Cocktail barHistoric saloon$$duval-streetMon-Sat 09:00-04:00; Sun 10:00-04:00
Sloppy Joe's opened with Prohibition's end in 1933 and has held Duval and Greene since 1937, a National Register Key West saloon with all-day live music.
Signature drink: Sloppy Rita
Food: Sloppy Joe sandwiches, wings and bar snacks
Tip: The operator dates the bar to 1933 and this corner to 1937; July's Hemingway Look-Alike Contest is the rowdiest week to visit.
Cocktail barHistoric saloon$duval-streetMon-Sat 10:00-02:00; Sun 10:30-01:00
Captain Tony's Saloon drinks inside an 1851 icehouse on Greene Street, the Key West bar that claims Hemingway's patronage and a tree through the roof.
Signature drink: Pirate's Punch under the hanging tree
Food: No kitchen; drinks only
Tip: The operator says the building was an icehouse and morgue and that Hemingway drank here; both bars on this block claim him, so enjoy the argument.
Cocktail barOpen-air harbour bar$$historic-seaportDaily 08:00-02:00
Schooner Wharf Bar has held the old Singleton shrimp-factory site on Key West's bight since 1984, an open-air deck of roosters, rum and live music.
Signature drink: Pina colada on the harbour walk
Food: Seafood, breakfast from 08:00 and bar plates
Order: A pina colada with fish and chips at the dock rail
Tip: Breakfast starts at 08:00 Friday to Sunday and 08:30 Monday to Thursday; the bar calls itself a last little piece of old Key West.
Cocktail barOpen-air saloon$$duval-streetDaily 10:00-02:00
Hog's Breath Saloon works an open-air corner near Mallory Square, the Key West room of a saloon brand founded in Florida in 1976, with all-day bands.
Signature drink: Hog Snort
Food: Raw bar, fish tacos and hog legs
Order: Fish tacos and a Hog Snort during the afternoon set
Tip: Live music runs from 13:00 to close most days; the raw bar side is quieter than the stage side if you want to talk.
Cocktail barRum bar$$duval-streetDaily 11:00-23:00
The Rum Bar pours one of Key West's deepest rum lists on the Speakeasy Inn porch, an upper Duval house whose basement once hid Prohibition bottles.
Signature drink: Rum flight from a list in the hundreds
Food: Drinks only; restaurants within a block
Tip: Ask the bartender to build a three-pour flight by island; the porch rockers are the best seats on upper Duval.
Cocktail barCocktail bar$$historic-seaportMon-Fri 15:00-02:00; Sat-Sun 12:00-02:00
General Horseplay mixes proper cocktails and pours craft beer on Caroline Street in Key West, with a hidden back bar opening nightly at 19:00.
Signature drink: House cocktails and tasty beers
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: The back bar opens at 19:00 and feels like a second, smaller venue; sister rooms include Mary Ellen's and The Roost.