The Gin Joint

OUR ARTICLE

You will not find vodka here, so all Drago fans from Rocky IV can graciously head to the exit. What will obviously be available at the Gin Joint along Easy Bay Street is no shortage of the juniper berry spirit in pristine flowing form. Alongside the namesake is a selection of the finest liquors waiting to be mixed to excellence and slid to your hand.

The balanced setting of this polished wooden backdrop caters to all different kinds of spirits, not just the ones in the bottles. Perhaps a Mezcal drink for a gentlemen tailored from head to toe with a quiet grin, or Scotch manipulation for a roughneck decked out in denim, dying to tell a captivating tale.  These diverse dispositions collect in the cool humidity-stripped air to share a common fascination for locally sourced seasonal drinks built around the best selection of liquor. If it’s on the menu, the team here is excited about every ounce of it, and the clientele are just as thrilled to quench their thirsty minds.

commit to the Bartender’s Choice by selecting two words from a list that include Savory, Spicy, Fizzy, Licorice, Herbal, and Smoky, just to name a few.

We highly recommend sinking into one of the black-buttoned booths to let the mind drift into a transcendental cocktail meditation. There are a few different parallels on the drink list to achieve this state of liquid elation. Feel like dipping your feet in? Glance at The Pool Side selection and order up the Booze Cruise: Leblon CachaÇa, Plantation Pineapple Rum, Zaya Rum, Tippleman’s Barrel-Aged Cola Syrup, Dry Curaçao, Genepy des Alpes, lime, orgeat, Tiki bitters, and rosemary. Let the flavor in this one thrash you around.

Then turn your glare at The Stranger Tides lineup and splash into a Merchant & Seaman: Leopold Bros. Navy-Strength Gin, lime, coffee, Laphroaig Scotch, Luxardo Maraschino, bing cherries, and Wheat Beer. That’s right, beer in a cocktail. When this one went down the hatch, it hit us: this Gin Joint operation is more than a post-up for a few then wander onward. In fact, this just might be one of the best cocktail lineups in the South, and any booth is just as much prime real estate as the columned mansions down the road.

To end this tour of vicious vices, commit to the Bartender’s Choice by selecting two words from a list that include Savory, Spicy, Fizzy, Licorice, Herbal, and Smoky, just to name a few. What arrives is fittingly a joint effort, a collaboration between your specific preferences and a professional’s touch. It doesn’t get more personal than that.

With a soaked spirit, order some fresh provisions from the kitchen and don’t bother checking the time — any amount left in the evening won’t be satisfying enough, because when the lights come on, you’ll already be planning your next jaunt to the best joint in town.