14 great cocktail bars in Milwaukee to visit for a fancy drink
Milwaukee may be the Brew City, but there's no shortage of places to grab a good cocktail.
Just about any bar will serve an old fashioned, a Manhattan or a martini, but at some spots customers can get elevated and fancy selections.
But what makes a drink fancy?
"I would say thoughtful creations," said Brandon Reyes, general manager at Bittercube, which makes flavorful bitters and has a bar at North Avenue Market. "It's not only thinking about the finished product, but the individual ingredients that go into it."
Here are 13 cocktail lounges where you can get fancy drinks in Milwaukee.
At Random
2501 S. Delaware Ave., (414) 481-8030
This Bay View cocktail lounge has a full binder of drinks with various options for cocktail lovers. At Random also serves ice cream drinks like grasshoppers, brandy Alexanders and pink Cadillacs.
With its mid-century lounge décor, the bar feels like you're going back in time. It's dimly lit with red lights and features unique touches like vintage vinyl booths and animal-print-like carpeting.
The outdoor patio has its own bar and is a popular spot to enjoy ice cream drinks in the summer and hot drinks in the winter while sitting inside a heated dome or around a fire.
Food: No
Patio: Yes
Reservations: Available for outdoor domes only
Blu at the Pfister Hotel
424 E. Wisconsin Ave., (414) 298-3196
For one of the best views of the city, check out the Blu lounge, on the 23rd floor of the Pfister Hotel.
Not only does the bar feature views of the city below, but the wrap-around windows offer views from the bathrooms as well.
The bar features martinis, Manhattans and other specialty cocktails like Bourbon Bake Apple, made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, cinnamon syrup, apple cider, fresh lemon and ginger beer ($16.50); and Flower Power, with Beefeater gin, St. Germain Elderflower, Aperol, fresh lemon and simple syrup ($16.50).
Food: Snacks
Patio: No
Reservations: Window-side tables are available to reserve for an extra fee on weekends; the fee includes a bottle of champagne
Boone & Crockett
818 S. Water St., (414) 212-8115
This cocktail lounge in the Harbor District near Walker's Point feels like an old American frontier cabin, with dark wooden walls, taxidermy and antique chandeliers.
The bar has three cocktails on tap for fast service and 11 cocktails on its year-round menu, which is traditional yet creative, according to co-owner Emily Dell Revord.
Boone & Crockett's most popular cocktail is its old fashioned, which is made with bourbon or brandy, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and sweet, sour or club soda ($9).
The huge bar takes up a good portion of the indoor seating space, but tables, booths and couch seating are available as well.
Boone & Crockett also has a large outdoor space along the Kinnickinnic River, with two outdoor bars, one that is covered and heated. The open outdoor space gives access to local food trucks that park at the bar. There are also boat docks, making it a popular stop for paddle taverns and river cruises.
Food: Food trucks including Taco Moto, which is permanently parked on the patio
Patio: Yes
Reservations: No
Bryant's Cocktail Lounge
1579 S. Ninth St., (414) 383-2620
Bryant and Edna Sharp opened this historic bar in 1936 as a tied house for Miller Brewing and transformed it into a cocktail lounge in 1938. It's believed to be one of the first cocktail lounges in Wisconsin and the place where the pink squirrel was created, according to Bryant's website.
Today, Bryant's still has an old-timey cocktail lounge look with dim lights, dark carpeting and leather chairs. It's popular for ice cream drinks like grasshoppers, brandy Alexanders and more.
While those classics are available, there are no menus at Bryant's. Instead, bartenders talk with customers about what they like and create unique drinks for each patron.
Food: No
Patio: No
Reservations: No
More:9 unique bars to try in Milwaukee, from a German beer hall to Northwoods-themed bars
Central Standard Craft Distillery
320 E. Clybourn St., (414) 455-8870
In 2021, this Milwaukee distillery took over the Wisconsin Leather Building, built in 1874, and made it a destination for cocktail lovers.
The first floor has a cocktail lounge at the front, while the fifth-floor rooftop offers outdoor seating.
Central Standard uses its own liquor to make classics like old fashioneds and Manhattans with its Red Cabin Bourbon, and it also offers a seasonal cocktail menu.
Other drink options include a Smoked Rosemary Old Fashioned, made with North Brandy, orange bitters, smoked rosemary simple syrup, orange and sour soda, infused with rosemary smoke ($12); and a Midwest Margarita, made with North Brandy, triple sec, lime, simple syrup and Sprite ($11). Spirit flights are also available ($18).
Food: Yes
Patio: Rooftop
Reservations: For the restaurant and event spaces
Finks
1875 N. Humboldt Ave., (414) 226-5882
This east side corner bar calls itself "everyman's cocktail bar." It's filled with board games and video games for customers to enjoy while they sip on cocktails.
The bar offers about a dozen cocktails, including the Dirty Sprite, made with house-infused lemon vodka, lime, simple syrup, St. George raspberry liqueur and Sprite ($8); and the Uncle Buck, with Buck bourbon, maple syrup, lemon, Amaro and Bittercube Cherrybark Vanilla Bitters ($9).
It also has a large selection of 90 bottled beers.
A partially covered patio is fenced in and offers a quiet retreat on a busy east side intersection.
Food: No
Patio: Yes
Reservations: No
Foundation
2718 N. Bremen St., (414) 374-2587
This renowned tiki bar tucked into the Riverwest neighborhood is known for its expansive rum selection and extensive tropical cocktail menu.
Its décor also follows the theme with lit-up pufferfish, totem poles, surfboards and more Polynesian-inspired items.
If in a group, customers can order something like the Volcano Bowl, made with aged rum, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, pineapple, pomegranate and lemon, and served in a tropical, flaming bowl ($25).
Food: No
Patio: No
Reservations: No
Lost Whale
2151 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., (414) 249-3188
This Bay View cocktail lounge has rotating seasonal drinks, along with mainstays like the Oops, Not Berry's, a bourbon-whiskey drink served in a Jolly Good soda can and garnished with a gummy whale ($12), which was featured in Forbes magazine.
The lounge has modern décor throughout, with seats at the bar and couch seating for groups of four or more. There are also a variety of board games for customers to enjoy.
Since 2020, Lost Whale has been operating Pufferfish Tiki Bar, first on the back patio of Lost Whale then as a popup on the rooftop patio of Hotel Metro, 411 E. Mason St., where it will become a permanent fixture in 2023.
Food: Ramen bowls
Patio: Yes
Reservations: No
Mosler's Vault by Bittercube
5900 W. North Ave., (414) 293-1231
This bar hidden in the basement of North Avenue Market has just 11 seats for patrons. It occupies the space of the former vault that was in the basement of the bank-turned-food-hall.
Its cocktails are centered around Bittercube bitters and syrups that the Milwaukee spirits company makes.
Customers can enjoy an hour-and-a-half tasting experience and try four half cocktails ($32), or two hours with six half cocktails ($48). Order the Flamed Gin Sour ($15) for a "showy drink," recommends General Manager Brandon Reyes.
Food: North Avenue Market food vendors
Patio: None
Reservations: Recommended
Movida at Hotel Madrid
600 S. Sixth St., (414) 488-9146
This Walker's Point spot has a cocktail menu with 13 drinks, and it also specializes in wines and sangrias ($10), which customers can get a flight of for $20.
Movida has popular cocktails like old fashioneds and espresso martinis. One of its most popular drinks is the Drunken Apple Paloma, with Herradura blanco tequila, apple cider soda, demerara syrup, Jamaican bitters and lemon ($14).
Its large outdoor patio is split into the patio and plaza spaces, designed in a southern Spain market style with rugs and cloths hung to separate and enclose tables in semi-private spaces. It is also heated during the winter.
Food: Tapas
Patio: Yes, covered and heated during the winter
Reservations: Available for bar seating or patio spaces at hotelmadridmke.com
The Outsider
310 E. Chicago St., (414) 291-3980
This rooftop bar on the ninth floor of the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel in the Third Ward offers views of the surrounding neighborhood, Walker's Point and downtown.
The 5,000-square-foot patio is partially covered and heated with fire pits and space heaters during the winter, making it comfortable year round.
The cocktail menu has classics and five to six menu changes a year. Its popular cocktails include an espresso martini and any version of a margarita, according to John Cassanos, director of food and beverage.
A popular drink on the winter cocktail menu is the B.M.W. made with bourbon, blueberry maple shrub, a vanilla glass rinse and a dusting of nutmeg ($14).
Food: Small plates and tapas
Patio: Yes
Reservations: Available for groups of 9 or more
Station No. 6
6800 W. Becher St., West Allis, (414) 543-4230
This West Allis cocktail joint has quality drinks in a low-key atmosphere, plus a large patio.
The patio is enclosed and heated for customers to enjoy during the winter. The inside is small, but the quality drinks make the spot worth it.
The bar's "staple" cocktail menu features cheaper drinks like its $6 Wisco Old Fashioned, made sweet or sour with brandy or whiskey. Its elevated selection, called the "fancy stuff," includes the Allis Old Fashioned, made with Old Forester Bourbon, Luxardo Sangue, maple bourbon and secret spices ($11).
Food: Snacks, carry-ins welcome (and recommended from West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe next door)
Patio: Yes
Reservations: No
Tied House Milwaukee
124 N. Water St.
This Third Ward cocktail lounge creates a garden-like atmosphere inside and out. During the summer, the patio is an ideal spot to grab a drink, but it also has heaters for winter.
The bar has a greenhouse cocktail lounge next to the patio, and a bar inside for more seating options.
The rotating drink menu of 13 cocktails includes warm drinks during the winter, and light and citrusy options during summer, like That One Time in Mexico, made with cucumber, lime and tequila.
Food: No
Patio: Yes
Reservations: No
The Tin Widow
703 S. Second St., (414) 412-6131
This cozy Walker's Point cocktail lounge features vintage décor throughout. Most of the space is occupied by a long bar, with some cocktail tables and a small lounge with a couch in the back.
Tin Widow features an extensive selection of gin (200 bottles) and whiskey (250 bottles), used to create a majority of its craft cocktails.
Tin Widow's owner, Sam Berman, said some of their most popular drinks include the Widow Old Fashioned, made with a red wine and cola reduction, bitters, Old Forester Bourbon, and served sour ($9). Another popular drink is the JLP, made with gin, simple syrup, basil, Earl Grey tea, bitters and lime ($9).
Food: No
Patio: Sidewalk seating in the summer
Reservations: No
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee cocktail bars in Bay View Walker's Point, Third Ward, more
