Esquire
By Esquire Editors
This year’s Best Bars are a reflection of the desire to experience wonder once more—in being introduced to mind-expanding wines and whiskeys, downing pints in old churches, or hunkering in jazzy spaces again—and to be grateful for places that managed to remain intrinsic to the fabric of drinking culture in America.
White Limozeen, Graduate Hotel Nashville
Named for Dolly Parton’s twenty-ninth solo album, perches atop the roof of the Graduate Hotel like an outrageous wig. The decor—crystal chandeliers and an onyx wraparound bar—is matched by the cocktail menu: the frozen Aperol spritz, the magenta-hued Queen of the Rodeo, and Champagne Jell-O shots topped with Pop Rocks. The large deck beckons with its chaises and fringed pink umbrellas. Guests can take a dip in the pool, admire the view of Nashville, or just lounge in the shadow of Dolly’s larger-than-life bust (excuse the pun), a ten-foot-tall sculpture fashioned from pink chicken wire