Drinks

Its iconic neon sign remains a beacon for the downtown legal set, returning Noblesville expats, and, on Saturday nights, a raucous karaoke crowd.

Among sports bars in Indy—and there are a lot of them—this SoBro veteran remains the champion.

Well-dressed out-of-towners make fast friends around the white marble bar and the comfy couches of the lounge. Unlike most hotel watering holes, traffic flows in and out all day, making for five-star people-watching.

It’s a gay bar if you need to categorize, but patrons don’t care whose tree you’re barking up if you came to sing.

Opened in 1908, this Cottage Home bar caters to a loyal following of urban hipsters and neighborhood transplants who flock to it for cheap PBR and the divey digs.

An amber-hued jewelbox of a nightclub in Fountain Square, it’s more deliciously racy than raunchy, celebrating the time-honored tradition of burlesque.

Its lineup of punk, metal, and indie music draws rock fans, sure, but also neighborhood-bar types who come for the thoroughly lived-in vibe.

Don’t be surprised to hear a ribald pickup line like “Muddle my blueberries,” but don’t expect the bartender to blush, either.

Stories from behind the counter and in the thick of it all.

The theater/bar Hollywood Bar & Filmworks on South Meridian Street passed away in 2006, and we’re still in denial. With huge vintage movie posters on the wall and high-top tables, the place had the grimy charm of a comedy club.

Three simple ingredients—vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice—go into the Moscow Mule, yet every bar makes this trendy cocktail its own. Our stubborn Mule aficionados found the best.

Step 1: a successful background check. If you’re not a felon, you’ve aced the first requirement.

Pretzel necklaces and sun dresses, boat shoes and big sunglasses—that’s Brew-Ha-Ha in a nutshell. And what a gloriously sweaty nutshell it is, this beer festival now in its 17th iteration. The annual street party takes place on Park Avenue between Mass Ave and St. Clair Street for four afternoon hours each late June.

Erin Edds always was a fan of the Bloody Mary, but she could never find one worth her while. When an event planner asked her to submit an Indy-centric pro-duct for some Super Bowl suite baskets in 2010, Edds, then co-owner of local gourmet packaged-goods company Country Mouse City Mouse, took the opportunity to fill the void. “If I could make a Bloody Mary that I loved,” she says, “I’d guarantee other people would love it, too.”

To be clear: none of the local Bike to Work Day organizers advocate unsafe practices involving alcohol and bikes. But this morning’s festivities on Monument Circle, part of a national event, had a distinctively hoppy flavor.