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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 Isthmus and Madison Magazine. Updated August 2026.
The Robin Room · East Johnson
Isthmus pick. Barman Chad Vogel's casual-but-hip room with rotating menu, homemade ingredients and a blood-orange-and-cognac cordial Old Fashioned.
Merchant Madison · Capitol Square
Isthmus pick. Dark, modern bar where juices, syrups and herbs are fresh and ice is hand-carved; seasonal cocktail menu of classics and originals.
State Line Distillery · East Side
Isthmus pick. Distills its own gin, vodka, rum, aquavit and coffee liquor using locally roasted Kin-Kin; open rustic lounge.
Tasting Room · Monona
A Monona tasting room whose signature cocktail, the Honey Badger, took bronze in the 2025 readers' poll for cocktails. The room sits inside a shopping plaza on West Broadway rather than a standalone building, and its drink program leans on original house recipes rather than a classic cocktail list.