Nashville's serious cocktail scene exists in pockets across the city — none on Broadway. The Patterson House opened in 2009 and gave Music City its first serious cocktail bar. The 10 below show how Tennessee whiskey and modern cocktailing combine. Most are in East Nashville or Germantown.
Part of our 50 Best Cocktail Bars in the World listThis article is one chapter in our larger global guide. See the full pillar with every featured city.
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The 10 best cocktail bars in Nashville
01 · Nashville
Midtown
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Speakeasy · Reservations
Nashville's reference cocktail bar. Reservation-only after 7 PM. The room that taught Nashville about serious cocktailing.
Order: A Bacon Old Fashioned (their signature)
02 · Nashville
Printer's Alley
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1948 · Burlesque
Restored 1948 Printer's Alley supper club. Live burlesque on weekends, jazz combo nightly.
Order: A Manhattan + the late show
03 · Nashville
East Bank
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Bowling + cocktails · All-day
All-day room — café, restaurant, bowling alley, cocktail bar. The east-bank Nashville drinking room.
Order: A patio cocktail + bowling
04 · Nashville
Downtown
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Three floors · Restaurant + bar
Three-floor restaurant with one of Nashville's most polished cocktail bars on the ground floor.
Order: A Sazerac at the long bar
05 · Nashville
Marathon Village
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Distillery taproom
Corsair's distillery taproom. Try whiskeys you can't get elsewhere.
Order: A flight of their experimental whiskeys
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06 · Nashville
The Gulch
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Speakeasy · Inside a boiler
Inside a converted boiler room. The most theatrical Nashville cocktail bar entry. Polished cocktail program inside.
Order: Whatever's the seasonal house spec
07 · Nashville
Rutledge Hill
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Restaurant bar · Southern
The bar at Husk restaurant. Sean Brock's Southern cocktail program — local ingredients, regional spirits.
Order: A drink built around their reserve Tennessee whiskey
08 · Nashville
East Nashville
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Speakeasy · Sister to NYC
Sister to NYC's Attaboy. East Nashville location. Same no-menu, build-to-taste format. Reservations only.
Order: Bartender's choice
09 · Nashville
East Nashville
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Speakeasy · Hidden
Hidden East Nashville speakeasy. Through an unmarked door. Reservations only. Modern Nashville technique with classical leans.
Order: A Manhattan with their reserve rye
10 · Nashville
Downtown
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Restaurant bar · Polished
Polished downtown Nashville restaurant bar. Classics-driven cocktail program, the formal alternative to East Nashville.
Order: A perfect Manhattan
More Nashville cocktail barsThe full Nashville cocktail-bar index by neighbourhood.
See the full list
How Nashville cocktailing escapes Broadway
Tennessee whiskey is essential to understanding Nashville cocktailing — Patterson House and Pinewood Social both use it as their backbone spirit. The 10 above are the rooms doing serious work. Most peak between 10 PM and midnight.
