Extreme Barhopping
Sure, sometimes it's great to go where everybody knows your name, but sometimes you need something more exciting. Crack a cold one; we're taking you to the world's most extreme bars.
PDT
New York, New York
Tucked inside Crif Dogs is one of Manhattan's best-kept secrets. PDT, or Please Don't Tell, is a hidden cocktail lounge that's been serving secret spirits since 2007. To enter, bar patrons must sleuth out the phone booth hidden within the casual atmosphere of Crif Dogs. Once inside the sexy speakeasy, in-the-know patrons can order some illicit libations, including the recently legalized absinthe. Also on the menu is all the food served at Crif's: waffle fries, burgers and their infamous deep-fried hot dogs.
Umbrella Bar
Squaw Valley, California
Squaw Valley, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, is home to America's only mountaintop bar with a pool and hot tub. At an elevation of 8,200 feet, the Lagoon Spa and Umbrella Bar serve ordinary pub fair in an extraordinary setting. The best way to get to Umbrella Bar is to ski or ride; however as it opens for business in late March each year, sometimes that route is melted. Luckily, the cable car is always ready to whisk thirsty mountain dwellers to this high altitude watering hole.
Slide
San Francisco, California
If you thought taking a cable car was a fun way to make an entrance, you'll love Slide in San Francisco. Patrons enter via a slide from street level that chutes to the bar's first level. During prohibition, the venue was known as Café Dance. Well-informed customers wanting something stronger than espresso could press a secret panel revealing a rickety mahogany slide that led to the illegal speakeasy. After prohibition, the bar closed until 2006, when it reopened as Slide.
The Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar
San Francisco, California
San Francisco is home to the original tiki bar and inventor of the Mai Tai. In what was originally the Fairmont Hotel's indoor swimming pool, The Tonga Room and Hurricane bar was born in 1945 after WWII GIs came home with a thirst for sweet drinks, leis and tropical-themed partying. The coolest part of this bar is the hovering threat of a rainstorm -- indoors. Watch it rain under your umbrella and listen as the band plays on the indoor pirate ship.
Noir Bar
Las Vegas, Nevada
At the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Noir Bar is serving up the most mouthwatering cocktail creations on the planet. With drinks called Peanut Butter and Jelly, Carrot Cake, German Chocolate Cake and the Pizza Martini, the drink menu at Noir Bar has lifted eyebrows and turned heads -- as well as pleased the palate. The kitchen is stocked with over 20 varieties of fruits, a half-dozen spices and many other secret ingredients -- all for the cocktail menu.
Moon Nightclub
Las Vegas, Nevada
Where else but Vegas can a nightclub take going topless to a whole new level? Moon Nightclub at The Palms is the only bar in North America with a retractable roof over a dance floor. Fifty-three floors above the Vegas Strip, astral-themed Moon is the perfect place to dance the night away and feel closer to the stars.
Clo Wine Bar
New York, New York
Clo Wine Bar in Columbus Circle's Time Warner Center is the most high-tech wine bar in the world. Opening in 2008, Clo features tables with interactive, wine-serving touch-screen computers. Select by region, flavor, body, color and year until you get the perfect glass of wine that's automatically poured. All the wine is stored under glass in a temperature-controlled wine preservation system. This is one wired wine bar that's worth tweeting about.
Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bourbon Street in New Orleans is one of the best streets for bar hopping in the world. It's also home to the country's oldest bar, Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. Built in 1722, it's been a public bar since 1772 -- that's 4 years before America declared its independence. Jean Lafitte's serves up more than one kind of spirits; the bar is haunted by past patrons that include Jean Lafitte himself. A pirate in the 18th-century, Lafitte is said to lurk in dark corners and lay claim to seats near his favorite fireplace.
Club Watt
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Club Watt in The Netherlands is the only bar where you can get wasted without leaving any waste. The most eco-conscious bar in the world, Club Watt's dance floor is a specific design that draws energy from the dancers. Every time a dancer's foot hits the floor, it moves 1 centimeter and powers a generator that lights the floor while you dance.
XS
Las Vegas, Nevada
XS is home to the world's most expensive cocktail, the Ono. It contains apricot puree, cognac, rose scent, a splash of orange juice and champagne -- for a mere $10,000. Gulp -- that's a stiff price tag. Putting to-go cups to shame, drinkers will take home 2 crystal glasses, an 18-karat gold black pearl and diamond necklace and custom made Mont Blanc cufflinks. Only one Ono has been ordered since the bar opened in 2009.
Ice Bar
Orlando, Florida
The largest ice bar in the world isn't found in the North Pole, Iceland or Russia -- it's in sunny Orlando, FL. Inside Ice Bar, temperatures dip so low that patrons are only allowed to stay for 45 minutes at a time, even though the bar outfits you in toasty gloves and capes. Using over 50 tons, the bar, walls, furniture and glasses are all made of ice -- perfect for keeping vodka cold.
