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Start a Top 5 for CocktailsEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Feast Magazine and Vox Magazine. Updated September 2026.
Flyover · Downtown
Feast Magazine reports co-owners Adam Wells-Morgan and Dan Dethrow set out to make Flyover the Columbia room people go to for craft cocktails, with Dethrow drawing the drink menu from Kansas City bars including Ça Va, Julep Cocktail Club and Manifesto. Dethrow began bartending at a cocktail jazz club in England before returning to Columbia. The bar pours champagne on tap, a first for the city, alongside Missouri and Midwest beers, and the kitchen keeps a separate late-night menu running until midnight.
Barred Owl Butcher & Table · Downtown
Frances Harvey leads the bar at Barred Owl Butcher & Table, the first woman to run a program Feast Magazine describes as known for its classic and innovative cocktails and wines. Harvey worked as lead bartender from the restaurant’s first day before taking over from Andrew Ruth, and she says the pandemic reset left a bar whittled down to the things the staff know they do well. She finds ideas for drinks in books and in the restaurant’s own kitchen.
Dive Bar · Business Loop
Karen Geotz opened Dive Bar in December 2017 in the room her favourite spot, Tiger Club, had just left, and Vox Magazine's feature on the women running Columbia's bars puts her at the centre of it. Vox lists the bar as known for an expansive whiskey selection and live music, and says it pours a variety of handcrafted cocktails. Order the classic whiskey sour, the drink Vox singles out, and come on a weekend morning for the boozy brunch.