Periodically, I receive emails from readers who are making their way to Los Angeles and want a good drink while they’re here. I’m more than happy to point them to any number of bars around town, mostly because I’m so excited that we finally have bars in town that I can safely say will pour you a fine cocktail. When I started this enterprise nearly four years ago, one of the reasons I felt it was necessary to bother building up a home bar was the lack of bars I could wander into and order a Bronx or Martinez or, god forbid, a Picon Punch. A scant half decade later, Los Angeles has real cocktail bars springing up all over with what looks like more to come. It’s a pretty exciting time to be a cocktail lover around here.

While there are bars all over town, anyone who is or has been to Los Angeles knows that this city is gigantic and full of cars. There are three main areas where cocktail programs are on the rise: Downtown, Hollywood and the Westside, all of which are large enough to require some combination of driving, walking and cabs to get around. And since driving and cocktail bars don’t really mix, when I had the bright idea to do a bar crawl the primary question became one of transportation. I consulted my cohorts, Chuck of The Gumbo Pages and Matt the RumDood, and we weighed our options. The Westside has some excellent choices, including the organic-focused bar menu at Akasha and the brand new Copa d’Oro in Santa Monica; Hollywood is blowing up, with the new bar at Michael Mina’s XIV and of course the bars at The Hungry Cat, Malo, Providence, Comme Ça, Osteria Mozza, Bar Marmont and the venerable Tiki-Ti; and lastly Downtown, the area that arguably kicked off LA’s cocktail bar craze.

After much deliberation we determined that trying to get everywhere in a single crawl was verging on insanity. Even if we could afford the multi-million dollar cab fare from criss-crossing town, the sheer volume of bars we wanted to visit was going to render us insensible by the halfway mark. No, much more reasonable to break this expedition up into three trips and allow our livers to fight on another day. So we made a list, checked it twice, and decided that we should start with a stumble through Downtown because we could literally crawl, if necessary, from bar to bar. Best to be prepared, as the Boy Scouts say. And so we descended upon Downtown Los Angeles and drank our way along a westerly course, six intrepid adventurers in search of of El Dorado.

Church & State: A French bistro located on Industrial Street in the Wholesale District, the kitchen was recently taken over by chef Walter Manzke, formerly of Bastide. We started out at the recently reincarnated bar, which is currently being developed by Michel Dozois, formerly of Comme Ça and STK and the man behind Névé Ice. Michel shakes up a variety of tipples old and new—Ward 8, Rob Roy, Zaya Sour, a tequila Hemingway Daiquiri and a few off-the-cuff creations, such as a lovely unnamed tequila-and-watermelon cocktail. He even makes his own triple sec. The program is still being built, but it’s always nice to take a seat at a bar lined with jars of fresh fruits and brandied cherries and bottles of freshly squeezed juice. Makes it feel like home.

Edison: To the northwest, in the basement of the Higgins Building, lies the subterranean boiler-room-made-lounge that is Edison. The space itself is stunning, with huge boilers and concrete walls juxtaposed with gleaming copper and bare-filament bulbs everywhere. The general cocktail scene at Edison isn’t focused strictly on the classics, but a movement to change that is afoot, spearheaded by beverage manager Aiden Demarest and bartender Marcos Tello. When Marcos is behind the bar you can be sure of getting a well-made classic or even a bowl of punch to enjoy on one of the giant couches. (Also keep an eye out for Radio Room events, which are evenings dedicated to classic cocktails alone.)

Cole’s: Recently opened at Sixth and Main, Cole’s is the latest in the line of bars from Cedd Moses, the proprietor of Seven Grand. The menu is simple—sandwiches, slaw, pickles and pie—and reasonably priced with a full classics-oriented bar. You can pick up a pint of Guinness or Spaten or cuddle up to a Martini, Manhattan, Sazerac or Old-Fashioned before heading past the restrooms to the unmarked door in the back wall, behind which is…

The Varnish: The brand-spanking-new product of LA’s own Eric Alperin, formerly of Osteria Mozza, and Sasha Petraske, proprietor of the famously secret Milk & Honey in New York. Much like the New York speakeasy-style bars, you have to know it’s here to find it (or be the kind of person who isn’t afraid to open an unmarked door in a public restaurant). The place is tiny, with perhaps a dozen tables and enough room behind the stick for two bartenders, but with two servers buzzing about it isn’t hard to get a drink. The menu is a mix of old and new: Remember the Maine (a favorite amongst our group), Stinger, The Business and a Mexican Firing Squad Special. Whipped up by such fantastic bartenders as Chris Ojeda and Matty Eggleston, the drinks are excellent—shaken with full bars of ice and delivered in frosted glasses over similarly big ice or in delightfully chilled little coupes.

And, being a classic sort of place, they do a number on classics like the Martinez and Bronx. During our visit the conversation turned to the recent reformulation of Torani Amer just as Eric stopped by to check on us, so we asked if there was any chance of getting a Picon Punch for the table; he gave us the okay and returned not long after with the tall, dark and handsome Picon. (For which we must say merci! to Mother Alperin for her excellent taste and timely reminders.) The Martinez’ were, undoubtedly, some of the best ever made and the Picon Punch was delightful; certainly amongst the best cocktails I’ve had at a bar and a wonderfully high note to end our time at The Varnish.

Seven Grand: Back down Sixth and a bit south you’ll find the trellised iron gates and neon stag that mark the entrance to Seven Grand. Anyone who has spent any amount of time Downtown has been to 7G, particularly if they like whiskey. The space is dark and comfortable with a long bar lined with row after row after row of every kind of whiskey you can imagine. It is one of my favorite sights, and certainly one of the most awe-inspiring. Though I have never had a bad drink here, there are only two words you need to become a believer: Mint Julep. The bartenders crush the ice by hand in front of you—literally beating it to a fine, icy pulp—and build the finest julep you’ll find in Los Angeles. And if that isn’t enough, order a Manhattan or a Sazerac for a truly religious experience.

Rivera: During our lovely time at The Varnish we bumped into Christine D’Abrosca of Malo and her fiancé, Ray, who joined us for the last leg of our tour at Rivera. Located within spitting distance of the Staples Center, it’s the new Latin-themed restaurant from chef John Rivera Sedlar located in a highly “revitalized” part of town with lots of foot traffic (which is probably one of the reasons the windows into the kitchen face the street). We hooked up with Julian, who gave us a tour of the restaurant before wrangling seats for our party of eight and whipping up a couple rounds of drinks: Rivera’s Cup, Añejo Honey Sour, Donaji and the unfortunately named Blood Sugar Sex Magic. The drinks had a tendency toward spice, relying as the menu does on tequila and mescal, both of which take up many shelves behind the bar. (A fact I am in no way complaining about.) They also use Névé Ice, which is as fabulous as I remember it to be from my former, brief encounter with it. Overall the menu has a nice breadth and variety which, judging by how packed the bar was, is going over well. (Photo courtesy of RumDood.)

For those who can’t, for one reason or another, get close enough to Downtown to visit these places right now, please allow me to leave you with a cocktail recipe for the Bronx, as printed in The Essential Bartender’s Guide, for you to enjoy at home until such a time as you can. It’s been a classic for more years than I can count and has been one of my favorites for years. Throw in a few dashes of orange bitters for some variety, which also turns this into the Income Tax Cocktail.

1½ oz gin
¾ oz fresh orange juice
¼ oz sweet vermouth
¼ oz dry vermouth

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.