick one, try the lambrusco sbagliato, with sparkling red wine, vermouth, cacao, Campari, lemon acid, and port.
What to get: Scotch Louie, cosmopolitan, lambrusco sbagliato
50 Rochester Public Market, Rochester, NY | @cure_bar
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
White Limozeen
Why you should go: A pink-bedecked rooftop bar with a giant sculpture of Dolly Parton, White Limozeen, located in the Graduate Hotel, has endless appeal for bachelorette parties — and in-the-know cocktail drinkers. Here, Demi Natoli has put together a menu of drinks that’s at the Venn diagram of fun (Champagne Jell-O shots) and thoughtful (Don’t Think Twice, with Rittenhouse Rye, Pimm’s, lemon, fig chai, and Angostura). Reservations are required for table seating, but there is space for walk-ins.
What to get: Champagne Jell-O shots, Don’t Think Twice
101 20th Ave N, Nashville, TN | @whitelimozeennash
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
Burnhearts
Why you should go: Milwaukee has lots of little corner taverns, many of which are located in houses and offer neighbors a comfortable spot to pop by for a beer. Burnhearts, located in Bay View, is one of the best. There’s a very good beer list but also well-made house cocktails, like a Trinidad sour that utilizes both Angostura bitters and amaro. House shots include strawberry Campari (get it combined with Fernet Branca for a Ferrari!). There’s a big sidewalk patio and plenty of space inside for everyone. Burnhearts is the neighborhood bar we all wish we had.
What to get: Local beer, Ferrari
2599 S Logan Ave, Milwaukee, WI | @burnhearts
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
Peridot
Why you should go: A lively Vietnamese-inspired spot that’s a collaboration between the teams at The Last Word and Pacific Rim, Peridot offers small plates like fish sauce wings, duck confit salad, and ketchup fried rice along with terrific cocktails. Giancarlo Aversa’s team mixes up drinks that foreground Asian ingredients, as in The Viper, with makrut lime-infused gin, Suze, manzanilla sherry, lime, and Thai basil or This Old House, the house old-fashioned with bourbon, aquavit lemongrass soju, three spice demerara, tellicherry peppercorns, and Angostura. Post up at the bar for a couple cocktails and a small plate or two before dinner.
What to get: The Viper, This Old House
118 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI | @peridot_a2
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Never Say Dive
Why you should go: A cool newcomer in Old Brooklyn, Never Say Dive melds low-brow decor (think neon signs, light-up Santas, and other ephemera) with high-brow cocktails and food. Well, sort of — the signature bite is a pickled egg served with fried Saltines and mayo. Chef John Hagerty also offers plates like caviar service, shrimp cocktail, and a fancy hot dog, so this is a good spot for dinner. There’s a tight wine list, fun cheap beers, and thoughtful cocktails. The menu changes regularly, but there are two signatures you can have each visit: the Old Brooklyn (it’s a Brooklyn cocktail) and the dirty martini, with vodka, housemade brine, and manzanilla sherry.
What to get: Old Brooklyn, pickled eggs
4497 Broadview Rd, Cleveland, OH | @neversaydive
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Chandelier Bar
Why you should go: This beautiful lobby bar at the Four Seasons Hotel sits beneath a striking chandelier and serves excellent versions of classic cocktails. It opened just a few years back, but some of their drinks have already achieved icon status in our minds. The Chandelier martini comes with a sidecar of garnishes, and the stinger includes a little cucumber to freshen things up. The Cocktail Orléans is the standout — a bittered whiskey cocktail, it takes inspiration from three local classics.
What to get: Chandelier martini, Cocktail Orléans
2 Canal St, New Orleans, LA | @fshotelneworleans
MADISON, WISCONSIN
The Settle Down Tavern
Why you should go: This fresh update on the Wisconsin tavern serves tasty takes on all the classics, from a Friday fish fry to the standout Good Idea burger, two smashed patties topped with fried onions, housemade pickles, Monterey Jack cheese, and Settle sauce on a buttered bun. The bar is open all day for local draft beers and a terrific bloody Mary (Brian Bartels, one of the owners, literally wrote the book on it). Order one with a locally made hot dog served “green and gold-style,” with house beer cheese, pickled jalapenos, and crispy onions while you hang out and watch the Packers game.
What to get: Good Idea burger, bloody Mary
117 S Pinckney St, Madison, WI | @settledowntavern
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Law Bird
Why you should go: One of Ohio’s best cocktail bars, Law Bird is a fun, vibrant spot offering creative house cocktails and happy hour daily from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Head in early for classic cocktails like a Oaxacan old fashioned, Daisy de Santiago, or improved sherry cobbler. On Wednesdays, the bar hosts a hot dog night, but you’ll find good snacks all the time, from furikake Chex mix to an elotes-inspired corn dog.
What to get: Improved sherry cobbler
740 S High St, Columbus, OH | @lawbirdbar
PORTLAND, MAINE
Room for Improvement
Why you should go: Arvid Brown and Nick Coffin’s Room for Improvement is a bar that captures how we like to drink. The cocktails on offer are classics, but with signature twists that make them feel fresh. Take the martini, which includes a blend of vermouths and apricot to add nuanced stone fruit notes. The cosmopolitan includes a Campari-cranberry cordial for some gentle bitterness. And the Manhattan mixes two ryes, two amari, and French vermouth with amaretto and bitters for a really elegant cocktail with layers of flavor. Pick your favorite, then get a red snapper hot dog — we like the kraut, which comes with local Morse’s Sauerkraut and a tangy house mustard sauce.
What to get: Martini, cosmopolitan, kraut dog
41 Wharf St, Portland, ME | @_room_for_improvement_
EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Gigantic
Why you should go: Gigantic, led by co-owner Ned King, digs deep into cocktail history for its menu of drinks. You’ll find updated Montana Clubs, pisco punches, and Cobra’s Fangs along with vintage spirits like 1950s Benedictine. The tiny bar is cozy and beautiful, and the perfect spot to grab a drink before or after dinner in town (we really like Calico nearby). Start with the Gem, a cognac-rum daiquiri, which is a great drink that works for any time of night.
What to get: The Gem
78 Cottage St, Easthampton, MA | @gigantic_bar
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Kiesling
Why you should go: At Detroit’s best cocktail spot, bar manager Allison Everitt and the friendly crew serve exceptionally well-balanced seasonal and classic cocktails. While the vibe is casual, the cocktails showcase serious effort. The Kiesling Negroni, with a house vermouth blend, is a staple, but you’ll also find offerings like the coffee-cocoa sazerac and a dirty martini series that taps ingredients like nori and seagrapes for their salty umami notes.
What to get: Kiesling Negroni
449 E Milwaukee Ave, Detroit, MI | @kieslingdetroit
What are your most memorable bars of the year? Let us know in the comments!
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OHIO
Dispatch From Cleveland: Burger expert
Murway takes a road trip to Cleveland for his new newsletter, the Nick Murway Mailer. While in town he hits up Cordelia and Never Say Dive (see above), and also stops in at The Flippin’ Cow in Indiana.PENNSYLVANIA
Eat Your Way Around the Globe In Philadelphia: Writing for Saveur,
shares some of her favorite international restaurants in The City of Brotherly Love. “Philadelphia is home to one of the country’s highest percentages of residents born abroad, primarily Latin America, East Asia, and West Africa,” Stephens writes. “And with all that immigration has come some truly phenomenal food.”UP IN THE AIR
The In-Flight Magazine Is Dead: “The march of technology, with personal in-flight entertainment and free high-speed WiFi at 35,000 feet, combined with our societal shift en masse to digital platforms, has rendered in-flight magazines obsolete,” writes
in a piece mourning their loss for The Washington Post. He’s not wrong. Delta Sky Magazine and Southwest: The Magazine were both discontinued in 2020. The last issue of American Way published in 2021. And Hemispheres’ September print edition was sadly its last. I suppose if you are flying to Canada, there’s still En Route. And they just published their annual issue featuring Canada’s Best Restaurants. But that’s for another newsletter.— Compiled by Kenney Marlatt
Want more? Chat with us on Substack, download our Field Guides, check out our archives, or follow us on Instagram @americanweekender. We’ll be back next week.
Imagining myself at Peridot ✨
So much inspiration for Spring/Summer roadtrips in here. We’ll definitely have to bring our first born, Cordelia, to Cleveland now! As always, thanks for the great and inspiring work you do.