This Lindale Park spot offers tropical cocktails like the Tropic Like It’s Hot, made with grapefruit vodka, aontillado sherry, and coconut water; and the El Sabio, with blanco tequila, falernum, and pineapple. The cantina-like vibe is rounded out with a selection of bar food, including tacos, flautas and nachos.

Inarguably one of the country’s finest tiki bars, Lei Low is seriously dedicated to the Polynesian theme. The rum is always flowing heavily, and it’s mixed into cocktails that are equal parts thoughtful and playful, featuring fanciful garnishes like bananas carved to look like dolphins. Want to keep that adorable shark tiki mug? Take it home for $15.

With a focus on whiskey, beer, and tacos, it’s no surprise that Eight Row Flint is a perennial Houston favorite. The patio here is a neighborhood favorite, and the frozen cocktails are sippable year-round.

In the Heights, Houston cocktail empresario Bobby Heugel and chef Justin Yu are cooking up bar magic. The cocktail menu at BLT is fresh and playful, and the famous “Party Melt” is the definition of the perfect bar food.

Alba Huerta has long been known as one of Houston’s finest bartenders, and those skills are permanently on display at Julep. Enjoy inventive versions of the bar’s namesake cocktail, like a julep spiked with honeysuckle and coconut, or spring for the $20 Ramos gin fizz, which is shaken vigorously to frothy perfection.

Yet another Bobby Heugel bar, The Pastry War serves up Houston’s best selection of agave-based spirits and cocktails designed to highlight the unique flavor profiles of each tequila and mezcal.

Outside of having the best bar name in Houston, Captain Foxheart’s is also a haven for whiskey enthusiasts. The giant bar and equally expansive patio are surpassed only by the wide selection of spirits.

This EaDo bar takes its cues from mid-century industrial design, and without an actual bar to sit at, feels more like a hotel lobby or someone’s spacious living room. Drinks run the gamuts from classic highballs to amaro-based concotions, like the Dead Man’s Handle, an elevated margarita with Aperol and orgeat.

This swanky new cocktail lounge, inside tasting menu restaurant March, offers the perfect place for an apertif, especially the house-made vermouth, served in a round porthole-style infuser stuffed with flowers and herbs. You don’t need to have a reservation for the restaurant though — the Lounge is now taking bookings for just drinks.

The O.G. of Houston’s flourishing cocktail scene, Bobby Heugel’s obsessively particular Anvil is still one of the city’s finest bars. In addition to the rigorous training program for its bartenders, this Montrose institution also offers a consistently solid selection of spirits, which produces truly ideal cocktails.

Don’t spend all your money on the pinball machines at Poison Girl. Boasting the self-described best selection of American whiskeys in Texas, brown liquor is a much better choice here. Just drink it straight-up, or mix it into a summery bramble or one of the city’s best Old Fashioneds.

This modern tropical bar and restaurant from the minds behind Nobie melts Asian-inspired eats with refreshing rum and juice drinks. The menu changes regularly, but standouts include the namesake drink, a sophisticated take on the piña coloda, or the refreshing Ocean Water, made with rum, passionfruit, coconut water and Topo Chico. Sit on the palm-lined patio and be instantly transported to an island escape.

Outside of the tenuous parking situation, Grand Prize is a homey bar that doesn’t skimp on cocktail quality. Craving a specific cocktail, perhaps a solid daiquiri or well-mixed Manhattan? The bartenders here can definitely get it done.