From my first visit to Charm City in 2016, I saw immediately that the crime reports and the shadow of nearby D.C. do not represent Maryland’s largest city justly. Founded in 1729, the waterside city is industrial in parts but also lined with diverse neighborhoods and historic, gorgeous buildings — roughly one in three Baltimore buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Most of all, it’s Baltimore’s friendly welcome and almost Midwest ease paired with an urban, East Coast edge that draws me in, then and now. Bar managers, distillers, and chefs I hadn’t seen in eight years welcomed me back like an old friend. The diversity of and camaraderie between locals warms the heart.
Nearby D.C. still has the greater number of quality restaurants and cocktail bars, but after returning to Baltimore twice in 2024, it’s clear how much it has grown since my previous visit. My favorite offerings here could stand up with some of the best in the nation.
Black chefs shine here, like talented Jasmine Norton at her bright, sleek, yet utterly welcoming Urban Oyster restaurant (which also serves few but balanced, inspired cocktails). Or Magdalena, A Maryland Bistro, in the Ivy Hotel, home to Scott Bacon’s local “nose-to-tail” cooking reflecting Black and British roots.
On the distilling side, craft distilleries have been on the rise since 2008. The Maryland Distillers Guild now has over 30 distillery members. That vibrant growth has been aided by cocktail bar scenes in Baltimore and nearby D.C. Baltimore also nails friendly, quirky dive bars like 1919 in Fells Point, which is lined with a CD disc changer, racks of dusty CD cases, and Christmas lights, as well as historic bars like Owl Bar, which has been open since 1903.
Here are 10 of Baltimore’s best, covering a range of styles and moods, from elevated dive to cocktail and spirits geeks’ haven.
The Coral Wig
Lane Harlan and Matthew Pierce of W.C. Harlan, Fadensonnen, and Clavel opened The Coral Wig in summer 2023. It immediately became one of Baltimore’s best. Tucked discreetly off an alley in boutique Hotel Ulysses, the vibe here is Old World romantic, and it takes a while for your eyes to adjust to dim light from striking lamps and wall sconces. On my visit, they were blessedly playing all Nina Simone, all the time. Music (Harlan’s husband, Pierce, is a musician) is key to the seductive mood.
Drink This: Pull up to the black walnut bar or grab a vintage cane chair at one of the intimate tables and dive into thoughtful yet fun cocktails, like an MSG, umami-laden Margarita variation called the Banana Hammock. A galangal root-inflected Manila Daiquiri is, like the bar motif itself, inspired by 1980s Manila clubs, not far from where Harlan was born in the Philippines. Heavy on tequila, pisco, and rum, Coral Wig happily employs a lot of rhum agricoles or funky molasses-based rums in their cocktails, as with the Pray For Rain cocktail, a bracing yet bright blend of Hampden Estate Pure Single 8-year Rum, tamarind, ginger, smoked rhubarb amaro, and applewood.
Sugarvale
This intimate Mount Vernon bar epitomizes what is best about Baltimore’s cocktail scene. It’s under-the-radar and welcoming, with a diverse clientele and some of the city’s best female bartenders. Savvy beverage director Collin Schnitker is also behind local record label Shiny Boy Press, and he keeps the bar playlist tight. Though far from the first bar local industry folk mention when telling you where you must taste cocktails in their city, Sugarvale is unexpectedly one of the city’s best, where geeky, unique cocktails are balanced and crushable with zero pretension. It should be up there with Charm City’s most lauded but remains an almost “local’s secret.”
Drink This: As soon as I see drinks like Fountain of Youth (Hartley & Gibson’s Oloroso Sherry, Combier Kümmel, turmeric, ginger, lemon, and orange juice) on a menu — a frothy, low proof, balanced, savory, refreshing drink — I know I’ve found my kind of bar. Trying every cocktail on the menu over two visits proved the case. Even a ubiquitous espresso martini twist, their Kuromi Koffee, is exceptional. Sesame oil-washed navy strength gin imparts a nutty, silky texture. Then add in Tempus Fugit Creme de Moka, cold brew coffee caramel, mocha, salt, black walnut bitters, and chocolate bitters, and you get a glass of cool, icy, complex, wake-up goodness.
Dutch Courage
In the historic Old Goucher neighborhood in a striking 1880s house, Dutch Courage is a gin-centric cocktail bar with over 100 gins, including genever, Old Tom, and barrel-aged gins, plus a mini-shop with rare gins for purchase. With its sunny space, eclectic vintage furniture, Victorian layout, and dreamy covered back patio, it’s not only one of Baltimore’s most beautiful bars, it also serves some of the city’s best cocktails. Owners Brendan Dorr and Eric Fooy met while bartending at forward-thinking Ixia but are industry vets who have moved the city’s cocktail scene forward for years. Helmed by bar manager Kim Vo, this is a standout bar not just locally, but in the nation.
Drink This: The cocktail menu is inventive and extensive. The Japanese Breakfast is a tart, elegant, silky concoction of Nikka Japanese gin, génépy, egg white, yuzu marmalade, lime, Szechuan tincture, and pink peppercorn dust. Not Rocket Science is a green, vegetal refresher of arugula-infused Two James Old Cockney Gin, Suze, Ancho Verde, lime, apple cider vinegar, saline, savory vegan honey, and a pickled pepperoncini garnish. The Fancy G&Ts section goes complex with gin and tonic refreshment in Kim Vo’s Coastal Cowgirl, a G&T beauty of Ford’s gin, BSC Szechuan Amaro, Sfumato Amaro, guava, coconut water, lime, saline, and tonic with a dehydrated lime, thyme, and bay leaf garnish.
Clavel
Lane Harlan and Matthew Pierce’s second bar (after W.C. Harlan opened in 2015), Clavel is a temple to mezcal and authentic Mexican food, which was tough to find done right in the East in general. It’s amazing to see what Clavel has grown to. What was an insider agave geeks’ spot is now a bustling, packed destination for mezcal, agave cocktails, and delicious regional Mexican food from talented chef/partner Carlos Raba, including from Oaxaca where Harlan and Pierce first got inspiration for Clavel. Plan ahead with reservations.
Drink This: Make sure to dig into the rare mezcals as well as unique cocktails showcasing Mexican glories. Tuba Por Favor showcases house wild-fermented tepache (fermented pineapple rind beverage), coconut, raw wildflower honey, and a house kummel, a Germanic herbal liqueur, heavy on caraway, cumin, fennel, and other herbs — although I could have used more herbal punch in this cocktail. There are also intriguing cocktails showcasing Mexican rum’s grassy, agricole-like qualities like Rena del Bosque, which mixes Oaxacan rum with watermelon, miel de maiz Bolita (honey infused Bolita corn), platanos, lime, and alpine herbal liqueur.
Southpaw
Southpaw is a Fells Point neighborhood bar that opened in 2023 from Baltimore bar vet Doug Atwell. It’s got all the fun of a classic dive. Think local, cheap canned beers to beers with fun shots like Dr Pepper or a Snaquiri (mini-Daiquiri), but also well-made cocktails, warm service, and a killer vintage jukebox stocked with everything from classic soul to 1980s pop. Atwell ran bars like the early Rye Fells Point or Dylan’s Oyster Cellar and was the former vice president of the Baltimore Bartenders’ Guild. This is the kind of bar where you want to linger all night with friends and tunes on the jukebox.
Drink This: Expect unfussy but expertly crafted classics and variations on classics, like Atwell’s on-point Surfer Rosa, a rosy-pink sipper of reposado tequila, hibiscus, lime, and blackberry. Or one of my underrated classic favorites, the Twentieth Century, combining American gin, Lillet, and lemon with a whisper of chocolate via crème de cacao.
The Cocktail Gallery at Baltimore Spirits Company
Baltimore Spirits Company (BSC) is arguably the region’s most innovative distillery and is home to the inviting Cocktail Gallery bar inside the distillery. There are art installations, including striking photography from co-owner Max Kennedy Lents, album listening parties, and old movie nights, making it a community gathering place as much as a notable local cocktail bar.
Drink This: General manager Greg Mergner creates most of the cocktails along with his team, and they all showcase BSC spirits, of course. Peanut Butter Jelly Thyme was a recent delight featuring their Epoch Jerry Thomas Rye whiskey, creamy house peanut orgeat, strawberry jam, and fresh thyme. A straightforward-sounding Medfield also shows off the Epoch Jerry Thomas Rye with a harmonious touch of bitter from Fernet and balanced golden sweetness from pineapple brown sugar.
The Elk Room
As part of the Atlas Restaurant Group, The Elk Room is a flashier, “secret’s out” kind of speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar, all the more packed because of being named one of the best bars in the country by Esquire magazine in 2018. With elk taxidermy, brick walls, books, mismatched chandeliers, leather couches, and sectioned off couch and chair areas, it has a lodge-meets-library kind of vibe.
Drink This: While some drinks read exciting but could use balance tweaks, there are thoughtful flavor combinations on the menu with drinks like Prima Materia: Calvados apple brandy, aquavit, beets, mustard seeds, lime, and cinnamon. Golden Fleece is rye whiskey, dates, lemon, pistachio, sumac, and yogurt. Though it’s not the most finessed yogurt cocktail I’ve tasted, there is a needed ambitious reach here and a buzzy vibe.
The Cannon Room at Sagamore Pendry
Opened in March 2017, The Cannon Room is a dark, hidden bar in the sleek Sagamore Pendry hotel in historic Fells Point right on the Patapsco River. It’s all about the whiskey, namely Maryland’s rich history with rye. In fact, the bar showcases Sagamore Spirit, featuring the entire line of whiskeys produced at their nearby distillery. The bar is named after centuries-old cannons that lived beneath Recreation Pier where they’re housed, one of which is viewable in the bar.
Drink This: The extensive whiskey collection is a big draw here, while their martini riff, Diamond Martini, is a lush, balanced combination of Monkey 47 Gin, génépy, and dry vermouth. Visiting post-holidays in winter, their Holiday Spirit cocktail was an after-dinner standout of pastis, vodka, Stumptown cold brew coffee, and Tempus Fugit crème de menthe.
The Outpost
Opening in 2017 in the Federal Hill neighborhood, The Outpost is a casual American tavern of wood and brick serving straightforward cocktails and bar food made well. Think house chicken wings in lively house sauce and kewpie mayo or baked brie with toasted almonds, rosemary, Asian pear slices, and house jam.
Drink This: Clean and unfussy, Outpost’s drinks are crowd-pleasers, whether a lavender G&T (gin and tonic) to Affogato Name, which follows the espresso martini renaissance but goes decadent with coffee ice cream and shaved chocolate in a cocktail of vanilla vodka, coffee liqueur, and coffee. Maybe the most balanced and playful is Do Better Michael, a rosy-pink drink of blanco tequila, strawberry syrup, jalapeno, lime, and mint.
W.C. Harlan
From the owners of Clavel, Fadensonnen, and The Coral Wig, W.C. Harlan was the one that started it all. It was my favorite Baltimore bar when I first visited the city in 2016. Candlelit, Old World, and dreamy, entering this seductive bar lined with antique glassware, vintage bottles, and even cobwebby, haunted vibes feels like stepping back in time. Years in, the word is out, and now the tiny place is so mobbed it can be tough to snag a seat or linger. Consider it the key place where Baltimore’s cocktail scene jumped to world class. Go early and avoid weekends if you want a seat.
Drink This: Cocktails are ambitious but still approachable. Think Caffé Pistacchio, a creamy, floral concoction of Singani ’63 Bolivian brandy, pistachio liqueur, cardamom, almond orgeat, lemon, oloroso sherry, and dried roses. Or there’s a savory, lean martini variation called Le TGV: St. George Terroir Gin, parsley, celery leaf, Calvados, Cocchi Americano, Fortave yellow génépy herbal liqueur, and a Castelvetrano olive.
