Rye Street Tavern is a bar in Locust Point, Baltimore.
Rye Street Tavern in Port Covington pours cocktails built on Sagamore Spirit rye, a waterfront tavern with an open hearth and a Chesapeake-leaning kitchen.
Food program: American tavern menu
Tip: The rye cocktails use the next-door Sagamore distillery's spirit; the waterfront patio is the seat.
Address: 225 East Cromwell Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
W.C. Harlan in Remington is a candlelit speakeasy behind an unmarked door, Lane Harlan's first bar, pouring seasonal cocktails and a deep amaro list.
Signature drink: Amaro and seasonal cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: There is no sign; look for the unmarked door on 23rd Street, then head inside.
Sugarvale in Mount Vernon is an intimate basement cocktail bar, mixing inventive, balanced drinks with zero pretension off a frequently changing menu.
Signature drink: Inventive seasonal cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: It is small and below street level; arrive early on weekends to land a seat at the bar.
Dutch Courage in Old Goucher is a gin-focused cocktail bar on North Charles Street, building its list around gin and tonics and a long back bar of botanicals.
Signature drink: Gin and tonics, gin cocktails
Food: Small plates
Tip: It is gin-forward but the team mixes anything; the patio is a draw in warm weather.
The Bluebird Cocktail Room in Hampden is a literary-themed upstairs cocktail bar, mixing hyper-seasonal drinks in a book-lined room above the Avenue.
Signature drink: Literary-themed seasonal cocktails
Food: Small plates
Tip: The upstairs Green Room is the seat to ask for; the menu leans hyper-seasonal.
The Elk Room in Harbor East is a hidden cocktail bar behind Italian Disco, pouring spirit-forward classics in a dim, vintage Atlas Restaurant Group room.
Signature drink: Spirit-forward classics
Food: Snacks
Tip: Enter through Italian Disco; the cocktail list runs spirit-forward and classic.
The Owl Bar in the Belvedere Hotel is a Mount Vernon landmark since 1903, a wood-panelled former speakeasy with terracotta owls and brick-oven pizza.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Brick-oven pizza, pub plates
Tip: The neon owls signalled bootleg liquor in Prohibition days; the brick-oven pizza is the kitchen's strength.
