Best of the Treasure Coast: Drinks

The votes are in! Find out which spots to grab a drink (from smoothies to happy hours) you crowned the best of the best for 2025.

Michelle Lee Ribeiro and Sarah Wolf

September 4, 2025

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Back in the spring, we asked readers to nominate their favorites in 76 categories, everything from personalities like chefs, musicians, artists, and influencers to places like boutiques, breweries, spas, and surf shops. Once the finalists were determined in each category, we asked you to vote for your top picks—and your voices were heard, loud and clear!

We received more than 10,000 ballots, and after tallying the results, we’re excited to
reveal the winners (and runners-up). Here are your picks for “Best Of” Dining on the Treasure Coast:

Happy Hour

The Gafford

47 SW Flagler Ave., Stuart

Craft Cocktails

District Table & Bar

4665 SE Dixie Hwy., Stuart

Step behind the bar with us as we chat with Louis Mohr, bar program and front of house manager at District Table & Bar in Stuart. From crafting cocktails that dazzle to pairing unexpected flavors, this drink slinger knows how to stir up a good time

Which signature cocktail truly captures District’s whole vibe in a glass?

What makes District so special is our ability to blend the familiar with the unexpected—a beautiful mix of fond memories and bold new adventures. So I’d definitely say the Kitchen Fire cocktail, which is an unexpected twist on the ever-familiar Old Fashioned. It’s got a touch of spice from ancho chili liqueur, a measured sweetness from local honey, a hearty pour of bourbon, and just enough bitterness to pull everything into focus.

District Table & Bar's Rosebud cocktail. Photo courtesy of District Table & Bar — District Table & Bar’s Rosebud cocktail. Photo courtesy of District Table & Bar

Your favorite and/or most unique craft cocktail to make?

The daiquiri was one of the first classic cocktails that really resonated with me—simple in structure but incredibly beautiful when executed well. While it’s classically just three ingredients, there’s so much room for creativity. You can swap out the sugar for different cordials or liqueurs to reshape the flavor profile or split the rum base to highlight specific characteristics, whether that’s funky, vegetal notes, or rich, caramel depth. It’s a true blank canvas.

Describe your dream cocktail in three words.

“Your cheapest tequila.” Just kidding—I’d actually have to say, “the perfect Negroni.”

Name an ingredient you really love using in cocktails.

Honestly, as simple as it sounds, my favorite cocktail ingredient has to be salt. Just like food needs seasoning, so do cocktails. Salt brightens every other flavor and helps bring more distant notes into focus. It has a way of clarifying the overall profile—it unmuddies the muddy.

What about seasonal ingredients?

Right now, I’m especially into watermelon. We’ve been using it in our Rosebud cocktail, which was inspired by those perfect, slow afternoons by the pool. The drink combines fresh watermelon with rose water, lemon, Waterloo No. 9 gin, and a touch of velvet Falernum for balance. We finish it with a few drops of basil oil, which adds a bright, herbaceous note that really ties everything together.

Rapid fire: Shaken or stirred? Citrus or bitters? Sunrise or nightcap? Garnish or go naked?

Stirred. Bitters. Nightcap. Garnish.