What bar in town has the best homemade cocktails?
What I mean are bars that dont just make 3-4 ingredient classic cocktails that any of us at home can easily replicate.
I'm talking the places that make their own unique cocktails that take serious prep before service starts. Making their own bitters and syrups, making their own infusions and shrubs with specialty equipment like a sous vide and vacuum sealer. The type of ingredients that can take hours if not days to produce.
I'm done paying $15+ a cocktail for easily replicated cocktails where a quick trip to Total Wine and I can have the exact same thing at home.
If I am going to basically pay the equivalent of an entree at a chain restaurant for every cocktail, I want uniquely crafted cocktails from professionals.
As much as I didn’t want to believe the hype, Otto’s is incredible
Great for drinks... Just don't bother with the food
I’ve been multiple times and loved the food! What didn’t you like? Have you been back recently?
Yeah just this past week.
I had the lobster escabeche. The corn bread it was on top of was so sweet it tasted like lobster on top of a brown butter cake. Not for me.
And the ropa vieja is nothing to write home about. Could get the same ropa vieja at literally half the price at a real cuban restaurant.
Mostly the food is fine but really overpriced.
Everything is made completely in house just fyi. And whats made in house is made with very high quality ingredients. Even the hot sauce. Which is one of the best ive ever had. But The cuban bread is imported from a small mom n pop bakery in Miami.
Their lechon is also the best i have ever had from any cuban spot.
Maybe one of these days I'll give the lechon a shot! Thanks for the recommendation. Mostly I just can't justify the price for a meal I didnt really enjoy
I'd happily shell out for their cocktails thoogh
Their food is great, they got a Michelin award it can’t just be for their drinks lmao.
Their food is mediocre for fine dining prices.
Michelin doesn't mean much to me anymore after having been to a fair bunch of super middling Michelin recognized places.
They change their menu all the time, so it’s very possible they don’t still serve anything that was offered when the Michelin recognition was awarded
Otto's definitely fits this description. I believe their entire cocktail menu is their own creations if I'm not mistaken?
I don’t get the Otto’s hype. I’ve tried multiple times. And yay for all who love it.
Death in the Afternoon tho. Hard for me to complain about that spot.
Death in the Afternoon is great, but they are definitely a classic cocktail bar. They do not at all fit what OP is looking for. Ottos food is ok, not incredible, but the cocktails definitely hit.
How does it not meet the criteria? All the ingredients are made in house and there’s over 12 original cocktails created by the staff, and several mixed on the classics list created by the owners.
I wanted to hate it so bad, but then I matured and realized I was just being a contrarian. Not everything that’s popular is bad. Great people, great drinks, beautiful bar. 10/10
Just a matter of opinion. I’m not hating on it. Just not my cup of booze. Different strokes for different folks and all.
The bar team at Kaya is what you are looking for
Permanent Vacation
Otto’s would be one of your best bets
Death in the Afternoon
Guesthouse, Sunroom, d/b/a. All on Mills and worth checking out.
Yes, but they don't offer what the poster is looking for.
I absolutely disagree. Sunroom has a complete holiday menu with 20+ crafted original cocktails.
I think The Courtesy in winter park would fit the bill. The bartenders create much of the drink menu (though they do have some standard drinks on there like margaritas) and often times my friends will ask them to make a drink that fits a particular description “fruity but not too sweet” or whatever and they’ll come up with something new right on the spot.
I was underwhelmed last time I went there. Wildly crowded, drinks were just okay :/
Agreed. I really miss the original downtown.
It’s just not the same any more.
Ditto. The Courtesy in theory should be better.
I find Courtesy better when I say, "I like bourbon related drinks, go wild and make me something off menu."
It’s because it’s just the miracle program. You went for Christmas. Go for any other season. They put their heart and soul in to their program outside of the Miracle program.
I'm a huge fan of L'il Indies. Great vibes there, and great craft cocktails.
Me too, but their list of drinks underwhelmed me this past weekend and I've been there a ton over the years.
The moderne won "Best Cocktail Bar" from the orlando weekly best of 2025
Hansons. I don’t think it’s close.
Yes! One of my favorite cocktails of all time is from Hanson's
The Courtesy makes new cocktails every month, however current menu is all Christmas drinks.
They do make their own syrups and bitters for specific seasonal drinks but YMMV depending on the menu of the month.
Broken cage has the best cocktails that lean more “experimental” imo. Plus you can order the full menu from the attached restaurant.
Edit: Otto’s is also very good, Moderne has some great drinks but can be hit or miss for me
Hanson’s!
I'm a big fan of all the spots mentioned so far, but as a certified tomato lover, hands down the best cocktail in town for me is the tomato gimlet at Sparrow.
Capitol room in Sanford
I like how Moderne rotates their cocktails each month and they put the names of the bartenders that created it, it’s really fun!
Lil Indies is forever my favorite cocktail bar. I think Death in the Afternoon is an under appreciated option as well. And ifs been a whilw since ive been thefe, but if you find yourself in tourist hell and dont mind the upcharge Four Flamingos has a shockingly good bar program with a solid scratch made cocktail menu
You’re not going to find that, what you will find are places that make it look like they do all of that prep and make a great cocktail and offer a good experience but no one is going through all that work if they don’t have to.
I agree with this. I have yet to find a cocktail bar that actually makes their own bitters, syrups, etc… I’m coming from NOLA where we have tons of cocktail bars that prep and make it from scratch.
No one makes their own bitters because it’s a lot of work for marginal gain.
I’d be shocked to find out most of our craft bars aren’t making their own syrups or infusions though. It’s super fucking easy.
They do all of this at sunroom.
Op is delusional.
Agree, Orlando doesn’t have the clientele to support places that do that type of stuff. You may find that in bigger cities but those cocktails will be $30+, not the $15 OP is asking.
This is the right awnser. You really won't find any true craft cocktail bars in Orlando of the same caliber as major cities.
There’s no point in spending hours or days making bitter or clarifying milk to sell a cocktail for $18 when the guy down the street can light some wood chips on fire and sell his in a cloud of smoke for $22
The Moderne is a from scratch bar and all of their cocktails are only $14. They even have a clarified milk punch on the menu right now
I stand corrected, OP go there
You will find great bars here, but OP is asking for stuff that’s all scratch made, that’s unrealistic
How do you figure it's unrealistic? We just don't have the consumer base here for it?
It isn’t unrealistic at all, people running bar programs just figure the average person doesn’t care enough (they’re probably right), or , more likely, bar owners aren’t enthusiastic about paying their staff a reasonable hourly wage to prep a bunch of ingredients.
Making house syrups, infusions, clarifications and fat washes is actually so fucking easy. Homemade bitters is a little trickier and tbh not worth the squeeze in most cases imo, but can still be done without too much work.
I’m a big fan of the drinks at Thrive! Lots of unique cocktails with house-made liquor infusions, and they update their menu seasonally so there’s always something new.
All this cool cocktail talk makes me miss Bitters and Brass in Sanford. They had such a vibe!
Death In The Afternoon is basically the spiritual successor of Bitters and Brass, same dudes and a few drinks from bitters are on the menu, just a slightly different concept. I do miss that spot though 😭
I could not remember which place was theirs, so thank you for the reminder. I need to check them out!
Aku Aku and the naughty list (holiday themed speak easy at the back of the Dust)
The team there does a great job
death in the afternoon.
Sportstown.
Oh and it’s not a cocktail bar but if you need a tasty restaurant in winter park, firebirds has the most amazing pineapple vodka. They make their own and it’s so dangerously tasty. I’m not a big drinker but omg it’s so so so so good I have to be careful bc I could probably drink myself unconscious accidentally bc it’s so good. lol.
Sunroom, Luminescent, and the bar at Osteria Ester will get you the closest.
Bellhop is insanely good with very creative cocktails, including a miso soup one which I didn’t expect to enjoy
Is it still as loud as s club in there? Last time I went they were blasting club music at club volume levels. It made for a weird vibe that didnt mix with the chill classy cocktail lounge aesthetic.
Literally. Bellhop is cool in concept - hotel lobby decor/theme in a historic hotel - but overall it feels like an identity crisis. The bartenders wear tiki shirts and then they blast club music. It’s weird. If they leaned into the 1920s hotel vibe it would be way better. Bartenders wear bellhop uniforms and a live jazz band. Would be soooo good
Shame it's still the same weird vibe.
OP - have you not been to any bars in Orlando? I’m assuming you live here, based on your past posts. What bars have you been to that do this or that miss the mark for you? Surely you’ve been to some bars around here already and know somewhat the lay of the land…
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Exactly what I was about to mention😭 the neighbors and death in the afternoon are my go to’s when people ask for recs