It’s a Thursday evening and a live band is jamming out on “Funky Nassau,” the jazz-funk hit that is one of the best-selling Bahamian albums of all time. This is Jon Batiste’s: the world-renowned jazz star’s new jazz club at the Baha Mar in Cable Beach. I’m sipping on a glass of Planteray and savoring what is easily one of the nicest jazz club’s I’ve ever been to.
The next night, I head to the lounge at Graycliff, where the evening in the centuries-old mansion’s parlor room begins with a chambord and calvados-accented champagne cocktail and ends with an ultra-rare cognac.
The weekend concludes with a trip to the Dilly Club, the waterfront hotspot in Atlantis’ Marina Village where I try a “Call Your Mother,” filled with everything from pineapple rum to passionfruit to Mezcal.
A few years ago, a weekend like this might have been impossible in a Caribbean destination, let alone in Nassau.
After all, The Bahamas has produced some of the most iconic tropical cocktails in the world: the Bahama Mama. The Goombay Smash. Sky Juice. The Yellow Bird. But while The Bahamas has produced all of these drinks — and others — it’s never been considered a full-fledged cocktail destination, or a bar destination.
Until now, that is.
Fly into Nassau these days and you’ll be quickly immersed into one of the best cocktail and bar scenes, well, anywhere.
Whether it’s the creative cocktails with a live soundtrack at Jon Batiste’s, the modern tiki at Dilly Club or the world’a largest cognac collection at Graycliff, Nassau and Paradise Island have become a magnetic destination for the bon vivant and the mixologically-minded.
It’s a story that began in earnest with the work of Kyle Jones, who moved to The Bahamas 15 years ago and has helped transform the landscape, first with his popular bar, Bon Vivant’s, then with the Dilly Club, a bar we named Caribbean Bar of the Year in 2024.
“It’s really quite amazing how it’s evolved,” he told Caribbean Journal. “15 years ago, cocktails weren’t a thing.”
But people wanted it, he said.
“When I go out [in Nassau] now, there’s a much bigger focus on the cocktail menu, on better ingredients, fresher citrus,” he said. “The shift has been crazy in the last five years, in what people have come to expect.”
Jones has actually expanded to launch a consulting company to work with bars around the island — to the tune of more than 10 outlets that are already transforming their menus with his help.
The growth of the twin-island hotspot’s bar culture has been rather remarkable indeed, whether it’s the high-end cigar lounge T-Squared at the Baha Mar casino; the historic Martini Bar at The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort; the Manor Bar at the Rosewood; or the absinthe offering at Cafe Martinique. Even the creative cocktail samplers at the Poop Deck at Sandyport (a great way to try some of those famous Bahamian recipes).
That’s without mentioning the island’s most legendary place to sip: the lounge at the Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant, home to the world’s third-largest wine cellar, the aforementioned cognac collection, hundreds of rare rums and intoxicating live piano every night.
They’re some of the best bars you’ll encounter, not just within the region, but in the hemisphere, all marked by high-quality cocktails and impressive spirits lists.
There’s even a new moonshine company in Nassau’s Graycliff Heritage Village, the product of a unique partnership between Graycliff and the South Mountain Distilling Company in North Carolina.
Nassau, in short, is becoming a global cocktail destination, said Jones.
“The trajectory has changed completely,” Jones said.
Nassau & Paradise Island is filled with world-class bars. Here are some of my recommendations on where to go for an unforgettable experience.
And it’s just the beginning.
Where to sip in Nassau and Paradise Island
Jon Batiste’s Jazz Club It’s hard to articulate just how impressive this place is — the music is outstanding, the look and feel are exquisite and the bar is abundantly stocked.
The Lounge at Graycliff Whether you’re dining at Graycliff or not (it is, after all, the top-ranked restaurant in the Caribbean), this is a bucket-list experience, where you can relax on couches, marvel at the rare bottlings in the cabinets, sip champagne cocktails and try a fresh-rolled puro.
Marcus Up Top We love Marcus Samuelsson’s beachfront eatery at Baha Mar, but it also includes this rooftop bar and lounge up above with amazing views.
The Dilly Club Jones’ game-changing bar in the Marina Village at Atlantis, which doubles as a cafe by day and by night becomes the most exciting tiki bar in the Caribbean.
Martini Bar at the Ocean Club This decades-old bar just might be the most iconic bar in Nassau and Paradise Island; it’s also where James Bond ordered one of his first cocktails as a OO in Casino Royale.
Bon Vivants Set in the beachfront area of Sandyport past Cable Beach, this was the bar that was instrumental in the growth of the cocktail scene in Nassau.
