This Seattle Cocktail Bar Feels Like A Juicy Secret I Shouldn't Be Sharing

As a bartender-turned-journalist who's spent the last several years covering Seattle's alcohol industry, I've visited more watering holes than I can count. The work's been far from tedious though, thanks to this city being home to a truly fantastic cocktail culture. Seriously — you could throw a stone in pretty much any neighborhood and hit at least a few bars that know an old fashioned isn't just dumping whiskey over ice with a citrus peel. That's why I'm reluctant to spill the details on one of my all-time favorites. 

Tucked into an old computer repair shop surrounded by apartment buildings, Ruby is a tiny bar in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood that makes some of the best, most elaborate cocktails I've ever had, featuring creative flavors and garnishes. Compared to the dozens of nearby bars, the prices aren't bad either. It's not a speakeasy (though Seattle does have a great speakeasy scene), but it is easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for.

The fact Ruby doesn't scream its presence works in its favor, though. The first thing you notice upon arrival is just how small it is. Its one room is taken up almost entirely by a big, U-shaped bar in the center with surrounding seating. Get more than 15 or so people in here and it feels packed. The second thing you notice is the wall of dog pictures, which owner Mike Jochum has been steadily adding to since opening. The lack of windows also makes Ruby feel extra intimate. Basically, if you're looking to impress a date with a great cocktail in a cool bar hiding in plain sight, this is it.

You can get all the usual popular cocktails at Ruby, but one of my favorite things about it is the prominence of rum and mezcal. There's a sizeable selection of other spirits too of course (my partner always gets a rye Manhattan when we come here), but as a lover of both smoky and tropical flavors, I'm all about the liquors that are often featured on the speciality cocktail list. These drinks tend to weave together uncommon flavor combinations, so drinking here is always a bit of an adventure. Case in point: The last cocktail I had here involved mezcal, chartreuse, fernet, pandan liqueur (think nutty vanilla), cocoa bitters, and cinnamon. It tasted kind of like smoky chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon.

Beyond what's on the menu, the bartenders (usually just one working at a time) are the kinds of pros who can put together a custom drink on the fly with your favorite flavors. Seriously; they just ask what kinds of spirits or tastes in general you like, and they put something together that speaks directly to that. Maybe I've only been there on particularly fortuitous nights, but I've never seen a customer disappointed with the end result. I'd also note that, like an increasing amount of great cocktail bars these days, Ruby offers mocktails that look just as pretty as their alcoholic counterparts. They taste pretty good, and successfully avoid the common non-alcoholic cocktail mistake of adding too many different flavors.