Indy’s Best New Bars

The top 10 coolest spots to drink now.

 

Indy has been on a bender since we published our “Best Bars” roundup in early 2013.

Speakeasies.

Hotel Bars. 

Music Clubs.

Taverns.

Dozens of them have opened and invited us to pull up a stool. Maybe it was the liquor talking, but we decided to run a tab at all of these places and pick the best based on ambience, cocktails, and service. Two years ago, we toasted the finest watering holes the city had to offer. Time for another round.

(Click the name of each bar for a more in depth round-up of Indy’s Best New Bars.)

No. 10 – Spoke & Steele

Among the premixed elixirs on tap, the Nutty Manhattan stands out—a boozy black-cherry nightcap on ice.

No. 9 – La Mulita

How do you say “kick off your flip-flops” in Spanish?

No. 8 – Hi-Fi

If you’re looking for mixology, you’re in the wrong place. PBR served in a plastic cup is the most popular beverage.

No. 7 – Bar Rev

Bar Rev is the speakeasy-style space that opened in the back of Revery this spring bringing craft cocktails to Greenwood.0713-BAKERSFIELD-1

No. 6 – Hotel Tango

One of the city’s first distilleries is also one of its most comfortable hangouts.

No. 5 – Bakersfield Mass Ave

Bakersfield serves every cool-bar element from the last few years: exposed brick, Edison bulbs, and Mason-jar margaritas that pack a punch.

No. 4 – Libertine Liquor Bar

The late shift caters to staff members of nearby restaurants, and the pack the place in the wee hours. Who knows a great bar better than they do?

No. 3 – Union 50

Competing with the slew of excellent cocktail bars along Mass Ave is a tall order. Even taller? The spectacular 20-foot-high wall of backlit liquor bottles at Union 50.0715_BARS_thunderbird.sign_-750x500

No. 2 – Plat 99

Here, cocktail-making (and -drinking) is elevated to an art.

No. 1 – Thunderbird 

What was a neighborhood tavern quickly became a destination for epicures from around the city.