The Absolute Best Bars In The U.S.

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

There's really no way to ever create a definitive ranking of "best bars," since for every bar there is a patron and for every patron a bar. In fact, if you live in some of the more watering-hole dense areas, it may seem as if there is quite literally a bar for each and every person old enough to hoist a brew — and that's not even counting some of the truly epic basement bars in people's homes.

Nonetheless, whether you're traveling the country or exploring what your town has to offer, a truly great bar is one way to get a real feel for local culture. The following selection of our picks for the nation's best bars has a little bit of everything. From the diviest of dive bars in Baltimore to Boston's best (intentionally) hidden secret to Vegas' kitschiest tiki lounge and Oakland's neon-pink temple to complicated craft cocktails, we've tried to cover the spectrum of drinking establishments that are destinations unto themselves.

Miami's Cafe La Trova isn't quite as venerable as some of the cocktail lounges on this list, since it just opened in 2019 (via Miami Eater). Bartender Julio Cabrera, however, is one of the nation's foremost practitioners of the Cuban cantinero cocktail tradition, which dates back to the bad old days of Prohibition. Not that Cuba banned alcohol consumption — far from it! Instead, Havana became a hot-spot for well-heeled American travelers looking to imbibe something not brewed in a bathtub. According to Conde Nast Traveler, this boom wasn't embraced wholeheartedly by Cuban bartenders, who feared their cocktail culture might be obliterated by bars catering to the tourist trade. They established the Club de Cantineros de la República de Cuba (The Cuban Bartenders Club) in 1924, a society whose high standards went a long way from transforming bartending from a profession to something more akin to a fine art.

Cabrera, who is one of only about 100 cantineros in the U.S. (and one of perhaps 1,200 in the world), is dedicated to upholding the club's traditions, so much so that he's established his own bartending school. Cafe la Trova's cocktails, whether mixed by Cabrera or one of his acolytes, are not to be missed. They include traditional Cuban libations such as the daiquiri and mojito, as well as house creations, including a La Trova Old Fashioned, made with coffee-tobacco bitters and a Chivirico containing tequila, mezcal, poblano liqueur, passion fruit, agave, lime, and basil foam.

While Chicago is a thoroughly modern city, it is also steeped in history, and one name that keeps coming up, over and over, is that of Al Capone. While the crime boss may not have been a source of much civic pride while he was alive, these days it's quite the sign of prestige for any watering hole to lay claim to being among his old stomping grounds. While the Green Mill was a known haunt of Chicago's favorite gangster, its history goes back a ways before that. According to the Chicago Bar Project, it started life as a roadhouse back in 1907 and added live jazz music a few years later at a time when that music form itself was in its infancy. Today, the Green Mill is the nation's oldest jazz club still in operation.

Whether or not you're a jazz fan or a history buff, be assured the Green Mill — whose name, by the way, was inspired by that of Paris' famed Moulin Rouge — can still whip up a mean cocktail. They don't have a menu, but Secret Chicago says they're well versed in all the classics, while the Chicago Bar Project recommends a martini, Manhattan, or Amaretto stone sour. Not familiar with this last drink? Liquor.com says it's a '70s throwback made from amaretto (of course), sour mix (ditto) and orange juice.

Katana Kitten is a fairly new addition to the overcrowded NYC cocktail scene, and yet by all accounts this bar is worth seeking out. As the name implies, Katana Kitten is Japanese-themed as well as whimsical, but not in a kitschy, kawaii kind of way. As the photos on the website show, every snack that comes out of the kitchen is a mini work of art, and every drink is garnished to within an inch of its life, while the décor features lots of neon and Japanese movie posters.

As for the drinks, they're what this place is all about. Mixologist and bar owner Masahiro Urushido, author of "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail," creates drinks that combine the best of Japanese and American cocktail culture and manage to be both elegant and fun. One of his complicated creations is the panda fizz (lack of caps his) made with Haku rice vodka and the Japanese citrus soda Calpico and flavored with lemon juice, pandan, and lava salt. Another is a hot green tea tonic that manages to combine a G&T with green tea and throw in some lemongrass and bergamot for good measure. As Inside Hook tells it, Urushido fondly imagines Katana Kitten to be a dive bar, so he's also even put his own spin on the classic boilermaker. His version, called the ichi-mas, is made with Sapporo beer and Toki japanese whisky. Other versions combine sake with an IPA and hard cider with Chivas Regal.

While there's no denying that Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is likely to be crowded with tourists at any time of year (and this goes quadruple for Mardi Gras), this Bourbon Street bar is a must-visit destination. While there are a handful of pirate-themed bars around the country (via Findery), where else can you drink in a building once owned by a pirate? The notorious Jean Lafitte's name was never on the deed, but the owners were privateers said to have sailed with his fleet, and it's rumored that Lafitte once used the building as a base for his smuggling operation. Food & Wine says that some claim the Blacksmith Shop — which dates to 1722 — is the nation's oldest bar, but the website only asserts that it's the oldest structure still put to that use.

At the Blacksmith Shop, you'll come for the candlelit ambiance, but you may stay hoping for a ghostly encounter — either with Lafitte himself or possibly just some long-dead server. According to paranormal investigator Bloody Mary Mystic (via Offbeat Travel), the bar is quite the paranormal hotspot, so it's the place to be if you want boos along with your booze. Speaking of the latter, Punch says the specialty of the house is the bright purple Frozen VooDoo Daiquiri. There's also a cocktail called the Obituary, consisting of gin, vermouth, and Pernod, as well as hurricanes that come highly recommended by Trip Advisor users.

If there was ever a competition for America's Diviest Dive Bar, Baltimore's Mount Royal Tavern, aka the Dirt Church, would be a strong contender despite the fact that it's practically an extension of the Maryland Institute College of Art campus. You for sure won't see Charles Bukowski sitting on a bar stool since, as per Poetry Foundation, he a) didn't live in Charm City and b) passed away nearly 30 years ago, but you may well find yourself elbow-to-elbow with Baltimore's answer to Banksy. Plus, where else are you going to find a bar where the ceiling is painted like the Sistine Chapel?

The Washington Post, describing the Mount Royal Tavern as "the quintessential Baltimore dive bar," notes that it covers all the basics: the drinks are strong and cheap and the patrons are a mixed bag. (This last attribute may owe something to the fact the train station is just a few steps away.) Needless to say, craft cocktails are not on the menu. The drink of choice at the Mount Royal, as per Thrillist, is a Natty Boh (the official beer of Bawlmer, Hon!) and a shot of Rittenhouse Rye, a combo that costs less than $10. Oh, and as Yelp notes, the bar opens its doors at 10 a.m. every morning, and they'll be happy to serve you a liquid breakfast. In fact, that's the only kind you'll be getting there, since the Mount Royal doesn't do food.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and the vibe is corner-bar, third-Bud-Light-of-the-night friendly ... and at those times, Viridian is definitely not your place. For one thing, its neon-pink ambiance makes it seem like you're drinking inside a video game. For another, this is a bar where there is nothing — literally nothing, not the food, the drinks, or the ambiance -– that you could come anywhere close to replicating at home. The Asian-inspired food offerings are something the San Francisco Chronicle describes as "magic," but the drinks are like nothing else on earth.

Viridian has no online drinks list — instead, they invite patrons to drop by to see what's on the ever-updating menu. They have, however, published a short booklet called "Viridian: Behind the Cocktail." It's full of nearly impossible-to-follow recipes calling for ingredients you've probably never heard of (buzz button tincture? yellow beet syrup? rectified mandarin juice?) and would likely have to create in your own kitchen (or chemistry lab) should you be possessed of the insane amount of determination it would take to recreate a single one of Viridian's signature libations. The cookbook authors, Viridian general manager Alison Tsui and bar director William Tsui, admit that these drinks won't be easy to make, but they imply that attempting to do so (or, more likely, abandoning the idea in short order) will deepen your appreciation of the alchemical wonders their bartenders achieve on a daily basis.

Gallup, New Mexico may not be on everyone's travel bucket list — unless, of course, you're doing the fabled Route 66 tour. In that case, you'll have to pass right through this city, and you absolutely won't want to miss a stop at the El Rancho 49er Bar. Back in the day, Gallup played host to a number of movie crews filming westerns in the surrounding area, and the El Rancho Motel was where all the stars stayed. The motel's website provides an extensive list of these luminaries, among whom were John Wayne, Jane Fonda, Ronald Reagan (in his pre-presidential days) and Errol Flynn. This last star, as the El Rancho remembers it, once rode his horse right into the bar.

Even though the 49er Bar's glory days may be behind it (as are its days of cleaning up equine byproduct, one hopes), The Best Hits on Route 66 says it's still one of the finest bars in the land, as well as a must-see for any fan of The Mother Road and/or old movie buff. The 49er's drinks run to cold beer and margaritas made with fresh-squeezed limes, but the menu (courtesy of a Yelp reviewer) also features an array of cocktails named for famous former patrons. Among the more exotic offerings are the Gene Autry, made with gin, amaretto, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and grenadine and the Hedy Lamarr, featuring cucumber vodka, lemon juice, and agave nectar.