Bandsaw-cut ice cubes. Whipped vodka cream filling. A "spritz on a patio.” Readers of Rochester Magazine voted for the coolest cocktails in Rochester.
From left: Rum Runner, left, Yeah Buddy, center, and Problem Solver, (lower right) cocktails. | Rochester Magazine / Maya Giron
Bitter & Pour
From the moment you walk into the non-descript Third Street entrance--and figure out where, and how to open a secret doorway--it’s clear you’re in for a different experience. But if that bit of old-school kitsch fails to impress even the most jaded of clients, no matter. The welcoming, high-end environment at Bitter & Pour delivers every time, with every cocktail.
How locked in are the staff? Even the ice is deliberate and well-planned. An old fashioned will come with a two-inch block of ice, hand cut in-house with a bandsaw. Other drinks will need the “butter stick.”
The different ice is integral to delivering each drink exactly as intended, says Josh Kral, beverage director at Bitter & Pour.
“When we design a cocktail, whether we shake it or stir it, once we have it diluted to where we want it, we don’t want it to dilute any more,” he says.
The drink menu is always rotating with something new (last summer’s Minnesota Timberwolves playoff run inspired the rhubarb whiskey sour, “Bring Ya A—” for example), but make sure to check out the “First World Problem,” a house blended bourbon and rye with demerara and house bitters.
An Espresso Martini, left, Pain Killer, center, and Smoke & Spice cocktails. | Rochester Magazine / Maya Giron
Our Paladar
Throw on a fedora, a linen guayabera shirt, and park yourself on the patio, while the Cuban vibes take over, and explore the Spritz of the Moment at Our Paladar. The standard “Cocktail of the Moment” becomes a variety of the sparkling wine-based drink during the summer here at Our Paladar.
“Sometimes it’s a classic, sometimes it’s something new,” says Kiefer Manning, co-owner of Our Paladar. “We’re trying to curate an experience for everyone that walks through our doors. Something seasonal, fresh. We have a great time with it – and there’s nothing better than a spritz on a patio.”
If bubbles aren’t your scene, or you’re ready to get out of the sun, check out the Palmetto Room, the well-equipped rum-focused bar downstairs. From the cocktail menu, we recommend the “Miami Vice.”
Asian-inspired cocktails including Mission to Mars, center. | Rochester Magazine / Maya Giron
1928 Cocktails and Bites
“If you can’t make it to Shanghai, we will bring Shanghai to you,” says Sammi Loo, owner of 1928 Cocktails and Bites, her Shanghai inspired cocktail lounge.
The speakeasy-type lounge is well-decorated with artifacts and antiques calling to mind that era, with live jazz music throughout the calendar to heighten the experience. Since its opening in 2024, the “Moon River” has been a standout on the cocktail menu. The drink combines mango, coconut, pineapple, lime, and dark rum flavors with Ming River baijiu, a rice and wheat-based liquor that brings a peppercorn flavor profile.
Every few months, Loo transforms the menu to take diners on a new Asian-based culinary journey. The start was Taiwan, and next the food and small plates menu will travel to Japan.
The menu is already well prepared with various Japanese whiskys as well, in addition to several mocktails.
From left: Red Sangria, Pineapple Doli Martini, and the Watermelon Refresher. | Rochester Magazine / Joe Ahlquist
Chester's Kitchen & Bar
The bartenders at Chester’s aren’t new to this. As General Manager Derek Jensen told Rochester Magazine on a random Monday, the three bartenders preparing for that day’s shift carried some 50-plus years of bartending experience. Our readers say the friendly feeling of Chester’s gives it that extra touch.
“We can have all the cool drinks in the world, all of the different happy hour specials, all of the high end ingredients, but it really falls flat if we don't provide that personal touch, with the bartenders themselves interacting with the guests,” says Jensen, also an executive chef at Chester’s.
Make no mistake, the flashy drinks and ingredients are behind the bar, too. For the summer, grab the Corazon Paloma, which combines tequila, el corazon blend, fresh lime, and sparkling grapefruit. Or if booze isn’t on your menu, order the Corazon Pal-NO-ma: an alcohol-free mocktail version.
Clockwise from bottom, a Raspberry Passion Sour, Dreamy Sicilian, and Nordic Colada. | Rochester Magazine / Maya Giron
Sorellina's
We’ve all faced that post-dinner dilemma: Is it time for dessert or a cocktail? The team at Sorellina's has you covered. Sorellina's Bar Manager Kayla McDermott is cooking up—or is it pouring up?—something new with a cannoli martini this summer.
They are infusing vodka into their house-made cannoli shells, and introducing the other dessert flavors through combining the cream filling with a whipped vodka, creating a boozy foam that needs to be consumed to be believed.
This comes on the heels of their ever-popular tiramisu martini. Other infusions are sitting on the bar top (ask about the toasted pecan bourbon and the date-infused vodka).
“We like to push the boundaries with things that we do for our cocktails, with our food-focused options,” McDermott says.
Outside of those new infusions, the classics like the private barrel-aged old fashioned or the house margarita are always well favored.
A Flor Fuerte, left, and Not My Tai’m cocktail. | Rochester Magazine / Maya Giron
Bleu Duck Kitchen
When Corbin Holmen hears someone at his bar say, “Oh I don’t know. I’ll just take something simple,” it’s his time to shine. The bar manager at Bleu Duck Kitchen ensures that their drink menu has its share of classics, but if the diner is willing, Holmen opens up a road map of their libationary favorites, and proposes a more obscure drink that they will love.
“When you can hand them a drink, and walk away, and see their eyebrow raised, maybe they start nodding, or they hand it over to their friends. Then you know they are enjoying themselves,” Holmen says.
Bleu Duck tries to bring approachable cocktails, along with a few more obscure, complex offerings for the discerning palate, he says.
For each end of the spectrum, try these. First, the “Princess Peach,” a gimlet-esque sour rounded out with peach liqueur, cranberry cordial, and a peach sugar rim. Want to go complex? Try the “Desert Mirage,” a slightly bitter cocktail mixed with sotol, xila apertivo, luxardo, maraschino, and salers.
The Old Fashioned, front, is pictured with, from left, St. Germain Champagne, the Blueberry Splash and the Mixed Berry Sour. | Rochester Magazine / Joe Ahlquist
Olde Brick House Pub
If you spend an afternoon in Olde Brick House Pub, and start greeting your bar mates with “Sláinte,” we won’t blame you. Once you walk under the skyway tunnel on First Ave., the goal is to enter an Irish bar that feels like it's in Ireland, not the Queen City.
“We want our guests to immediately feel like they are at a bar in Ireland,” says general manager Erik Schacht.
Each piece of Olde Brick House Pub was shipped from Ireland to Rochester, from the booths, the stained glass, the bar furniture, Schacht says.
But you didn’t come to this popular downtown spot just to look at the beautiful stained glass, you came for a drink, and Olde Brick House offers 120 different Irish whiskeys from which to choose.
Want to explore the summer cocktail list? Grab the mixed berry sour—a shaken cocktail boasting Crown Royal blackberry whiskey, lemon juice, cranberry juice, blackberry simple syrup, and egg white (and you may have to ask for it, it's not always on the menu).