Best of Philly

The Agave at La Jefa

At La Jefa in Rittenhouse, cocktail explorer Dan Suro pours all his obsession with the humble agave into a single cocktail named for it. The Agave cocktail is blanco tequila infused with cooked agave, served with lime, Colima salt, and an orange peel — nothing more. It is a love letter to Mexico’s iconic succulent. And even at $27, it’s totally worth it. Read More »

1605 Latimer Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-475-5500 | Website

The $8 Carrot at Messina Social Club

Crafted by former head bartender Mike Nimmo, this bev is a booze-free rendition of Messina’s $16 Carrot (which has aquavit and gin), made with carrot, lemon, juniper syrup, and black pepper, and finished with a playful dill garnish. It’s a little spicy, herby, and tart — an exciting ode to the garden’s most versatile root vegetable. Read More »

1533 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

Bánh Mì & Bottles

The eight-year-old Vietnamese restaurant recently reimagined its menu, with a slate of new cocktails to complement dishes inspired by owner Tuan Phung’s soulful family recipes. Both boozy and nonalcoholic classics get a clever twist thanks to ingredients like pandan, coconut milk and basil. Try the espresso martini with Càphê Roasters coffee and ube condensed milk, or the old fashioned with pork belly-infused whiskey and cherry and cardamom bitters. Read More »

712-14 South Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

Danny Childs

The cocktails at the Farm & Fisherman Tavern in Cherry Hill are better than they have any right to be — and it’s all because of Danny Childs. Over the past year, his Instagram account (@slowdrinks) became a wealth of cocktail expertise where you could ask him drink-related questions. Now he’s back behind the bar just off Route 70, slinging in-season strawberry Sazeracs and fig-leaf-infused daiquiris. Read More »

Website

Friday Saturday Sunday

Ready-to-drink cocktails are booming, thanks to the pandemic forcing bars and distilleries to get creative (and eager drinkers who begged for something they didn’t mix themselves). See the full write up at Ready-to-Drink Cocktails. Read More »

261 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

Bar Hygge

Ready-to-drink cocktails are booming, thanks to the pandemic forcing bars and distilleries to get creative (and eager drinkers who begged for something they didn’t mix themselves). See the full write up at Ready-to-Drink Cocktails. Read More »

1720 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

ALCO

Ready-to-drink cocktails are booming, thanks to the pandemic forcing bars and distilleries to get creative (and eager drinkers who begged for something they didn’t mix themselves). See the full write up at Ready-to-Drink Cocktails. Read More »

1431 Cadwallader Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

Boardroom Spirits

Ready-to-drink cocktails are booming, thanks to the pandemic forcing bars and distilleries to get creative (and eager drinkers who begged for something they didn’t mix themselves). See the full write up at Ready-to-Drink Cocktails. Read More »

575 West Third Street, Lansdale, PA Website

Ready-to-Drink Cocktails

Lansdale’s Boardroom Spirits founder Marat Mamedov says he noticed the rise of malt-based seltzers, knew canned cocktails would be the next big trend, and started canning a Moscow Mule. Made with the distillery’s Brazilian-ginger-root-infused vodka, the effervescent drink is not too sweet and totally refreshing — a tough balance to strike in a can.

“When you have a clean canvas to work with, which the vodka offers, you can let the other flavors shine through in a bigger manner without off-putting notes,” says Mamedov.

ALCO, one arm of Kensington-based New Liberty Distillery, canned classics like vodka soda and gin and tonic with the brand’s own spirits plus fresh ingredients — ­t­onic from ­century-old soft-drink company Natrona Bottling Company and real lemon and lime juices.

Others in Philly didn’t go so far as to can their concoctions, but they found creative ways to get them into eager drinkers’ hands this past year (well, while to-go cocktails were still legal), including Paul MacDonald at Friday Saturday Sunday and Eddie Adams, head bartender at Bar Hygge. Drawing on the ingenuity that makes them stand-out drink-makers even when we’re not in the midst of a global pandemic, both bartenders figured out how to keep the cocktails coming.

Adams made a steady stream of seasonal punch, which he offered in single-serving pouches or large-format glass bottles. Those came with a bottle of club soda plus a special mix of raw sugar, salt, lavender and coriander so you could rim your glass at home — a fancy touch in not-so-fancy times.

At FSS, MacDonald didn’t limit himself to any specific cocktail but instead bottled (or poured into a single-serving plastic cup) pretty much everything on the menu, except, he says, for the swizzles, which rely on packed-down pellet ice, and the egg-white drinks, which depend on that freshly shaken texture. “Fulfilling off-menu or bartender’s-pick requests has always been a big part of our cocktail program, so I did my best to keep that up when possible,” MacDonald says.

A grateful, slightly tipsy city salutes these libation innovations (and hopes the politicians in Harrisburg get their heads out of the cooler long enough to sign a permanent to-go-cocktail bill). Read More »

Han Dynasty

Yes, you read that right. Han Dynasty has some of the best cocktails in Philly right now thanks to Lê of Hop Sing Laundromat, who swooped in and upgraded the bar menu with a handful of new, truly inventive elixirs. You’ll have almost as much fun sipping on the green matcha and vanilla Phat Phuc as you will ordering it. Read More »

123 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-1888 | Website