Better Days - A Bar Review
Here's a koan for the day: when is a pop-up bar no longer a pop-up bar? Opened back in 2014 and touted as a hot cocktail pop-up in Brickell, Better Days is now a fixture in the area, slinging great drinks until 5 AM and with a lively happy hour to boot.
Atmosphere and Service: Imagine decorating your bar by driving around town and spending a Sunday cleaning out garage sales, and you'd get pretty close to the eclectic aesthetic here. Yes, that is a pink pony (or is it a donkey?) piñata hanging above the bar. No, the stools aren't matching -- nor are the musty armchairs lining the wall, which look like leftovers from Grand-Aunt Muriel's parlor. Yes, that is a popcorn machine in the corner and, yes, sometimes it's even working (hence the popcorn tubs littered around the bar). And I haven't even mentioned the 80s and 90s board games that are lying around.
Better Days seems to draw more than its fair share of patrons, as it's always pretty busy but never uncomfortably packed for happy hour. Wednesday, the day I went, is also trivia night, which draws a good crowd. Service is solid, but as with any bar, the busier it gets, the harder it gets to get a tender's attention.
Selection: This is another review of a bar that self-identifies as a cocktail bar, so I'm a bit more lenient in evaluating their selection. Compared to the average watering hole, Better Days has a fine array of options. I spotted a bunch of bourbons, including Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, both Knob Creek and Knob Creek Single Barrel, Booker's, and the entire Bulleit family. I'd estimate they had 6-10 scotches as well, including a few varieties of Glenfiddich and Macallan, some blends, and a bottle of Highland Park in the back.
Rare Bottles: This is not the place to look for a hard-to-find bottle, although it wouldn't shock me if somehow they lucked into a bottle of Pappy one day or some old bottle of bourbon gathering dust since the 70s. Who knows what they could find at those garage sales where they're getting all this furniture?
Value: Unfortunately only a handful of whiskies are part of happy hour (Jameson, Jack Daniels, Old Parr). That being said, their prices are very reasonable for a bar in Miami. A 2 oz pour of Booker's was $12, which is significantly less than I've seen it at other bars, even reasonably priced bars, in Miami. The sign outside promises "Fine drinks at fair prices," and happily Better Days lives up to that pledge.
To know what I thought of the drams I had while here -- Jameson, Booker's 2017-02 Blue Knight's Batch, Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve, and Knob Creek, check out my next post!