We really enjoyed this bar. Great speakeasy atmosphere, friendly bartender and chef that were happy to give suggestions. Chef even brought out some buttermilk ice cream he had made that day for me, even though it wasn't on the menu. Amazing. We went for drinks, but would go back for food as well next time.
Review Source:It is obvious that Charleston is a cocktail city. Â Every place around has them. Â Even the beer bars. Â Though, this is one of the best IMO. Â I can draw a lot of parallels from Houston bars. Â For one Anvil is the innovator (aka Gin Joint), then plenty of other places start relatively quickly, or at least go back to the cocktail roots of the area. Â In Houston it is Captain Fox Heart, here this is the next thing. Â Co owned with The Macintosh downstairs. Â
As you clime the stairs, the long wood bar is in front. Â Again, like most places around, exposed brick. Â A few lounge areas with comfy chairs and couches. Â A great patio area outside. Â Dark and dimly lit, not to mention this is like going back in time. Â The music that is played is immaculate. Â Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman...I love it. Â
The service is top notch. Â Just like The Gin Joint, they know their cocktails. Â What I like better here, is that the bartenders are more accessible and it is a much wider space. Â Even though you would not expect it coming up the stairs. Â Easier access and a less crowded bar means better service.
Anyway, the Old Fashion is great as is the Manhattan. Â You can have it made with any type of booze you want, with or without ice. Â The cocktails are as good here as they are at the Gin Joint, or Anvil (in Houston) for that matter. Â Along with a few quality beers in bottles and cans. Â Did I mention there is an excellent selection of Bourbons and Scotches?
There is a small food menu of chacuterie and cheeses that are excellent. Â Overall, a great place to grab a drink and a snack. Â Before or after dinner downstairs (which is one of the best restaurants in town)
Romantically lit, cute little sitting areas and amazingly delicious drinks. I have only gone a few times during the week. I love the cocktail club for exactly that. Happy hour, conversation and a drink. I forget the exact drink I had but it had ginger and cucumber flavors if I remember and it was to die for!! Soo fresh and yummy. Either way, any drink I've tried has never disappointed.
Review Source:Upper King, across from Basil, next door to The Macintosh, you will see a door with the letter "C". Go upstairs to the Cocktail Club! The bar has a very rustic feel, exposed beams on the ceiling and older looking furniture (leather coaches and tables). I got the lavendar martini since they were out of the pear one. No beers on tap, but my friends got a belgian white, and amber, and a Bud. 5 beers and an $11 martini (standard for me since I live in Hawaii and just visiting Chas!) came out to $37. Not bad for 4 people. I really liked the vibe in here, and even though it wasn't busy on a Monday night at 6pm, my friends tell me that it can get really busy up here! :)
Review Source:The cocktail club is amazing. The cocktails were classy, but new and inventive. I really enjoyed the time I spent there. I went on a Saturday night during Fashion Week 2013 and was able to find a cozy little corner to sit on some comfortable furniture, listen to music, and have some great cocktails. I would definitely recommend this place, especially if you're coming in from out of town to experience a little more upscale Charleston experience than you'd find in the rest of the city. Decor was awesome.
Review Source:A bit too pricey for my blood. I mean c'mon now... Your really going to charge $96.00 for a pour of the pappy 23 year.. Give me a break people. Basically you should just put it in a case unopened and just let people look at it. Don't insult me with that! Just down the street I can get it for 65$ and plus the bottle itself is only 250 retail, let alone what you cats paid. I know i know it's not going to be around at some point... But that's not now! Just put it away and wait till its out of circulation then bring it to pour. A real turn off for me. Not to mention the attitudes. I was told to throw back a $25 shot they served me at last call. If I don't have the time to enjoy a bourbon neat then don't serve it to me.
Review Source:Everything I know about Bourbon I learned at the Cocktail Club. Â I have been to Cocktail Club 10 or more times since they have opened. Â This means I have taken part in the differences in experience other Yelper's have had. Â Your experience depends on WHEN YOU GO and should be tailored as such.
If you want a hip, trendy lounge on upper king to party at while sipping on expensive craft cocktails, then head to Cocktail Club on Friday and Saturday nights. Â When it's slammed and you can barely get to the bar, are you going to get the bartenders undivided attention? Probably not, but you will have a great time if that is what you're after.
Want to grab a pre-dinner drink or maybe a nightcap with that special someone? Â Head over during the week or early on the weekend. Â Cocktail club has an upscale/romantic vibe at the right time and if you sit in the right area. Â The drinks are still pricey, but expected at such an establishment.
Maybe you are looking for a quieter experience with amazing service, unbelievable prices, and bourbon-tastic beverages? Â Yes... Yes... Yes. Â Then your time to go would be very specific. Â On Wednesday evenings from 5pm-7pm. Â This, my friend, is my favorite time at Cocktail Club. Â A time called... Bourbon Happy Hour. Â It is during this time that ALL, and I repeat ALL bourbons/whiskeys are $5 (typical range being $6-$20 per shot). Â I discovered this by stopping in one Wednesday at this time and was told about this magical special. Â I let the bartender know that my knowledge on bourbons/whiskeys was limited, but that I was interested in quenching my thirst for knowledge with the brown liquid.
Over the next few months I stopped in on random Wednesday's, even if I only had time for one drink, to continue my education. Â If it was a bartender I had not dealt with yet, I always explained my intentions of looking to experiment with different flavors and differentiate which spirits I enjoyed and those that I did not. Â I was always welcomed with a wealth of knowledge and explanations to each particular drink. Â Never once was I treated like an idiot for not knowing jack about what I was looking for. Â I was even offered books from behind the bar to read the history of bourbon and what is legally considered bourbon (Yes it is defined by our government) while I sipped my Kentucky hooch.
Now, when I do show up on a busy night and squeeze my way through to the bar, or snag a waitress hustling back with a handful of orders I can say "Could I please have a Jefferson Rye Manhattan on the rocks?" Â And the bartender will get me exactly what I asked for.
Way to go Cocktail Club! Â I usually dislike super cool bars--but your servers were all happy people who made me feel invited to come to your bar and be super cool with them. Â I absolutely hate paying $10 per drink--but you made me realize that sometimes $10 can pay for something creative, fresh, and tasty. Â I dread and avoid going out with large groups--but your patio and punchbowls embraced our large group and helped us be friends and be merry.
[FYI Our group tried Classic Pimms Punch and Indigo Orchard and both were awesome. Â I mean awesome.]
You have to know where you are going to find it. Â There's little markings and it is upstairs from the street. Â Yelp is actually the only way that we were able to find it.
We were there on a Saturday night, so it was quite busy. Â However, we found a couch to cozy up on and people watch. Â
The drinks were pretty good, but because it was so busy, it took a while to get them. Â The place is unfinished (i.e. completed walls -- there is only framing between rooms) -- but it was intentional and I liked it. Â There is also an outdoor space -- but it was full, so we stayed inside. Â
The crowd was diverse -- young couples, groups of friends, parents with adult children. Â I always like when this happens. Â
Whomever did the music selection -- spot on with interesting, ecclectic choices. Â I would love a copy of the evening's playlist. Â
If ever in Charleston again, I would surely be back for another visit.
We stumbled upon this place by accident. Â There is nothing more than a "C" on the door so we were intrigued. Â After a flight of stairs we were in a cool, hip cocktail lounge in a beautifully renovated King St house.
It was a Sunday night when we visited so there weren't many people there. Â But that was fine with us. Â My husband and I settled in to a pair of comfortable seats and tried a few of their cocktails. Â Everything we tried was unique and inventive. Â I especially appreciated their vintage glasses. Â Cocktails are pricey but special. Â Wasn't really a fan of the live musician that night but overall a good experience.
I've tried to like this place, I really have. Â And the cocktail servers are extremely nice and helpful. Â But the management of the entrance and the exits is absurd. Â One night they locked the front door while I was closing my tab and made me leave down a back alley staircase, myself and one other girl were forced to walk, unescorted down a dark alley at 2 am. Â I told them I did not want to go down the dark alley, as it did not seem safe, and they refused to let me go out the front door. Â Had I known the door was about to be locked, or that once it was locked I would have been forced to leave through the back into the dark, I would have left earlier. Â I know of no other bar in town that locks the front door and forces people out the back at 2 am.
Additionally, the past two friday nights, my friends and I have been told the bar was at capacity and we could not enter. Â Last night, we stood and waited while ten people left the bar, and we were again told they were still at capacity. Â As we walked away, the bouncer let a girl walk in. Â I went back and asked him why she was allowed in and we weren't, and he told me that she knew the owners and it wasn't his call. Â He also told me it was only his second night working there, and he wasn't allowed to let anyone else in until some came down and told him he could start letting people in again. Â Hmm, I find this a questionable way to run a business. Â
From my understanding, the back staircase (the one that leads to the dark alley), is open to people who are in the know, and the guy at the front door simply stands there to refuse to let people in. Â I understand fire codes, but this was ridiculous.
Once inside, the atmosphere is pretty cool, a little dark, and the drinks are some of the most expensive drinks in town, which would be okay if it wasn't for the drunk college kids spilling them on you. Â And the bartenders are rather snobby, which, I believe part of being a bartender involves being nice to people, and not treating like they are stupid.
I'm rounding up from 3.5 stars. Admittedly-- and this is a commentary on me, not Cocktail Club-- this is not the type of place I typically find myself. I prefer a somewhat more low key scene, but on this particular night, I was not driving the train. Having met up with a friend for dinner, the fiance and I were persuaded by said friend (with the slightest encouragement from some well-priced wine from Virginia's on King) to venture on over. I'm glad we did-- it's a really unique bar, and very comfortable. At least one star for the novelty of being able to sit semi-outdoors in January (with space heaters, of course), something that is essentially unthinkable in my New England homeland. The lounge area is very cool as well-- great furnishings and lots of character.
Review Source:Wow. That's all I can say about the Cocktail Club. Me and the boyfriend agreed that this has got to be one of (if not the) best bars we have ever been to. (Dare I say I liked it more than the famed Milk and Honey in NYC.) We had Hibiscus Rose Vesper, the La Femme Violet (I can say without hesitation this was the most perfectly crafted cocktail that has ever crossed my lips), and another gin cocktail that the bartender created for us. It was beyond packed (as in when we left there was a deep line outside to get in) but with cocktails this good (and bartenders that awesome) I'd be more than happy to wait.
Review Source:We came from downstairs at The Macintosh just to look. On a Friday evening, it was full to bursting with singles and parties of 30 something friends. good décor, great heated outdoor deck and a serious bar. The bartenders were very friendly and it was a pleasure to watch them work in balletic motion. We stayed because I saw a must-have dessert on the chalkboard - Foie Gras Crème Brulée. Perhaps it sounds revolting but it was fantastic - I don't know how the chef does it but he has my vote. Also he came out to talk to us because I was waxing lyrical which I always like - he didn't divulge his secret though...Light & fluffy underneath with a crispy layer of sugar and spices on top, served with honey drizzled toasts - ambrosia, that's all. So I don't know what it's like as a bar but this was the best dessert of 2011.
Review Source:Maybe I went on a bad night (Sunday), but the crowd here was awful. I'm talking maximum-strength Summer's Eve D-bag material. One guy was high as a kite and kept pestering me at the bar about my "stylin'" drink while he downed a Bud Light. Seriously.
I had the "new favorite fall cocktail." It was OK but nothing to write home about. I noticed an unfamiliar ingredient listed in the description on the menu and asked one of the bartenders about it. He said he didn't know what it was either. Fail!! The reason I come to bars like this and pay $10+ for a cocktail is to receive a cocktail education and to soak up a sophisticated atmosphere. Neither of my goals were achieved. The outdoor patio is nice and could be a great date spot. But if you're a cocktail connoisseur like me and over the age of 30, go down to the street to Belmont.
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