Local Bar Named One of Best Bars in North America

From the details of the location—an ultra-glamorous, 36-seat Presidential Pullman-inspired train car from the 20th century—to the list of more than 45 exquisitely created and crafted cocktails, Platform 18 is a cocktail bar like no other.

And now, the award-winning, immersive destination has another distinction to add to its quickly growing list—it was named to the esteemed North America’s 50 Best Bars, as ranked by 50 Best and sponsored by Perrier.

The locale was the only Arizona location to receive the honor, and one of only 28 (out of more than 70,000!) in the U.S. The rest included 14 locations in Mexico, seven in Canada, and one in the Caribbean.

Platform 18 was ranked #48, and is joined by the likes of Double Chicken Please (#1) and Katana Kitten (#3) in New York, Jewel of the South (#5) in New Orleans, Pacific Cocktail Haven (#28) in San Francisco, and Death & Co (#30) in Los Angeles.

At Platform 18, each guest embarks on an immersive and unforgettable 90-minute journey that follows the concept’s fictitious hero Hollis Cottley Pennington, a railroad tycoon and bootlegger, as he conducts business in the bayous of Louisiana. There are interactive elements, such as moving visuals depicting the bayou, vibrations, sound and lighting effects, that make each person feel like they’ve been whisked away on an adventure back in time to the 1930s.

The bar was created by the team at Barter & Shake Cocktail Entertainment, and is led by industry titans Jason Asher, Rich Furnari, and Mat Snapp, Platform 18 resides within the walls of Century Grand, which also houses the popular cocktail locales UnderTow and Grey Hen Rx.

Photo by Grace Stufkosky