Newcomers’ Guide to The Best Downtown Phoenix Cocktail Bars

Skip the sticky floors and watered-down rum and Cokes at these swanky purveyors of drinkable art.

Little Rituals
This cocktail palace from mixology maestros Ross Simon and Aaron DeFeo offers a surprise at every turn, from the Careless Whisper (a session cocktail regaled with fresh fruit) to their snarky version of a Boilermaker, with a beer can rigged to your glass like a drive-in speaker.
132 S. Central Ave.
602-603-2050, littleritualsbar.com

Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour
From Arizona Cocktail Week founder Ross Simon come wildly creative drinks and a tidy but exquisite food menu in Downtown’s coolest vintage digs. Kitchen open until 1 a.m.
1 W. Jefferson St.
602-340-1924, bitterandtwistedaz.com

Pigtails
This cocktail haven at CityScape is the handiwork of the folks who brought The Whining Pig to the Valley. Amusements include a seafood raw bar and baroque libations like the Black Hog Down, made with sotol, Montenegro, crème de cacao and mole bitters.
1 E. Washington St.
602-675-4416, pigtailscocktails.com