drink, the Ground Control to Captain Kelly, made from Singani 63, Giffard’s Orgeat, John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum, Montenegro, passionfruit, and lemon. Once you’ve got a drink in hand, you can play some darts or some Skee-Ball, post up in one of the cozy booths, or head to the other side of the basement space to watch a concert. We also enjoy socializing in the bar’s secret library. If you don’t know where to find it, well… we’re not going to tell you. Drink in the Dark HIGHBALL Best Place to 1514 North Seventh Avenue 602-675-4244 highballphx.com Highball’s cocktails are beautiful, topped with fresh sprigs of mint and served in cut- glass coupes. But you can’t really see them. You have to let your taste buds do the judging at this impressively dark bar. Very low lighting casts a moody glow over shiny leather chairs and patrons donning their nighttime best. Cocktails, created by Valley bar experts Libby Lingua and Mitch Lyons, rotate with the seasons. As dark as it is, it would make sense if this bar inhabited a basement. But quite the opposite. Find it located on the second floor, up a steep flight of stairs on McDowell Road and Seventh Avenue. Highball welcomes customers to ascend into the darkness. Best Pool Bar LYLO SWIM CLUB Rise Uptown Phoenix 400 West Camelback Road 480-536-8899 riseuptownhotel.com/phoenix_ restaurants/lylo The concept of a pool bar often brings to mind watered-down, unimpressive cock- tails, where the goal is for the drinks to be refreshing enough to beat the heat. But Lylo Swim Club breaks free from those boundaries. Located at the Rise Uptown Hotel, Lylo is an inventive cocktail bar that just so happens to be outside and located next to a pool. Colorful tiles decorate the tables, wicker basket lamp shades hang over the bar, and retro patio chairs and sofas give the space a Tulum-meets- midcentury feel. The cocktail menu, created by Ross Simon of award-winning bars Bitter & Twisted and Little Rituals, includes tropical tipples like the passion- fruit and vanilla Star Martini, the cucumber-laced Mr. Hendricks, and the mezcal and mango Lazy Daze. Frozen items including the berry daiquiri and the sorbet bellini riff off classic poolside drinks and serve flavors that scream summer vacation all year long. Best Cigar Bar FOX CIGAR BAR 7443 North Sixth Avenue, Scottsdale 480-214-5011 1464 East Williams Field Road, Gilbert 480-917-3117 foxcigarbar.com Cigar bars may have seen their heyday in the 1990s, but there are still plenty of folks who enjoy a nice smoking session with their adult beverage. The two locations of Fox Cigar Bar cater to those who have good taste in cigars and drinks and who like bustling, high-energy drinkeries. The walk-in humidors have a broad selection, and the bars have 14 rotating beer taps plus 400 premium spirits, including more than 200 whiskys, bourbons, and scotches. Add in plenty of TVs showing all the sports you can handle, and big, comfy chairs, and you’ve got an atmosphere designed for relaxation and fun. And if you prefer to smoke in the comfort of your own home, Fox has got it covered: Its online store will ship you all the stogies you want. Best Speakeasy THE WHITE RABBIT 207 North Gilbert Road, Gilbert twr.bar First things first: Go to The White Rabbit’s website and sign up for the bar’s emails so you can obtain the monthly password (one email a month is all they send you). Then, you’re ready to go down the rabbit hole. The underground speakeasy is located in downtown Gilbert’s historic Heritage Court building. The vibe is a mix of dark academia and Victorian-era apothecary; gallery walls full of antique photos overlook comfy leather sofas, and rows of bottles line the hallway to the entrance. The draw here is the cocktails, which are organized on the menu from least to most sweet. We’re fans of the sweet and spicy Lil’ Tricky, a blend of Ghost Tequila, Los Vecinos Mezcal, passionfruit, guava, amaro, agave, citrus; and the rich, comforting Hedonist Chic, made from Dos Maderas 5+5 Rum, vanilla, oat milk, baking spice, caramelized banana, brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnut. The cocktails are quite potent, so consider pairing them with one of White Rabbit’s flatbreads (we like the chicken pesto) so your adventures in wonderland don’t end on a sour note. Best Tiki Bar UNDERTOW 3626 East Indian School Road 602-739-1388 drinkundertow.com UnderTow may have moved from its original spot underneath Sip Coffee & Beer to a space next door in the same building as Century Grand, but it’ll never leave the 236 BEST OF PHOENIX 2022 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2022.C0M | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
