The Best Cocktail Bars In Memphis

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The Cove is a charismatic, nautical-themed oyster and cocktail bar, boasting a distinct vintage edge and found in downtown Memphis. Serving classic cocktails from Mojitos to Cosmopolitans as well as their own signature drinks, diners can’t go wrong when choosing from the house specialities menu. With low lighting, interesting eccentric décor and weekly live music sessions, The Cove is a cool, unique venue to drink at in Memphis. Don’t miss Jazz Thursdays where local bands play a variety of old and new material.

Watch out for The Old Fashion: bourbon, orange, cherry, sugar, bitters, lemon twist and soda water

Mimicking the rambunctious drinking scene of the 1920s prohibition era, Blind Bear is a modern speakeasy with a sophisticated, dapper edge, serving an array of cocktails and bar food options. This chic bar offers a range of events every week, from Margarita Mondays to poker night Sundays. Keep up to date with their social media channels to find out the password for entry here, a different word every week, and an idea recalling how illicit and secretive drinking used to be in America. Dine on the sleekly polished wooden bar, bask in the low lighting and enjoy a delicious drink here whilst revelling in the drinking culture of a bygone time.

Alchemy boasts a drinks menu developed with the help of hospitality expert Andy Seymour, making it a top spot for cocktails in Memphis. This stylish, upmarket venue in the heart of midtown puts time and effort into creating the perfect drink combinations, and the contemporary interior and modern art give the bar a quirky vibe. The impressive drinks list and professional bartenders add a touch of glamor to the surroundings here, and for some Southern fare with a sophisticated twist, don’t leave without trying one of the tasty small plates on offer, perfect with a martini or mojito.

Tucked away in a predominantly residential area and charmingly secluded from the public eye, Mollie Fontaine’s is a truly unique bar situated in an historic Victorian mansion. The mismatched furniture, including plush velvet sofas, scruffy leather bar stools and elegant chandeliers, combine with the creative cocktail menu to make this an unconventional and intriguing venue. Eccentric and decidedly bohemian, guests can stop by here for an evening cocktail and meal, or stay until the early hours for a night of drinking and dancing.

This trendy rooftop bar is worth a visit for its view of the majestic Mississippi River, and is an excellent place to watch a sunset over Memphis on a balmy evening. The décor is colorful and refreshingly modern, and the hand-crafted cocktails here combine a range of luxury ingredients, such as pecan and honeysuckle vodka, to create complex and original flavors. Drawing in a crowd of young professionals and glamorous locals, Twilight Sky Terrace is a sophisticated venue in which to enjoy an invigorating tipple in beautiful surroundings.

Functioning as a bar during the week and a late night club on the weekends, In Love is a sophisticated space with a contemporary, minimalistic design. The venue serves a variety of drinks and signature cocktails as well as small plates and light bites in the evening. With an unusually long happy hour from 4-8pm Monday to Friday, diners can relax in this intimate and refined venue without breaking the bank.

Known as Memphis’s first gastropub, South of Beale manages to perfectly combine a warm, friendly atmosphere with a refined menu of food and drink. Their sizeable cocktail list aims to intertwine classic recipes with a few modern ideas, and does this successfully to produce some tantalizing combinations. Enjoying an ideal location right by Memphis’s iconic Beale Street, South of Beale provides urban sophistication without being as lively and full as some of the other bars in the area, with the dim lights and exposed brick walls giving the venue a comforting, homely vibe.

The Peabody Hotel, originally established in 1869, is a Memphis institution and home of the legendary ‘March of the Peabody Ducks’. This daily ritual is an 80 year old tradition in which the hotel’s five pet ducks are led to and from their rooftop home by the hotel’s resident ‘duckmaster’. This event is extremely popular and has been nationally televised both on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tonight Show with Jonnie Carson. When not watching the ducks, recline in one of the Peabody’s two elegant bars, where guests can enjoy expertly prepared cocktails as well as magnificent live piano performances. With the lobby bar’s martinis voted the best in town by Memphis Magazine, cocktail lovers can’t go wrong in this smart venue.

If you’re a frozen cocktail fan then Wet Willie’s is the place you should be in Memphis. All the drinks here, from white russians to mojitos, are served from icy slush machines, refreshing and revitalizing. With its colorful interior, bright lights and loud music, this bar is a fun, light-hearted spot in which to enjoy a few classic cocktails before partying the night away. Located right on Beale Street, the bar is just paces away from all of Memphis’s most popular clubs and bars, bustling with tourists and locals alike. Attracting a young, vibrant crowd, a night at Wet Willie’s is always lively, wild and unforgettable.