For its October issue, GQ traveled 34,462 miles around the country to bring you a list of the top 25 cocktail bars, lounges, and holes-in-the-walls of America. Seattle’s Zig Zag Café sits at the top of the list, with the following endorsement:

At Zig Zag Café, “patrons come for the easy conversation and the drink-all-day coziness. Above all, though, they come for the cocktails of Murray Stenson. The man is effortlessly talented, a bartender superhero. In fact, he may be the country’s best,” writes Kevin Sintumuang. “Each drink Murray pours is a mini-revelation, an introduction to rare spirits and a bold use of common ones.”

The Zig Zag Café is followed by these 24 bars:

2: Angel’s Share – New York
3: The Violet Hour – Chicago
4: Clover Club – Brooklyn
5: The Alembic – San Francisco
6: Death & Co – New York
7: PDT – New York
8: PX – Alexandria, VA
9: Comstock Saloon – San Francisco
10: Holeman & Finch – Atlanta
11: Tiki-ti – Los Angeles
12: The Patterson House – Nashville
13: Eastern Standard – Boston
14: Rickhouse – San Francisco
15: Anvil – Houston
16: Arnaud’s French 75 – New Orleans
17: Elixir – San Francisco
18: Columbia Room – Washington, D.C.
19: Cole’s – Los Angeles
20: The Whistler – Chicago
21: Drink – Boston
22: Pegu Club – New York
23: The Edison – Los Angeles
24: The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. – Philadelphia
25: Needle and Thread – Seattle

For drinking lessons learned, tips, and more information about each bar, pick up the October issue of GQ,available now on newsstands and on iTunes, or visit GQ.com.

Photo Credit: Mitchell Feinberg/GQ

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