"Pimm's Cup" cocktail with edible flower and cucumber from Geyserville Gun Club

Best Summer Cocktails to Sip at Healdsburg Restaurants and Bars

Healdsburg is a charmingly quaint wine country hamlet with uptown taste, and the craft cocktail scene has quickly risen to the ranks of its restaurants and wineries. So, next time you go wine tasting in nearby Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley or Dry Creek Valley, make sure to pace yourself and save room for a Healdsburg cocktail crawl with our list of the best summer cocktails from mixologists at Healdsburg restaurants and bars. (We also included Geyserville Gun Club, a funky-hip watering hole a few miles north of downtown Healdsburg that is well worth the drive.) These mixed drinks are refreshing, light and smooth–all made with unique ingredients and some presented so beautifully you’ll spend as much time photographing your cocktail as you will sipping it. If you can’t make it to Healdsburg, get ideas for your own backyard mixology party with these summer cocktail names.

Best Summer Cocktails to Sip at Healdsburg Bars & Restaurants

Duke's Healdsburg Villasenora cocktail
The Villasenora on a sunny afternoon at Duke’s.

The Villaseñora at Duke’s Spirited Cocktails

Somewhere in South America, there is a magical vacation house where everything looks, smells and tastes like the Villaseñora cocktail from Duke’s on the Healdsburg square. I want to live in that villa when I’m old and gray, sipping pisco and smelling the passion fruit, plucked straight from backyard trees. Until then, I’ll head to Duke’s for the beautiful Peruvian-inspired cocktail. It’s tart yet subtly sweet from the combination of pisco, lemon and yuzu citrus mixed with pineapple and passion fruit. In times of COVID-19, they’re serving up cocktails to-go from their sidewalk window and are offering outdoor picnic seating.

Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, 111 Plaza Street, Healdsburg, CA, drinkatdukes.com
Spirit Bar A Cocktail For Carl Healdsburg
The spicy A Cocktail for Carl

A Cocktail for Carl at Spirit Bar

One of the mainstays at this swanky hotel lobby bar, A Cocktail for Carl features homemade jalapeño-infused tequila, lime, agave and cilantro. The best part for me is the kick of spice from its tajin-spiked rim. Double-down on the spicy factor with Spirit Bar’s chicken wings, one of the best appetizers in Healdsburg. During the summer, patio tables and couch seating in the courtyard are available for drinks and bites alfresco—though Spirit Bar’s adjacent fire place and surrounding lounge are the perfect backdrop for sipping on Carl in the winter and fall.

Hotel Healdsburg, 25 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, CA, drycreekkitchen.com/spirit-bar
The She Devil Cocktail at Geyserville Gun Club
The sneaky She Devil

The She Devil at Geyserville Gun Club

Most Sundays for the last six months, you’d find me perched on a barstool at the Geyserville Gun Club, drinking my afternoon aperitif, which was usually the She Devil. This refreshing cocktail has mezcal, lime and ghost pepper, but it’s not too smoky or spicy. Though this bar is not in Healdsburg, it’s totally worth the 10-minute drive north on Highway 101. Guests can currently order Gun Club cocktails at neighboring restaurant, Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria.

Geyserville Gun Club Bar & Lounge, 21025 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville, CA, geyservillegunclub.com
New East Side gin fizz cocktail at Spoonbar
The New East Side awaits at Spoonbar

New East Side at Spoonbar

Almost too pretty to drink, this refreshing cocktail is a mod take on the classic gin fizz. The aromatics of the gin, cucumber foam and fresh mint play off the drink’s citrus notes of yuzu and lime. Sip while people watching those on the street, thanks to Spoonbar’s open-air and garden seating.

Spoonbar, 219 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg CA, spoonbar.com

Sun’s Out, Shrubs Out at Valette

This dark cocktail gets its color from blackberry shrub. We can thank Vida Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal for its mildly smoky-smooth taste. Soda is the key mixer, giving Sun’s Out, Shrub’s Out a refreshing finish. Sip and enjoy with a fan-favorite appetizer like Dustin’s Hawaiian Ahi Poke or Day Boat Scallops en Croute on their new outdoor patio on North Street. Make a reservation on their website.

Valette, 344 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, valettehealdsburg.com
summer cocktail with watermelon slice healdsburg bar
Summer Cocktail at The Rooftop Bar

The Rooftop at Harmon House Rooftop Lounge

Another colorful summer sipper, the Rooftop is calling all Mezcal lovers. Made with mezcal, watermelon, basil, lime, agave and grand marnier, it is light, refreshing and goes down way too quickly. What makes this a must-have summer cocktail is the backdrop—you’re sipping from the top story of Healdsburg’s newest hotel and rooftop lounge open to the public. Come at 3 p.m. when the restaurant opens to snag the couch seating on the street-facing side of the open terrace. Closed Mondays.

The Rooftop at Harmon Guest House, 227 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA, harmonguesthouse.com

Eight of the Best Summer Cocktails at Healdsburg Bars & Restaurants (2017 Edition)

Game of Thrones cocktail recipe by Duke's Healdsburg, garnished with Calabrian chiles
The ultimate cocktail for Game of Thrones fans, garnished with threads of Calabrian chiles.

Drink Has No Name (Duke’s Spirited Cocktails)

This clever Game of Thrones cocktail is featured on the annuals menu at Healdsburg plaza’s popular neighborhood bar, so it may disappear this fall…winter is coming, after all. Named after Arya Stark’s pseudonym from season 6, Drink Has No Name is made with Tapatio tequila, cantaloupe, Calabrian chili tincture, lemon and BroVo Spirits Pretty Floral Vermouth. It’s garnished with Calabrian chiles, shredded into little threads–just like Aryna’s arch nemesis, the Waif, after their final battle. Make it at home for your next Game of Thrones watch party, but it’s just as fun to drink it at Duke’s window seats overlooking Healdsburg plaza.

Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, 111 Plaza Street, Healdsburg, CA, drinkatdukes.com
Summer rum cocktail idea in a coupe glass, creative garnish from Spoonbar Healdsburg
Spoonbar’s Key West, creatively garnished with a dried lime wedge clip.

Key West (Spoonbar)

This island-inspired summer cocktail transports me back to my South Florida days. Served in a coupe glass, it’s a blend of Novo Fogo Organic Cachaça (the key ingredient in caipirinhas), Plantation Original Dark Rum, and tropical bitters with strawberry and key lime foam. A well-balanced summer sipper, the Key West is not too sweet like many tropical drinks. Order the mini cheeseburgers, and you’ll feel the urge to start singing a Jimmy Buffett song.

Spoonbar, 219 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg CA, spoonbar.com
Peach cocktail in a coupe glass with edible flower garnish at Geyserville Gun Club
An edible flower makes the perfect garnish at Geyserville Gun Club.

Luck Dragon (Geyserville Gun Club)

Don’t get attached to a craft cocktail at downtown Geyserville’s killer neighborhood bar; the menu changes so often, it’s hard to keep up with the creativity of Geyserville Gun Club’s mixologists. I’m already mourning the loss of Luck Dragon, a new cocktail recipe that debuted August 1 and could have easily been named Mother of Dragons or Lucky Khaleesi. Made with Dry Creek Peach & Produce organic peaches, infused Campo De Encanto Pisco, dragoncello (Italian for tarragon), honey, lime, egg white and Absinthe, the Luck Dragon is sure to become a Gun Club legend–just like the Pimm’s Cup, pictured at the top. Some of their most beloved cocktails of the past can be ordered off menu, such as the Paper Plane, featured in the Healdsburg Cocktail Triangle. I can only hope Luck Dragon makes that list.

Geyserville Gun Club Bar & Lounge, 21025 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville, CA, geyservillegunclub.com
Yellow cocktail with lemon twist, Spirit Bar by Dry Creek Kitchen Healdsburg
Dry Creek Kitchen’s signature summer cocktail; photo courtesy of Charlie Palmer Group.

The Man with the Yellow Hat (The Spirit Bar at Hotel Healdsburg by Dry Creek Kitchen)

Hidden inside the Hotel Healdsburg lobby, Spirit Bar serves this beautiful, golden-hued cocktail made with Sauza Reposado Tequila, Chartreuse Yellow, agave, lemon juice and egg white. The bar only has a handful of seats, so it’s a fun spot for avoiding the crowds at bigger and busier drinking spots in downtown Healdsburg. Drinks are created by the resident bartender at Hotel Healdsburg’s restaurant, Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen.

Hotel Healdsburg, 25 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, CA, drycreekkitchen.com/spirit-bar
Gin cocktail with grapefuit, elderflower at Barndiva in Healdsburg
Fresh grapefruit and edible flowers top this light, citrusy gin cocktail.

Let the Dogs In (Barndiva)

Sipping on a glass of wine or a craft cocktail in the charming backyard at Barndiva is a must for your things to do in Healdsburg list. During summer, order the goat cheese croquettes with wildflower honey and a Let the Dogs In–a bright, citrusy cocktail made with Bummer & Lazarus Dry Gin (crafted by a San Francisco distiller and named after two stray dogs), Aperol, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, fresh lemon, house grapefruit bitters and a splash of soda. Garnished with grapefruit peel and edible flowers, it’s so pretty that you’ll feel guilty emptying the glass. Trust us. It goes down fast. (Travel tip: The “dogs” can also be enjoyed in The Gallery garden next door to Barndiva.)

Barndiva, 231 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, barndiva.com
Mezcal cocktail jalapeno, cucumber summer cocktail idea
The spicy, fresh taste of a Siren says “summer” at Duke’s.

Siren (Duke’s Spirited Cocktails)

This light, spicy cocktail is one of my favorite Healdsburg mixed drinks. A blend of VIDA (an organic Mezcal from Del Maguey), cucumber, lime, lemongrass, jalapeño, bergamot citrus and Rao Ram (home-grown Vietnamese coriander), the Siren is smooth with a smoky, peppery kick on the finish. Part of Duke’s perennial cocktail menu, so you can order it year-round. A nice alternative to a margarita.

Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, 111 Plaza Street, Healdsburg, CA, drinkatdukes.com
Whiskey cocktail, The Doc Holiday, in a coupe glass
The Doc Holiday whiskey cocktail at Valette.

Doc Holiday (Valette)

The most traditional of our favorite summer mixed drinks, Doc Holiday is a whiskey cocktail made with Rittenhouse Rye, Amaro, house-infused tobacco bitters, a Mexican herb blend called epazote and Valerian bitters. It has a smooth, classic taste. Although Valette restaurant is known for its award-winning wine list (presented on an iPad with the Tastevin app), its compact cocktail menu is creative and not to be overlooked. Mixologist Brandon Manning is unveiling a new collection of signature drinks later this month.

Valette, 344 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, valettehealdsburg.com

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About the Author

Born and raised in rural Kansas, Lisa Mattson fell in love with wine during college in South Florida and worked for a wine magazine before moving to Northern California. She spent almost a decade working as a writer, marketing director and photographer/videographer for Jordan Winery and now serves as a hospitality design and marketing consultant for several wineries, including Jordan. She also designs succulent gardens under the name Sonoma Succulents. When she’s not eating and sipping her way through Sonoma County in the summer and Baja California Sur in the winter, she travels the world with her husband in search of new succulents, ethnic foods, snorkeling spots and tiki bars.

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