Twenty-four-year-old David Durnell wins our vote as the city’s rising-star bartender. When owner Brian Lewis hired him in 2011, Durnell quickly transformed Bocado’s cocktail list from basic to wizardly, incorporating herbs and an arsenal of small-batch liqueurs into liquid sonatas. Durnell also offers an extra list of three dozen classic cocktails like Vesper and the Scotch-based Blood and Sand—but you have to know about it to ask for it. Pair a bourbon drink with chef Todd Ginsberg’s signature Double Stack burger.
Drink This: A Bliss Fix that includes Wathen’s bourbon, chamomile-infused citrus, Strega (an Italian herbal liqueur), and pink peppercorn.
887 Howell Mill Road, bocadoatlanta.com
This listing originally appeared in our June 2012 issue.
