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Nathan and Marissa Stalvey celebrate their fourth anniversary at Amuse. (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Dutch & Co.’s Mai Tai made with Pierre Ferrand Ambre cognac, Plantation dark rum, pineapple syrup, orgeat, lime and amaro (Photo by Ash Daniel)
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Dutch & Co.’s Aaron LeMire and Michelle Shriver (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Dutch & Co.
400 N. 27th St., 643-8824
Bar manager Aaron LeMire and co-owner Michelle Shriver are architects building sensory skyscrapers, deconstructing the classics and engineering entirely new structures from house-made syrups, tonics and cordials that soar to palate-challenging heights. Nearly nothing goes to waste here, where seasonal ingredients — be it pollen or produce — find their way into complex cocktails, modernist plates or craft sodas alike. —SB
Heritage
1627 W. Main St., 353-4060
Mattias Hägglund is the professorial swizzle stick of Richmond. His primary mix? Cocktail classics. The seats at Provost Hägglund’s bar are tended with his craftsman’s ethos and adventurous spirit. Heritage led the charge for the basics we’ve come to take for granted: artisanal vermouth in our Negronis, making tonic and bitters in house, and proper glassware, including tiki vessels — a cultural resurgence this spot adopted early on. —GS
BEST STASH OF WHISKEY: McCormack’s Big Whisky Grill, 1420 N. Parham Road, 740-4000
The Rogue Gentlemen
618 N. First St., 477-3456
No name befits its staff better than The Rogue Gentlemen, whose mischievous and confident team turns out some of the city’s most irreverent and playful cocktails. If you’ve any doubt, see its cheeky seasonal drink menus for visually arresting, painstakingly built and cleverly named libations utilizing everything from rare liquors and house-made infusions to a coffee siphon. The vintage stemware and craft ice cubes aren’t too hard on the eyes, either. —SB
Shagbark's mint julep (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Shagbark
4901 Libbie Mill East Blvd., 358-7424
One of the great Southern julep makers, John Dabney, rose through the ripple of Richmond’s 19th-century hotel bars, finding acclaim via bourbon and mint. Discover new legends at Shagbark, where muddled herbs waft aromatic oils through tumblers of crushed ice. The rest of the list features Virginia-centric libations broken down into categories: Old Virginia (historical) and New Virginia (fanciful). Notably, the base spirits of all house cocktails are Virginia-made. —GS
Acacia mid-town
2601 W. Cary St., 562-0138
Acacia’s cocktails are so marvelous that Danny McDermott could have you swearing alchemy is real. Stop by to learn how the bar manager turns wide, bright shiso leaves into syrup and just-ripe Santa Claus melons into house-made liqueur. Better yet, you can taste the fruits of his labor by pulling up a seat at one of the city’s first craft-cocktail trailblazers and sampling the magic for yourself. —SB
Amuse’s Pickled Pink with beet shrub, Belle Isle Craft Spirits moonshine and Becherovka (Photo by Jay Paul)
Amuse Restaurant
200 N. Boulevard, 340-1580
If Amuse were a movie, it’d be “Bulleits over Broadway” (har, har), set in a lair to remember: VMFA’s mod lounge poised over the sculpture garden. This swanky emporium’s beverage program keeps time with the exhibits. One memorable tipple from the Hollywood Costume exhibition: The Spaghetti Western, an American whiskey sour with Bulleit bourbon, Licor 43, lemon juice, Cocchi vermouth and house-made peach bitters. —GS
The Roosevelt
623 N. 25th St., 658-1935
This cozy Church Hill nook is nuanced, comforting and inviting — ditto for its drinks, the very incarnation of Southern hospitality in a glass. Sidle up to the bar and let Thomas “T” Leggett, Brandon Peck and co. pour, shake and stir your evening or Sunday morning into a leisurely stroll through bourbons, amari, sherries and mezcals, with a hint of spiced cherry bitters, a dash of charm and a pinch of Virginia-made product. —SB
BEST COCKTAILS FOR EMBRACING THE SEASONS: Pasture, 416 E. Grace St., 780-0416
Saison
23 W. Marshall St., 269-3689
Though this merry band of Stir Mix-a-Lots may jest, there’s nothing funny about what they serve. The motto: Let the good times flow. High-low events, like midnight brunch of foie gras pancakes and Brass Monkeys; an afternoon of rum and rapping on a riverboat down the James; and frozen drinks spinning in the market next door, though fun, are steeped in a passion for learning. —GS
