7 Best Cocktail Bars in Delaware!

Next time you’re planning a night out with friends, skip your regular bar. Delaware’s stylish cocktail bars will transport you to another era. From chic speakeasies to cool bungalow-style bars, these cocktail joints promise a memorable night. Here are our favorites.  

Nantuckets Restaurant, Fenwick Island, DE

For New England fine dining and cocktails, there is only one place to go if you are on The First State’s most famous island. You will get your choice of seafood straight from the docks, crab cakes, dry-aged steaks, or lamb, as well as selections from an impressive wine menu. Moreover, the staff and atmosphere are warm and friendly and standard and signature cocktails are available from the cocktail bar.

V & M Italian-American Bistro, Wilmington, DE

Fresh off a Best of Delaware Award, it doesn’t get much more authentic Italian in Delaware that V&M. Plus, although V&M has a fully stocked cocktail bar, there is really only one drink you need to know when you got there. Their famous Limoncello Ice Martini is a vodka martini mixed with house-made limoncello and topped with two scoops of homemade lemon ice.

The Copperhead Saloon, Greenville, DE

Established in 2016, this small cocktail bar quietly opened in the Powder Mill Square Shopping Center. One part speakeasy, one part razzle-dazzle, Copperhead offers traditional cocktails with a twist. Take the Old Fashioned, for instance—Murano cherries, Mexican brown sugar, smoked ice, and a puff of smoke from a dispensing gun hidden behind the bar. Surely this is a drink that draws crowds and speaks of an opulence of a gone by era. 

The Golden Fleece Tavern, Dover, DE

Built sometime in the 1730s, the Golden Fleece was reportedly frequented by many of the forefathers of this great country. Although the original site was demolished in 1830, the name lives on just a few blocks away. There, you will find beer, cider, and some interesting old-school cocktails, like Golden Apple Shooters, hot-mulled cider, a popular drink called the Morning After.

Painted Stave Distilling, Smyrna, DE

Established in 2011, Painted Stave worked closely with The First State’s most well-known brewery and distiller, Dogfish Head Brewery to eventually become Delaware’s first stand-alone distillery in 2013. Painted Stave uses only the freshest local ingredients when possible to produce their own vodka, gin, rye, and bourbon whiskey. Plus, in the visitor’s room and lounge, you will find some of the best cocktails in the state using PSD’s spirits.

Merchant Bar, Wilmington, DE

Merchant Bar is a self-proclaimed elevated gastropub that boasts a chef-driven menu featuring high-quality ingredients and hand-crafted, original cocktails. Perfect for both intimate dining or the casual drink, Merchant offers classic aperitifs like the Old Fashioned, the Moscow Mule, a Classic Margarita, as well as signature cocktails that include their house-made coffee-infused tequila or lemongrass vodka.   

C.R. Hummingbird to Mars, Wilmington, DE

Featuring unique house-made cocktails, this traditional speakeasy will take you back in time to an era of elegance and sophistication, not to mention you need to be buzzed in. Located atop the Catherine Rooney building in Trolley Square, the drink list includes beer, wine, and cocktails, such as the Poolside Kiwi Splash and Not Your Son’s Chocolate Milk. 

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