Views and good cocktails reside at the Rooftop Bar at Oceanside’s brand new Mission Pacific Hotel. Chill out with drinks like the La Fortuna with strawberry infused Aperol, prosecco, St-Germain, and vermouth or spice it up with the Pina Mia made with serrano tequila, pineapple infused mezcal, cilantro, lime, and tajin.

At this Oceanside tasting room you’ll find Pacific Coast Spirits’s small batch, “grain-to-glass” liquors bended into classic, draft, and canned cocktails for dine-in and take-out. House favorites include the Skeleton Kru with PCS white rye whiskey, lemon, brown sugar syrup, Giffard Peche, and tiki bitters.

A gem in Oceanside, The Plot’s front-of-house manager Marisa Johnson has created a new craft cocktail menu that celebrates all things botanical including the Neon Prayers with Lillet Blanc, basil, lemon, and sweet vermouth and the Baby Michael with champagne, orgeat, lemon, and bitters.

Located in the heart of the new Del Mar Highlands’ Sky Deck, Understory Bar has introduced a new late night cocktail program, Nocturnal. Available after 9 p.m., the regularly rotating menu of nightcaps are available for $1, with any subsequent nightcaps being offered for $5. The inaugural menu includes the Halcyon Horseshoe made with Irish whiskey, peach liquor, and lemonade or the Crash Bandicoot, a blend of tequila, watermelon, and Tabasco.

Enjoy happy hour at the charming and quirky Farmer & The Seahorse. Chris D’ Apice and his bar team are serving up a handful of new libations. Highlights of the new menu include the easy-drinking Swim Fan with housemade cilantro syrup, tequila, mezcal, lime juice with serrano and a Mai Tai with white rum, pineapple juice, orgeat, orange curacao, lime juice, and dark aged spiced rum.

A fast favorite in San Diego, Verbena Kitchen’s cocktail menu conveys the same level of detail as their food. General manager Dallas Juanes brings his expertise to drinks like White Truffle Bloody Mary with house-fermented gin and and vodka and the popular Verbena Signature Sangria with California pimot noir, fig port, orange liqueur, citrus, and peach.

An exciting new space in the heart of Hillcrest, Barrel & Board’s cocktail menu pays homage to the power woman of pop. Enjoy a Donna Summer-inspired Last Dance with Ilegal Joven Mezcal, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and fresh lime juice or honor Lizzo with a Bombay Bramble with gin, muddled blackberries, lemon, and demerara syrup. Their mocktail menu is as equally thoughtful and fun.

Common Stock recently introduced a new lineup that includes seasonal choices like the Chai’d Car with chai-infused bourbon, lemon, and smoked vanilla syrup and classics including the Last Word with gin, lime, maraschino liqueur, and chartreuse.

Civico By the Park recently introduced an Aperol Spritz Bar. Explore the range of this bittersweet liqueur from the classic Aperol with prosecco to the earthy Bergamotto with orange bitters and Amaro Montenegro. The drinks are best enjoyed during aperitivo “hour” (4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.) along with a special antipasti menu.

This remarkable new Little Italy bar has a 24-seat circular cocktail carousel bar that slowly spins at its center; it’s where curious guests sip on popular signature cocktails like the Fleur de France with vodka, grapefruit, and crème de violette, or the namesake Wolfie’s Connection with cognac, amaretto, raspberry, and a sprig of rosemary.

Every Thursday, Kindred’s Permanent Vacation menu is looking towards past favorites. Catch classics like 2016’s Cosmic Frost with light rum, blackstrap rum, alpine liqueur, pineapple, lime, allspice dram, and absinthe or the Desert Rambler with Botanist gin, dandelion greens, sage, pink peppercorn, tonic, and lavender bitters. Later this year, Kindred’s massive collection of tropical drinks will find a permeant home at their second location, Mothership, also in South Park.

While it still carries the hallmarks of a classic dive, its new ownership is also ushering in a fresh chapter for the downtown bar. General manager Christian Johnson has revamped the cocktail menu with classics like Ranch Water, a chilled bottle of Topo Chico spiked with vodka, gin, or tequila, and the Tokyo Highball with Suntory Whiskey, ginger beer and orange. They also offer cereal milk cocktails topped with Coco Puffs or Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

For three years Lola 55 has been serving some of the best tacos in San Diego, but its cocktail menu should not be overlooked. Save space on your patio table for a Palomita Picosita with three pepper-infused tequila, grapefruit chamomile, lime juice, and chamomile salt or the Coco Verdita with spiked fresh coconut and mint.

Celebrating its fourth anniversary this year, the East Village’s You & Yours continues to impress with its vodka and gins. Enjoy the house spirits in cocktails like Rhubarbie’s Dream House with Sunday gin, rhubarb, raspberry, butters, and pink peppercorn served on their patio or order spirits and cocktails (batched or canned) ahead for pick-up.

Waiting beyond the recently revamped Neighborhood and Noble Experiment is the latest CH Projects offering, a plush and intimate hideaway where guests with reservations can embark on a customized, multi-course cocktail experience.

Recently named as one of Esquire Best Bars in America for 2021, this East Village cocktail house from CH Projects is one of the group’s most low-key spots. Though the drinks are serious, the atmosphere is welcoming and relaxed.

Warm up to fall manu at the Pendry Hotel’s cocktail bar and lounge, Fifth & Rose. The cozy cocktails include the Mad Hatter with earl grey-infused Grey Goose, peach, blueberry, fino sherry, and cardamom and the Lower East Side with barrel aged vanilla bean-infused Templeton rye, rainier cherry infused carpano, antica and chocolate bitters.

Tucked into Chula Vista’s historic Third Avenue, Shake & Muddle has launched a new cocktail lineup created by mixologist Jeff Mackay. Highlights include Berry the Rabbits with 400 Rabbits Mezcal, fresh lemon, gomme syrup, pineapple juice, and muddled berries. The extensive cocktail menu offers an array of signature shots, tropical concoctions, and five different styles of Old Fashioneds.