Even the most obstinate dive bars can now serve a drinkable Old Fashioned, but don't tell the French 75 that a renaissance was ever required. The white-coated crew at James Beard-winning bar The City that Care Forgot has retained a drinking culture that lesser places let die after the heyday of alcoholic tinctures.

The fact that they're just as happy pouring the famous sweet-yet-bitter French 75 as they are experimenting with mezcal and tequila is undoubtedly a big part of it, but the gloomy, tiled bar's ambiance and service make the whole thing feel like old-school drinking. This is merely the anticipated norm for the decades-old bar, rather than a deliberate design, which tells much about how excellent it is.

Location: 813 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70112

Website: arnauds.com

Backbar gives the impression of being in a garage turned into a living room, but instead of being some seedy man cave, it's a fantastic bar. The mixology-focused crew serves a seasonal menu of classics, moderns, and mocktails, including the Suffering Venture Swizzle (rum, arrack, mole bitters, and wine) and the Bananakin Skywalker (Scotch, bananas, citrus, and maple), which avoids simple prequel jokes by not being served in a jar (let that sink in).

Drinks feature fat-washed spirits, homemade brine and shrubs, and house-infused everything, but make no mistake: this is a high-end cocktail bar for people who don't want to feel like they're in a high-end cocktail bar, a place that keeps the inventive spirits alive without losing sight of the fact that cocktails are meant to help you relax.

Location: 7 Sanborn Ct, Somerville, MA 02143

Website: backbarunion.com

Bibo Ergo Sum is completely focused on recreating the old Hollywood art deco vibe. When you walk in, you nearly have to rub your eyes to keep your eyesight from turning sepia: everything from the lights to the barback appears to have been transplanted from the frames of a classic movie. Bibo Ergo Sum may be the most beautiful new bar in LA, with its packed stools and semicircle bar, which is no small task.

The beverages are inspired by The Prestige, and the menu is divided into three sections: The Pledge, which features simple tweaks on classics; the Turn, where things like smoke and other culinary science come into play to amaze; and The Prestige, where traditional and new-age traditions clash. Expect a spectacle. There might be a couple hundred Hugh Jackmans in the basement, too.

Location: 116 N Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048-3103

View Details: bit.ly/39AfMPv

Sure, naming a candlelit cocktail den after a key Prohibition champion is clever, but cleverness only goes so far. Fortunately, the drinks inside take Billy Sunday even further. This is the kind of place where you can bring your devout spirits geek friend and watch him, nerd, out over the esoteric spirits and ingredients while thumbing through The Goodbook, a leather-bound tome of rare Amari and Scotch (among other things) that wouldn't look out of place in an Indiana Jones film.

Of course, you could just as easily bring your other friend who "really likes gin & tonics" and watch the proverbial cocktail light bulb go off in their head as they sip the Kent, which is made with Navy Strength gin and house-made tonic with unexpected appearances from allspice, lemongrass, and cinchona bark.

Location: 3143 W Logan Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647

Website: billy-sunday.com

Many of the establishments on this list strive to evoke a sense of cocktail history, but only a few have really experienced it. Bryant's is one. Bryant's lack of a menu for its arsenal of 450-plus drinks doesn't feel like an inconvenience. It's been a bar since the 1930s (and basically untouched since a 1971 fire nearly took it out of action, prompting a rebuild).

Its recommendation that you allow the bartenders to assist you in finding something you enjoy does not come across as hipster preciousness. It just feels natural. Of course, if you just want to skip the thinking and drink like a true Wisconsinite, a flawless brandy Old Fashioned (for $5 every day except Friday and Saturday at cocktail hour) is a perfectly acceptable option.

Location: 1579 S 9th St, Milwaukee, WI 53204

Website: bryantscocktaillounge.com

Butcher's is actually two bars in one, both tucked into Richard DeShantz's charcuterie-heavy destination. It was the first Pittsburgh bar to receive a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Bar Program. The first is the main-floor bar, which has a Whiskey Wall with over 600 different bottles of brown liquor, making it a real contender for a slot among the greatest whiskey bars in the country.

But for the cocktail nerds, the second-floor Rye Bar is the place to be, perched on a loft lit by candles illuminating bespoke decor and, most importantly, slinging arguably the best cocktails in Pittsburgh, among them 12 on tap and signatures that include the spicy single barrel rum-spiked Gettin' Chile With It and the Forgive & Fernet, which turns the ol' Bartender's Handshake into something more like a complex handshake that gets you into a secret club One with really great meat.

Location: 212 6th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: butcherandtherye.com

Canon, one of Seattle's most beautifully designed bars, takes its booze seriously: It's a bar where drinks are created in centrifuges, each piece of wood is (specifically) tainted with Angostura bitters, and the world's largest assortment of American whiskey is housed in a 94-page book. So... yes, this was pretty obvious. Despite the pomp and ceremony surrounding this Capitol Hill establishment — which includes a truffle Old Fashioned and cocktails delivered in such unusual vessels as smoking glass pipes and lightbulbs — Just go with the flow.

The restaurant has won numerous honors, including "World's Best Cocktail Menu" and "Best Bathrooms in Seattle". You're in excellent hands. You can order dishes for takeout at Canon. The staff is said to be nice by many. This establishment is known for its excellent service. Prices are reasonable in the eyes of the guests. The lovely ambiance and magnificent decor will undoubtedly appeal to you.

Location: 928 12th Ave, Seattle, Washington, USA

Website: canonseattle.com

Columbia Room is a little like a Wes Anderson film: whimsical, ornately playful, meticulously made, and highly likely to have a Wilson brother say "wow". Columbia Room used to be an unassuming, cozy 10-seat pub at the back of The Passenger down the street. Since reopening in Blagden Alley, the concept has grown into something far more.

The Punch Garden, an outdoor deck with bottled cocktails and punches; the Spirits Library, a regal chamber rich with leather chairs, woodwork, and ancient cocktails; and the Tasting Room, which serves a prix-fixe menu of three or five cocktails. If you don't find anything here that appeals to you, it might be time to buy a book and start drinking alone.

Location: 124 Blagden Alley NW, Washington, D.C.

Website: columbiaroomdc.com

Cure's influence on cocktails in a city that does them better than anybody else is impossible to overestimate. Cure opened in Uptown's Freret Street corridor in 2009, starting off the regeneration of an area still recovering from Hurricane Katrina two years later while also bringing the new-school mixology trend to a city that has never been short on good cocktails.

The minds behind this brick-walled spot now have a mini-empire, but the original is still a winner thanks to a spacious patio that's walled in by jasmine vines, a subtly sexy indoor vibe, and creative cocktail combinations that riff on classics, from a low-proof fizzy take on the Hurricane, called The Next Episode to a mutant Old Fashioned called the Picard loaded with smoked black tea, rhubarb, chocolate, and caramel. Nogueira will build a menu of Mexican-influenced cuisine including tacos, tostadas, and ceviches, and the bar will be focused on agave spirits. Alex Anderson, who has spent years crafting cocktails at Cure, will manage the spirits program.

Location: 4905 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Website: curenola.com

Obviously, there are masterful odes to the bar’s namesake drink, but the list runs on into a boozy Southern history book with classics born in the region, like the Ramos Gin Fizz, and a seasonal lineup that plays with Southern inspirations. Trust the queen. She's a mixology Mary Poppins: she digs into her suitcase and pulls out a draught gin and tonic! Alternatively, a warm caustic with cinnamon shortbread! Alternatively, a Gin Daisy! Alternatively, a Wisconsin Old Fashioned! And each of these cocktails is flawless, with complete character development. Oh, and if you walk into the back room with at least four people, it seems like you're drinking on a boat.

There are obviously exquisite odes to the bar's eponymous cocktail, but the menu also includes classics born in the region, such as the Ramos Gin Fizz, as well as a seasonal lineup with Southern inspirations.

Location: 2 Marina Blvd Bldg A, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 94123

Website: theinterval.org