48 Hours of Drinking in Rio De Janeiro

Since 1983, Academia da Cachaça has been the unofficial classroom for anyone serious about Brazil's national spirit. Tucked into a corner of Leblon — Rio's most Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.

Bar 360 Sport Hotel draws a steady local crowd in Copacabana. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The polished room you'd take a first date to. Sit at the bar. Talk to the bartender. Stay one drink — you're scouting, not committing.

The London Pub draws a steady local crowd in Copacabana. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.

Adega do Pimenta draws a steady local crowd in Santa Teresa. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Sunset. Find a rooftop. Order whatever the house specials around sundown. Take photos but don't lose 90 minutes to your phone.

Santa Teresa is the neighbourhood that Rio dreamed up when it wanted somewhere to put its artists, its anarchists, and its most spectacular hillside views. Apra Eat somewhere with serious bartending built in. The right room is one you order both your dinner and your nightcap from.

Bar da Laje draws a steady local crowd in Vidigal. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The bar that made you book the trip. The pre-research one. Reservation-only ideally. Stay until last call.

Bar do David draws a steady local crowd in Chapeu Mangueira. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Mary, Mimosa, or whatever low-ABV house play the room runs. Eat. Pay. Walk.

Bar do Leme draws a steady local crowd in Leme. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.