"Put your phone in your pocket. Resist the urge Instagram as you enter the expansive lobby. You're too cool for that, remember? That brass bar is impressive and gleaming over there, and those white dinner jackets the bartenders are wearing are a nice touch. It's rare that a hotel bar in Charleston becomes a locals spot, but that's exactly what happened here. Award winning, unapologetically fancy, classic cocktails and inventive originals are available. There are custom ice cubes, negroni riffs poured out of coconuts on silver trays, and brandy snifters full of rare, top shelf whiskeys." - Stephanie Burt