In the heart of downtown, Hanny’s is the type of place you bring your first date in order to make an impression. The atmosphere is such that you might find a similar experience in the uptown of a big city, or the in the penthouse restaurant of an expensive hotel. Expected engagements at Hanny’s include business meetings or visits from mom and dad, who are checking to make sure you’re on the right track to graduate this spring. A martini is the symbol of elegance in adult recreation. With their signature $5 martini, Hanny’s makes any deluxe occasion available to the modest of college budgets. Just don’t let the socialites who frequent Hanny’s catch you ordering it with vodka. For a genuine cocktail consumer, the combination of gin, vermouth, and an olive is the holy trinity. For stout individuals craving nostalgia in a glass, the $8 classic Manhattan served at this bar is not to be toyed with frivolously. All things being equal, this bar is the happy hour for the professional looking for refinement in their refreshments.
If Hanny’s is the darling of the urban bourgeoisie, the Duce is the gritty locale for the swing-dancing, suspender-donning hipster. Located south of the railroad tracks and offering a sense of 1920s rural simplicity, this renovated warehouse is above all not a traditional bar. A silver trailer greets visitors at the entrance, and as you venture further, the bar and lounge is cordoned by a boxing ring. Beyond the boxing ring and exercise area, the remainder of the warehouse comprises a soda fountain, a thrift shop and a fruit market. If your mind isn’t already blown by the setting, the Duce’s cocktails will surely do the trick. The Duce prides itself on serving classic cocktails out of 16-ounce mason jars. Also, for roughly $20 and a wish goodnight to the bartender, heavy hitters can order a “Duce Jar” of their chosen concoction for a whopping 30 ounces of cocktail goodness. The Duce is the best place downtown for experimenting with unknown cocktails, as any drink on their expansive cocktail menu is sure to be your new favorite obscure order to use at other destinations before it becomes too trendy.
On the topic of hipster destinations, Carly’s is the end-all be-all of such establishments downtown. With live music playing often and local art along the walls for sale, Carly’s might be every downtown hipster’s dream come true. If you’re interested in purchasing the mural painting behind the bar of the nude woman accepting some sort of humble praise from a Native American, sorry, but it’s not for sale. You wouldn’t want your favorite arts district mixed drink distributor to lose their spectacle above the bar anyway. Carly’s offers a full bar with local seasonal offerings to fit every level of eco-green and sustainable alcohol consumer. Currently, Carly’s is sporting a blueberry menu full of uplifting concoctions for those late summer nights. Their signature drink at present is the blueberry mojito, but you can snag an ordinary mojito for $4 on Mojito Mondays.
A stone’s throw south of Carly’s, Rum Bar at the Breadfruit is whipping up some delightfully strange concoctions that are, by far, the least accessed treasures of downtown. Hidden away on Pierce Street just north of the Downtown campus, Rum Bar is not your great great great colonial American grandfather’s beverage station. Rum Bar is the tropical Caribbean to an etiquette academy, yet maintains a college student’s delicate budget. While they’ve been promoting their “a-rum-a therapy” happy hour for some time now, our advice for first-timers is not to settle for the $5 rum punch proudly displayed in a glass dispenser at the entrance, although that is a treat in itself. Let the bartenders surprise you. You have our guarantee you won’t leave disappointed, that is, if you leave at all.
We are ending this list of our favorite alcohol-serving destinations with the weekend party destination, Bliss/reBAR. Their wooden deck deceivingly seems like a classy brunch location by day, with mimosas and sour cream pancakes (Don’t knock it ’til you try it.) on the menu. But come nightfall, this hotspot beckons everyone, from the neighboring Roosevelt Row artists to downtown urbanites and ASU students. Bliss/reBAR’s outdoor deck bar has a seemingly contrasting feel between a lake house dock party and a Mexican cantina — maybe more the latter with their extensive selection of Cuervo premium margaritas. While we aren’t completely impressed with the staff creations lining the drink menu, this weekend destination of frat party epicness would make the list on atmosphere alone. It is not to be missed for a well-rounded collegiate experience.
The growth of downtown Phoenix has been both exponential and exciting. The drinks flowing out of our favorite happy hour hotspots are no exception. For all responsible consumers at ASU and the downtown community, these five locations are a decent start to experience all downtown’s nightlife has to offer. Our only hope is that you find more of your own. Maybe you’ll see your favorite unknown happy hour on our list next semester. Until then, cheers!
Contact the reporter at dmzayas@asu.edu
