Cocktail Bars in Asheville
Asheville's cocktail bars fill their calendars as carefully as their glasses. The best cocktail bars in Asheville start with Character Study, which hosts an introvert-friendly Reading Party, pours $9 drink specials every day and sells $8 books. Little Jumbo, pouring since 2017, keeps a thousand recipes behind the bar, books live music on Mondays and Tuesdays with no cover, and turns into the Tropilachia Club once each winter. The Golden Pineapple fills a building that has housed a pharmacy, a deli and a recording studio, treats craft cocktails as casual fun and closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These are the five we would start with.
Cocktail BarCharacter Study
A literary themed neighborhood cocktail bar in West Asheville, run with Bagatelle Books, where a shelf of used books sells for $8 each. Every cocktail on the menu comes with a Mood and a Character, and there is a daily $9 drink special. The room mixes booths, a parlor and library style nooks, and twice a month it hosts a quiet Reading Party.
797 Haywood Rd #100, Asheville, NC 28806Sun-Thu 4pm-11pm Fri-Sat 4pm-12amFull profile
Cocktail BarLittle Jumbo
A neighborhood cocktail bar in the old Jenkins grocery building in Five Points, on the edge of Montford and a short walk from downtown. The room has tin ceilings, green leather and a back bar the venue says holds a thousand recipes, with a house Old Fashioned as its top seller. Free live music plays on Mondays and Tuesdays, with trivia on Sundays and game night on Wednesdays, and each winter the bar turns into the Tropilachia Club pop up.
241 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801Daily 4pm-11pmFull profile- CrucibleCocktail Bar
Crucible
A cocktail bar in the River Arts District of Asheville. The bar sums itself up in four words: red room, nice people.
140A Roberts St, Asheville, NCFull profile - DayTripCocktail Bar
DayTrip
A cocktail and mocktail bar on Broadway that puts community at the center. It serves cocktails alongside a full mocktail list, and the space hosts a steady run of events. Entry is 21 and over.
174 Broadway St, Asheville, NCSun-Thu 4pm-12am, Fri-Sat 3pm-2amFull profile - Rankin VaultCocktail Bar
Rankin Vault
Rankin Vault is a locally owned cocktail lounge on Rankin Avenue, set inside the Imperial Life Insurance Building. Since 2008 it has been a favorite local hangout and an early name in the city's craft cocktail movement, with a creative, seasonally rotating drinks list best known for its house Margarita and specialty Martinis. The room centers on a custom walnut bar, and the namesake bank vault, built by the Mosler Safe Company in the 1920s, makes a natural spot for groups. Local draft beer and patio seating fill out the picture, and the kitchen sends out farm-fresh plates, from salads and tacos to a grass-fed beef burger made with Hickory Nut Gap meat.
7 Rankin Ave, Asheville, NC 28801Mon-Thu 12PM-12AM; Fri-Sat 12PM-2AM; Sun 12PM-11PMFull profile
- Sovereign RemediesCocktail Bar
Sovereign Remedies
Sovereign Remedies is a craft cocktail bar and kitchen in the heart of downtown Asheville, on North Market Street. The bar draws on local produce and on the inventive streak of the Blue Ridge region, and its drinks list keeps changing. Cocktails lean on small-batch spirits, botanicals of the season and ingredients made in house; a recent list ran from a Mai Thai with lemongrass and kaffir lime to a mango lassi milk punch and a Japanese whisky drink laced with green curry. A curated wine list, local beer and a shelf of vermouths and aperitifs round things out, with seasonal plates from Western North Carolina farms. Warm lighting and curated playlists set the mood.
29 N Market St, #105, Asheville, NC 28801Mon-Tue closed; Wed-Thu 4am-10:00 PM; Fri-Sat 4am-11:00 PM; Sun 2am-8:00 PMFull profile - The Golden PineappleCocktail Bar
The Golden Pineapple
A bartender owned neighborhood cocktail bar and restaurant on Haywood Road in West Asheville, set in one of the area's oldest buildings. The drinks run from a shot and a beer or a glass of wine to craft cocktails, with non alcoholic options always on. Dinner is served too, and the menu changes weekly.
503 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806Mon 5pm-11pm, Thu-Sat 5pm-11pm, Sun 5pm-10pm, Tue-Wed closedFull profile - Top of the MonkRooftop Bar
Top of the Monk
Top of the Monk is a rooftop cocktail bar on Patton Avenue and describes itself as the oldest cocktail bar in downtown Asheville. The focus is on well-made classics, with juice squeezed fresh and bitters, tinctures, infusions, shrubs and syrups produced in house, served over proper ice in the right glass, with no mixers from a soda gun. Guests can take a seat at the bar to watch the bartenders work, settle into a quiet corner, or head out to the rooftop patio for views of the mountains. It bills its drinks as foraged craft cocktails, and the bar also keeps a serious Belgian beer selection.
92 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801Full profile
More of Asheville
These are the cocktail bars specifically. The full Asheville guide ranks the best bars of every style, and the directory lists all 11 with a map and filters.
