Best cocktail bars in Calgary

Cocktail culture is more than a passing fad — a strong cocktail program is given almost as much attention as the food. Today’s cocktails give talented bartenders a chance to really show their creativity, whether they’re doing premium versions of the classics, incorporating savoury elements to complement the food or getting artistic with flavours and presentation.

Calgary punches well above its weight when it comes to outstanding cocktails. Modern cocktails give talented bartenders a chance to really show their creativity, whether they’re doing premium versions of the classics, incorporating savoury elements to complement their food menus, or getting artistic with flavours and presentation. These bars in Calgary are making amazing cocktails that are much more than mere drinks.

Bar Rocca

The sister bar to the much-celebrated DOPO restaurant located just downstairs, Bar Rocca is the perfect place to grab a snack and a drink either before or after dinner or when DOPO reservations are impossible to snag. Rocca is primarily an Italian wine bar, but it also boasts an innovative flavour-forward cocktail list.

Address: 1909 34 Ave SW #105

Betty Lou’s Library 

A real deal speakeasy, admission to Betty Lou’s Library requires whispering a password into a telephone, prompting a vintage bookcase to swing open to reveal a plush jazz-age library-themed bar. Drinks are named after famed women of the Gatsby era as well as literary giants worthy of raising a well-appointed glass to. If you’re lucky, you may catch a live jazz or burlesque show.

Address: 908 17 Ave SW

Blue Rock Swim Club

Located underneath the popular South Block barbecue restaurants, Blue Rock Swim Club is a swanky cocktail bar with a menu full of thoughtful and cheeky drinks. Each drink is well explained in terms of fruitiness, sourness, and heft so no one ends up with something not to their taste. There’s also a robust menu of indulgent bites for anyone who wants to turn drinks into dinner.

Address: 500 25 Ave SW

Business and Pleasure 

From its storefront, this bar located in the back alley behind the Super Variety sandwich shop looks like a random professional office, but there’s a cozy and contemporary cocktail bar happily lurking inside. Business and Pleasure’s rotating food menu is fantastic, but the drinks are even better. You could opt for a glass of natural wine, but it would be a mistake to miss out on one of the bar’s perfectly balanced cocktail crafted with local spirits, fresh juice, and specialty bitters.

Address: 1327a 9 Ave SE

Fleetwood Lounge

As the resident cocktail lounge in The Oliver Building (which also houses the high-end Italian restaurant Luca and other related eateries) the Fleetwood Lounge is a perfect picture of 1930s vintage elegance, with a sophisticated cocktail menu to complement the details of the room. Expect innovative takes on classic drinks for the serious cocktail connoisseur, with a bar filled with premium spirits and house-made syrups. Bar specialties include premium espresso martinis and barrel-aged cocktails along with a traditional absinthe service.

Address: 524 10 Ave SW

La Hacienda

Another Marda Loop bar operated by the team behind DOPO, La Hacienda is an intimate little hangout — think, living room sized, with just enough seats for about 20 people. The bar specializes in handcrafted cocktails, with a small selection of tasty bites.

Address: 1928 34 Ave SW

Magpie

An unassuming little spot in the East Village, Magpie as a bit of a ‘90s retro vibe and an enormous drink list full of cocktail classics with a few newfangled surprises. The bar also boasts a plant-based food menu, with vegan versions of chicken wings, skewers and other bar snacks.

Address: 535 8 Ave SE #107

Missy’s This That

Feeling like a cross between a cool diner and proprietor Thomas Dahlgren’s personal clubhouse, Missy’s This That is an unpretentious no-nonsense spot that just feels nice to hang out in. Dahlgren is well-known as a wine expert and Missy’s boasts a great selection of wine, sherry, and spirits, but the cocktails (and, should you dare, party shots) are also interesting and creative, making good use of the startlingly well-stocked bar.

Address: 348A 14 Ave SW

One18 Empire

Located inside the downtown Calgary Marriott Hotel, One 18 Empire is the place to go if you love whisky. The bar is stocked with over 300 different kinds of whisky including ryes, Scotches, bourbons, and other varieties. The bar offers some great cocktails but the biggest selling point is the bespoke old fashioned service where customers choose their own whisky, type of wood for table side glass smoking, sweetener, and bitters.

Address: 820 Centre St S

Paper Lantern

Hidden away in a Chinatown basement behind a fake tailor shop, Paper Lantern is an oasis of breezy island vibes and outrageously delicious Vietnamese snacks and banh mi sandwiches. The list of original cocktails is deliciously extensive, with fun drinks employing Asian-inspired ingredients like Midori, sesame, and green tea, with plenty of tropical tiki touches and fruity flavours.

Address: 115 2 Ave SE Basement

Prickett Richard

A sister bar to the aforementioned Blue Rock Swim Club (which is in the South Block barbecue restaurant), Prickett Richard sits in the basement of the Comery Block barbecue restaurant. This one has a distinctively late-night NYC vibe, with brick walls and seats packed tightly together. The cocktails are fun and complex, with plenty of spirit-forward creations.

Address: 638 17 Ave SW #1

Prohibition Bar & Lounge

A tucked-away bar paying homage to the original era of clandestine watering holes, Prohibition is a jazzy spot that evokes the spirit of the 1920s. The house specialty cocktails are not 1920s recreations — instead you get interesting modern creations that come with accompanying stories explaining their Roaring Twenties inspiration.  For those who do want a Prohibition era Bee’s Knees or Paper Plane, the bar is more than happy to whip those up too.

Address: 720 17 Ave SW #30

Proof

A lounge designed for the serious cocktail enthusiast, Proof is for people who can’t abide by a simple gin and tonic. The rotating cocktail list is separated by spirit and each cleverly named drink is its own miniature work of art. There’s food too, but the menu of bar snacks and small plates are all formulated to go well with the cocktails, not the other way around.

Address: 1302 1 St SW

Prosperity Bar

Owned and operated by the same people behind Paper Lantern (which is just a few doors down), Chinatown’s Prosperity Bar is a full-fledged tiki masterpiece, complete with cushy booths, bamboo accents, and tasteful tropical vibes. The drinks are proper tiki classics along with some house creations — and yes, many of them are served in very cute glassware.

Address: 107 2 Ave SE

Ricardo’s Hideaway

Taking as seat in the cozy Ricardo’s Hideaway feels like going on a mini-holiday. The tropical themed-bar’s cocktail menu is firmly entrenched in the world of rum — think Hemingway-style daiquiris, handcrafted mai tais and similar classics. The must-have drink on the menu is the Trinidad Sour, a blend of pisco, orgeat syrup and an unbelievable amount of Angostura bitters.

Address: 1530 5 St SW

Shelter 

Although it’s on the street level of busy First Street, Shelter feels like a tucked-away hideout, thanks to a bunker-inspired design and dark mood lighting. The bar has earned a reputation for giving imaginative chefs a boost through temporary pop-up style residencies, so the food component is always interesting and delicious. But the biggest draw are the cocktails which tend to be mind-blowingly intricate, combining unexpected flavours that will surprise and delight.

Address: 1210 1 St SW

Sweet Loretta 

Sweet Loretta is a raucously fun time from top to bottom: upstairs you’ll find Calgary’s premier inclusive disco bar and a hip lounge serving up spirit-forward cocktails and beautifully executed shareable plates of food. For a truly transportive cocktail experience, sneak downstairs to Otto, Sweet Loretta’s secret tiki bar, stocked with exotic drinks and big Hawaiian energy.

Address: 715 11 Ave SW

The Artist Lounge

A bar located within a neighbourhood art gallery, The Artist Lounge is a place to gaze upon and drink works of art. These beautifully balanced cocktails all mean business and can be paired with items from the lounge’s globally inspired tapas menu.

Address: 1840 20 Ave NW

The Derrick 

Gin is the name of the game at The Derrick , a Downtown bar that also specializes in smoked meat, local flair, and a laidback Western atmosphere. With nearly 100 different gins behind the bar, martinis, negronis, and G&Ts are the house specialties, but there’s also a long list of original cocktails. Gin plays a big part in the cocktail menu (though there’s plenty for non-gin drinkers too) along with surprising infusions, syrups, bitters, and ingredients like truffle oil and carrot cake water.

Address: 620 8 Ave SW #102

It’s a lot to choose from — just keep in mind, many of these cocktails contain two ounces of alcohol or more, so be sure to sip and savour accordingly, and remember to order some food.

About the author:

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth is a local food writer, cookbook author, radio columnist and a lifelong Calgarian.