Try this mixologist's favourite cocktails in Miami

Local nightlife influencer Giovanny Gutierrez takes you beyond the slushy frozen daiquiris of South Beach to the insider bars that truly shape Miami's cocktail bar culture.

Whether he's training bartenders, crafting cocktail menus or interviewing culinary personalities, award-winning mixologist Giovanny Gutierrez has made it his mission to explore Miami's nightlife scene. And he believes the city's bars are as diverse as the tropical fruits that go into their famous cocktails.

Cuban-born Miamian Giovanny Gutierrez is the founder and host of Chat Chow TV. A mixologist and cocktail consultant, he is a National Bacardi Ambassador for premium rums and hosts food and beverage events around the world.

"Miami has a drink for any occasion, for anybody, for any kind of theme," says Gutierrez. "You have everything from your old-school dive bars like [Mac's Club] Deuce [a Miami Vice filming location] to sophisticated places included in North America's 100 Best Bars."

But it wasn't always like this. "People back in the day would have strawberry daiquiri or piña colada, and then they would blend them together in a frozen machine," recalls Gutierrez. Slushy, syrupy drinks defined Miami stereotypes as much as flowered-splattered T-shirts and pink flamingos. "We're [now] more elevated, more cosmopolitan. We're playing at a national level."

He believes the city's now-famous drink culture stands out thanks to its distinctly Latino flavour profile. "From Cuban coffee and guava to passion fruit or soursop, we love these ingredients, and we get creative with them. No one uses them as much as we do."

Here are Gutierrez's favourite cocktail bars in Miami.

Flow Gallery

1. Best quintessential Miami experience: Café La Trova

For Gutierrez, Little Havana's Café La Trova captures the soul of Miami. "The Latin music, the tropical drinks, the vibe; it's just exactly what the city is about."

He sets the scene: "Imagine a Friday or Saturday night. You're walking in. You're greeted by cantineros, which are Cuban bartenders in their authentic uniform. And then people are dancing to the left, others are in the bar having drinks and others are in the back having dinner."

"Rum is king here. We're the biggest market in the US for rum, so it's always a good choice [for a very Miami cocktail]."

There's a hearty menu of pan-Hispanic dishes like Peruvian ceviche and Cuban sandwich empanadas, as well as nightly live music acts often playing trova, a genre of Cuban music most famously represented by the Buena Vista Social Club band and its eponymous 1999 documentary. "But if it's Friday or Saturday late at night, the back becomes an '80s room and it's so much fun."

"When I'm there, I have to have a Mojito," adds Gutierrez. "And then, I have to have a Presidente, a vintage rum martini. It's one of the first drinks in history that used blanc vermouth in a cocktail and it's very, very dry, so it shows off Cuban-style rum. It's such an elegant cocktail."

Website: https://www.cafelatrova.com/

Address: 971 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33130

Phone: +1 (786) 615-4379

Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club

2. Best timeless classic: The Champagne Bar at the Surf Club

For timeless elegance, Gutierrez recommends the Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. "It's magical, opulent and luxurious. You feel amazing walking in there." In its previous life, the space served as the grandiose arched foyer of the Surf Club, an elite social club that opened in 1930 and that received guests like Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Winston Churchill.

Gutierrez loves the bar's champagne-based cocktails. "A drink with champagne is very special. The effervescent fizz is always delicious and good at any time of day," he says. "Get the Lychee [made with St Germain liqueur, lychee, sherry, vodka and champagne] or the Honey [with Japanese whisky, miso, honey bitters and Lallier champagne]."

There are plenty of other non-bubbly options. "I like the Guava a lot. It has guava, bourbon and rye – it's very Miami. The Cosmopolitan [with vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry and lime] is also incredible."

Website: https://www.fourseasons.com/surfside/dining/lounges/the-champagne-bar/

Address: 9011 Collins Ave, Surfside, FL 33154

Phone: +1 (305) 381-3333

Cristian Gonzalez

3. Best hidden gem: Amelia's 1931

A laundromat-turned-cocktail bar, Amelia's 1931 is hidden in a nondescript strip mall in the residential neighbourhood of West Kendall.

"Cote Miami's happy hour is a hidden secret. It's in the Design District and has $8.88 (£6.74) cocktails and $8.88 bites like lobster fritters and chicken nuggets [every day from 17:00 to 19:00]. For that price, you can have an amazing experience at a Michelin-starred place."

"It does elevated cocktails, yet a lot of tourists would never go there because it's out of the way in the suburbs," says Gutierrez. The bar's interior is split into three areas: "A modern diner with Cuban-Miami accents, an abuelita's (grandmother's) home decorated with mismatched pillows, drapes and communion pictures" and a dimly-lit dining room where "there are arches with mirrors behind the booths, bar stools with wicker seating and a French-style ceiling."

Even on weekdays, droves of locals come to Amelia's for the live music, Latin-Asian fusion dishes and, of course, the cocktails. Gutierrez highlights the Silk Stalkings. "It's a classic blend of piña colada and strawberry daiquiri, but they clarify it, add roasted coffee beans and serve it with a big rock cube." He explains that the fresh pineapple juice and strawberries, Havana Club Blanco rum and spice blends make it a sophisticated take on Miami's stereotypical frozen drinks.

"They also serve a vodka-infused Earl Grey in a teacup," Gutierrez says, referring to the bar's Yass Queen cocktail made with fresh lemon juice, orange blossom honey syrup and grated nutmeg.

Website: https://amelias1931.com/

Address: 13601 SW 26th St, Miami, FL 33175

Phone: +1 (305) 554-4949

Star Chef

4. Best for innovative cocktails: Bar Kaiju

"If you're a cocktail nerd and you want to see modern techniques like lacto-fermentation and homemade carbonation, go to Kaiju in Little River's Citadel," says Gutierrez. He describes the ambiance as "a tiny red-lit bar in Asia covered with anime posters".

The concept bar's funky menu is a deck of monster trading cards. "Each cocktail is [represented by] a monster. People collect [the cards] and play with them," Gutierrez says. Packs of regular-sized cards are available for purchase to play monster battles.

But Gutierrez is more impressed by the drinks themselves. "Kaiju leans toward strong flavours that are bold and experimental, with unusual techniques and ingredients like yoghurt, tepache [fermented pineapple peels] or shrub [a vinegar-based syrup]."

Gutierrez recommends ordering the Chukwa, which has whisky, mango, curry and coconut. "Think of a mango lassi from an Indian restaurant. This is a thin, almost transparent, clarified version of that."

He also likes the Maskinganna (a clarified espresso martini) and the Güije, "made with mojo criollo [Cuban marinade], bay leaf, pepper, garlic and rum. It's funky and savoury. It's a very different flavour."

Website: https://www.barkaiju.com/

Address: 8300 NE 2nd Ave 2nd floor, Miami, FL 33138

Phone: +1 (305) 793-7204

5. Best newcomer: ViceVersa

Opened in 2024 in the lobby of Downtown Miami's Elser Hotel, ViceVersa has already made a splash, taking the 56th spot in North America's 100 Best Bars list. Gutierrez respects that owner and head bartender Valentino Longo makes his own Mi-To, a mix of Milan Campari and Turin vermouth that he uses as a base for the americano, the negroni and the negroni sbagliato. "His blend of Mi-To is unique… so every drink reads like a classic, but it's his version of it."

Gutierrez particularly loves Longo's "real" negroni sbagliato, which, inspired by the OG negronis served at Bar Basso in Milan, Italy, is served in what Gutierrez describes as a "hysterically large type of champagne glass."

The plain negroni is also a favourite. "The bar garnishes it with three different citruses – lemon, lime, and orange – and sprays it with an Italian osmanthus-type perfume. It's very floral."

Italian Futurism inspired the aperitivo bar's eye-catching design, lending its intense colours and sharp edges to the space. "You forget you're in a hotel's lobby bar," Gutierrez says. "It's hip and modern."

Website: https://viceversamia.com/

Address: 398 NE 5th St, Miami, FL 33132

BBC Travel's The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.

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