A bar that was kept a secret until just before it opened last year has now been named one of America’s best bars.

Brother Wolf on 108 W. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville's Old City is part of an elite list of places to try to relieve some of the day’s stressors. Esquire magazine cited the Italian-styled bar as a great place for a cocktail, authentic snacks and good company on its list of America's 25 best bars in 2022.

“Bitters (spirits infused with herbs and spices to flavor cocktails) flow in bright-red ribbons, glow in backlight, and spill into the starlit night from Brother Wolf, an amaro-centric bar near the old train depot in Knoxville,” Esquire describes the cocktail bar.

“You’ll probably order a very good drink, like a negroni bianco or an Il Professore and maybe even bum a Parliament and smoke it outside and run into the owners, Aaron Thompson and his wife, Jessica King,” Esquire continued.

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Brother Wolf is an Italian aperitivo bar that specializes in lower-proof cocktails served with chips, olives and other small dishes.

The menu features 24 classic aperitivo cocktails, including 11 variations of the Negroni, and 32 by-the-glass wine selections.

Thompson and King opened the bar along with adjacent Italian restaurant Osteria Stella in July 2021. The couple previously operated Sapphire cocktail bar on Gay Street.

Esquire noted this year's list tipped the scales toward dressier bars since we're all ready to get a little fancy after two years of sweatpants on Zoom calls.

Several other bars on the Esquire list are within driving distance if you're heading out for a weekend trip.

• Session at Citizen Vinyl in Ashville, North Carolina, is actually a vinyl records pressing shop inside the Citizen Times newspaper building.

• St. Julep in Atlanta is a Buckhead rooftop bar with a DJ and — get this — boozy soft-serve ice cream.

• Little Palm in the Ryder Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, is a poolside spot heavy on coastal dishes like oysters and shrimp plus summery cocktails.

• Ghost Baby is located 49 feet under Cincinnati, Ohio. If the bomb shelter vibe isn't enough for you, the jazz music and cocktails might be.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Esquire names Brother Wolf in Knoxville one of America's best bars