Landmarks like Mount Rushmore , the Statue of Liberty and the World ’s Largest Ball of Twine offer American tourists the chance to experience history firsthand . While all of these important sites have their merits , our preferred landmarks , by far , are the one at which we can pledge ( or , at least , fire our drinking ) . Here , a tour of the best liquor turning point across the U.S.
Revolution-era
The Tavern in Old SalemWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Old Salem is a “ survive ” museum . The town itself is a recreation of the Moravian settlement founded there in 1766 . But if you want a honest taste of Moravian traditions , headway to The Tavern in Old Salem . found in 1784 , the measure serves hard liquor and food inspired by the old Protestant community .
McCrady’s Tavern and Long RoomCharleston, South Carolina
This eating house and bar , which dates back to 1778 , was the site of a 30 - course dinner for George Washington and friends . Edward McCrady , the tap house ’s original owner , was a leader in Charleston ’s militia during the American Revolution , so it only makes gumption that he would host his confab revolutionary commanding officer . Today , you may earmark the historic Long Room ( in which the banquet took position ) for private dining and events .
The Castle PubNatchez, Mississippi
If you ’d care to sleep off a Nox of historical boozing in an as historical layer , head to the Dunleith Historic Inn in Mississippi . The main hostel was built in 1856 , but the old carriage house , which domiciliate the Castle Pub , dates back to the 1790s .
George Washington’s DistilleryAlexandria, Virginia
After retiring as Commander - in - Chief , President Washington took up the noble of pursuits : distilling . He set up his first two stills at Mount Vernon in 1797 and , by the time of his last two year afterward , the still was grow 11,000 gallons of whiskey annually , which made it the country ’s largest whiskey distillery at the time . The still still produce whiskey , which can be taste at the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant .
Prohibition-era
Moss Beach DistilleryMoss Beach, California
This cliffside restaurant first open in 1927 as Frank ’s Place , a speakeasy and hotspot for silent movie stars and San Francisco politician . Proprietor Frank Torres stocked his bar with cases of Canadian whisky , which he buy from smugglers unloading boats nearby . Only Torres ’s political association kept the place from being raided , allowing the eating house to survive Prohibition and finally become a state turning point .
Paradise TheatrePaonia, Colorado
Built during ban in 1928 , the Paradise Theatre was offering patrons contraband movie beverages long before anyone thought to smuggle thermoses ofCuba Libresinto the local multiplex . The theatre of operations was partly a cover for a bootlegging operation , with underground tunnels connecting the neighboring buildings , and stills installed under the pretence of theater equipment . While you may still get a movie at the local landmark , booze is ( sadly ) off the bill of fare .
Andrew Volstead’s houseGranite Falls, Minnesota
While you wo n’t determine a drop of alcohol at the former home of Andrew Volstead ( of the Volstead Act , which ordain Prohibition ) , no circuit of proscription - era landmarks would be complete without this monument to the fallen House rep . Shake your fists at the ghost of the humans who chased cocktail underground , then drink the end of proscription at the near bar .
LGBT
Stonewall InnNew York, New York
Julius’ BarNew York, New York
One of New York City ’s onetime gay bars , Julius ’ was the website of another important protest in braw rights chronicle . In 1966 , the Mattachine Society , an early gay rights group , staged a “ sip - in ” at the Browning automatic rifle , which challenged state laws that veto bars from serving jocund client and considered LGBT patrons to mechanically be “ disorderly . ” Just one day unsure of 50 years later , the streak was greet as a national watershed . Go for the account , delay for theLong Island Iced Teas .
Twin Peaks TavernSan Francisco, California
Before the Twin Peaks Tavern , most gay bars were clandestine , dark-skinned and hidden . But when Mary Ellen Cunha and Peggy Forster bought and rebranded the Castro District prevention as a social baseball club for the openly gay , they threw get to the blind of the building ’s large , dental plate glass windows , bust down a literal roadblock between the gay community and foreigner . In 2013 , the bar was distinguish for its part in establishing the Castro as a center for merry rights and community .
Hometown Heroes
Mai-KaiFt Lauderdale, Florida
Whilemany tiki barsare icon among the rum - drinking , hula - dancing bent , only the Mai - Kai bar in Florida has earned a place in the National Register of Historic Places . This tiki stalwart has been sling tropical concoctions since the 1950s , right on through the glowering ages of tiki in the 80s and 90s . Offering local dinner party , flaming drinks and a show , Mai - Kai is a landmark party spot .
Sam Jordan’sSan Francisco, California
“ Singing Sam ” Jordan get ahead minor fame in San Francisco as a abstemious - heavyweight boxing champion who sang to the crew after every winnings , but he earned even more notoriety when he opened his bar in 1959 . Jordan , the first African American to own a bar in SF , was famous throughout the neighborhood for his Polemonium van-bruntiae — he regularly fed the homeless — and residential district outreach . The ginmill is now an essential stopover on political campaign trails , a favourite billet for karaoke and , as of 2013 , a city landmark .
Scholz GartenAustin, Texas
This Civil War - geological era beer garden has long been a lacrimation hole for the German - Texan crowd , but that ’s not its only claim to celebrity . The bar not only go Prohibition but thrived during the ironic year by offering a non - alcoholic Bone Dry Beer . Texas formally made it a state of matter turning point in 1967 , and it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places 12 year by and by .
Triangle PubSeattle, Washington
Eight years after the famous Flatiron Building was constructed in New York City in 1902 , the Triangle Pub popped up in Seattle with a similar , angular shape . Though the Browning automatic rifle is reasonably smaller at just three floors ( in direct contrast to the Flatiron Building ’s 21 ) , it beats its East Coast sibling when it fare to happy hour relaxation . Plus , it was once a brothel , which automatically gives it more cred .
Buckhorn ExchangeDenver , Colorado
The Buckhorn Exchange garner its title of respect as a city landmark for being the oldest bar in Denver . It was founded in 1893 to serve railroad worker . But the real rationality to visit this repository is to see the intimately 600 piece of taxidermy that adorn the wall . alien animals also appear on the carte du jour , which offers everything from alligator tail to rattlesnake to Rocky Mountain oysters ( fried bison testicles ) .
Whiskey Trail
Maker’s Mark DistilleryLoredo, Kentucky
Maker ’s Mark may not be the previous of Kentucky ’s famed bourbon producers , but its distillery , found in 1805 as Burks ' Distillery , is the oldest landmark facility on the Whiskey Trail . Visitors who tour the still not only get the fortune to glimpse whisky history , but also to dunk their own bottles in the brand ’s iconic red wax .
Buffalo Trace DistilleryFrankfort, Kentucky
According to the brand , the Buffalo Trace still is built on the banks of the Kentucky River at what was once a buffalo crosswalk . Like other stops on the Whiskey Trail , the distillery claims historic meaning base on eld , citing book of distilling on the site that date back to the later 18th C .
Woodford Reserve DistilleryVersailles, Kentucky
Versailles , Kentucky , is buck country , where pureblooded farms bristle . But it ’s also the home to the historical Woodford Reserve still . Founded in 1812 , the still is almost as old as the Maker ’s situation and another suitable stop on a bourbon - free-base go .
Jack Daniel’s DistilleryLynchburg, Tennessee
The Jack Daniel ’s distillery is n’t a national landmark , it is n’t in Kentucky , and it does n’t make bourbon ( it ’s Tennessee whiskey ) , but it is on the National Registry of Historic Places . Jasper Newton “ Jack ” Daniel earlier established the distillery in 1866 by the Cave Spring Hollow , where the distillery gets its naturally filtered water system . While that fix surely makes production easier , it means the still is squarely located in Moore , a dry county , so you wo n’t be doing any sampling on your turn here .
Wikimedia/ZachJBeavers
Wikimedia/Ad Meskens
Flickr/Krista
Wikimedia/Daniel Case
Flickr/Sam Howzit
Flickr/Nola Agent
