These Places Serve up Great Craft Cocktails and Cool Design

Every year the Sunset Travel Awards honor the best in travel in the West. This year we had over 600 entries across all categories (a record number!). These bars are the 2023 winners of the Where to Eat and Drink: Best Craft Cocktails category. Check out the complete list of winners here. For our definitive directory to travel in the West, click here.

Best Craft Cocktails

The Copper Room at the Yucca Valley Airport

Belathée Photography

From the folks behind the legendary Pioneertown Motel and Red Dog Saloon, this bar with a view of the tarmac and throwback ‘70s pilot-on-holiday vibes might be the coolest new bar in the desert. Excellent cocktails and food round out the formula for a top-flight high-desert evening.

Botanist

Fairmont Pacific Rim

Inspired by all that is botanical in the Pacific Northwest, this refined restaurant and cocktail bar in Vancouver takes the craft of the cocktail very seriously and has won just about every possible award and honor in the business. The plant-filled space is a verdant backdrop for the achievements of the bar and culinary team.

Room for Milly

David Lauer Photography

Channel your wanderlust at this Denver speakeasy inspired by globetrotting 1920s socialite Milly Parker, where the selection of cocktails tell the story of a bygone era. The space is decidedly more swank than what you might expect of the Mile High city—a welcome addition to the scene.

Reynard Social

Thompson Denver

This expansive Denver rooftop bar is themed around a fox called Reynard from European folklore. In the spirit of the adorable and mischievous critter, who’s woven throughout the art and decor, you can get into all sorts of fun trouble atop the Thompson Denver, from hobnobbing with well-heeled locals to perusing the bar’s extensive record collection.