Capitol Hill bars.

Top four are destinations. Middle five are the working rotation. Bottom three are the Tuesday-night picks and the late-night taverns.

Jamie Boudreau's whiskey bar on 12th Avenue holds the largest spirits list on the West Coast and a vault of pre-Prohibition bottles. The menu is 120 cocktails long. The Canon Old Fashioned is the right entry. Reservations only. The hidden upstairs is a separate booking.

A two-storey 12th Avenue cocktail room with a separate hidden bar called Needle & Thread above. The downstairs is open seating with classic and modern cocktails. The Tavern Sour is the right opener. Walk-in works on Tuesdays. The upstairs is by reservation through a phone in the wall.

The hidden second floor above Tavern Law. There is no menu. You answer three questions and the bartender builds the drink. 16 seats. Reservation only. The Needle Old Fashioned is the safe answer if you cannot pick. The right room for an anniversary or a quiet first date.

A 15th Avenue East cocktail bar and sushi room from Andrew Friedman, who taught most of the city's cocktail bartenders. The Liberty Mule is the standard. The kitchen runs late and the bar list rotates weekly. Closed Mondays. The right Sunday afternoon for cocktails and yellowtail.

A Capitol Hill speakeasy with no sign and a text-message reservation system. You text the bar at the start of the night and they reply with a time. The Knee High Old Fashioned is the order. 28 seats. The bartenders take requests. Closed Sunday and Monday.

A working distillery on Pike Street with a tasting room and cocktail bar. The Sun Hedge Trimmer Gin pours into a clean dry martini. The crowd is half locals, half industry. Closes at midnight. The right second stop after Liberty if you are walking down Pike toward 12th.

A craft beer hall on Melrose Avenue, set in a 1923 former funeral parlour. Thirty-three taps that rotate weekly. The Reuben sandwich is the right order with the beer. Open until 1am most nights, midnight on Sundays. Loud crowd on game days, calmer on Wednesday.

A large Broadway beer hall and working brewery with 20-plus taps from their own brewhouse. Communal tables, food trucks parked outside, dogs welcome. The Optimism IPA is the easy entry. Open from noon every day. The right early-evening Capitol Hill room for a group.

The dive that has held its corner on Pine Street since 1994. Kurt Cobain was a regular. The room hasn't changed in three decades. The Linda's Bloody Mary is the legendary morning-after order. The kitchen runs to 1am. The right late-night option after the cocktail bars close.

A 15th Avenue East pub with taxidermy on the walls and a beer list 40 deep. The Smith burger is the kitchen order. Cocktails are solid if not adventurous. The booth at the back is the right seat for a Tuesday dinner. The bar fills up after 9pm Wednesday through Saturday.

A Broadway cocktail and Southern dining room with a back room called the Confessional. Cocktails skew bourbon-led. The Witness Old Fashioned is the right pour. The biscuits and gravy are the late-night order. Open every day until 1am. Sunday brunch is the local rotation.

A 24-hour diner and bar on 10th Avenue, one of the only round-the-clock rooms in the city. The Lost Lake Mule and a plate of biscuits is the 3am order. The pinball machines run all night. The right answer when nothing else is open and you are still awake on Sunday morning.