1. Octavius, COCKTAIL €16

Octavius is the slick cocktail bar next to the The Stage Restaurant in Piazza Gae Aulenti. The Stage has a beautiful interior design, which mimics the interior of a luxury yacht. Architects Roman and Williams clad the walls in tambour wood panels which together with the mahogany ceiling make you feel like you're in the belly of a boat. The adjacent Octavius bar can be spotted through the porthole windows, with similar wood surroundings and warm color tones and lighting. The beautiful stainless and brass bar counter is the highlight, where Francesco Cione mans the crew of talented young bartenders like Sossio Del Prete, Gabriele Tammaro and Nicolò Scelsi.

Although you pay more than MaG cafe or Carlo e Camilla for a drink, the sexy environment and solid drinks are worth the price of admission. Octavius is my top choice for Northern Milano!

Sossio making a Michter’s Old Fashioned; These are a few of my favorite things.

2. Ceresio 7, €15 cocktail

Imagine drinking a perfectly balanced Old Fashioned inside a beautiful swimming pool surrounded by the hottest girls in Milano. Well sadly you can't actually get in the pool but my hope is that one day Guglielmo Miriello will make my dream come true. Ceresio is one of most glamorous bars in Milano, and the favorite bar of many. A must visit on a cocktail bar tour of the city. Poolside photo by Flavia Arditi of Flawless Milano.

3. Botanical club, €10 cocktail

Botanical Club caught everyone's attention 3 years ago when it first opened, being the first bar to distill its own gin called Spleen et Ideal with 8 botanicals (juniper, angelica, coriander, green cardamom, rosebuds, iris, lime peel, mandarin peel). Entering the bar in the trendy Isola district, I was immediately impressed with the slick bar area and good looking customers. I can see why Botanical is a favorite of my fashionable friends Jessica, Tatiana and Arianna! Although Kate (ex Mag and EGO) started things off at the Botanical Club, she has now moved on to work with Elephant Gin. Manning the bar now is the gifted Mattia Capezzuoli, who you can also find at the larger Via Tortona location of Botanical Club. He prepared two perfect renditions of the Dry Martini and Tuxedo cocktails . From the new drink list, try the 48, a name inspired by the first war of independence in Pastrengo in 1848. It features Spleen et ideal gin, lime juice, lemongrass syrup, plum bitters and organic champagne. In addition to great drinks, they have a solid food menu. Try the Ravioli with ricotta di bufala, saffron and a sea urchin sauce. Bomba!

**Hepple Gin Martini Cocktail and Tuxedo Cocktail**

4. Dry Milano, €12 COCKTAIL

Thanks to Domenico Carella, I discovered the magic of Dry in Vittorio Veneto. The hip space near Piazza Repubblica features a welcoming front bar area, where the bartender on duty will always greet you with a smile as you enter. Hospitality is the number 1 priority of the bar team at Dry and they will always go out of their way to make sure you feel like a king. In addition to stellar cocktails, you can sample the best focaccia in Milano. I suggest the salted Yogurt salato with vinappeso or Stracciatella with prosciutto crudo of Osvaldo to pair with your drinketto.

The list is often changing at Dry, so I encourage you to ask the bartender Federico Turina to make you a twist on a classic. The Michter's Old Fashioned with an ice sphere made by Dom was the best version of this drink I've had in agese. If you become a regular, request the mind blowingly good Ramos Fizz, a drink most bartenders would refuse to make. But at Dry the boys have got your back!

If you're looking for great food and drinks in a cool atmosphere with head-nod worthy electronic music surrounded by sexy Milanese and jetsetters, Dry is your best bet in Milano.

5. Wooding BAR, €12 Cocktail

Wooding Bar in Isola is an innovative bar by Valeria Margherita Mosca, who gained fame from her Wooding Wild Food Lab, a research laboratory studying the use of "wild food" for human nutrition and nutrition. Valeria and her team study, collect, catalog, analyze, and experiment with wild plants for food and drink. The wild food concept is an environmentally friendly way of sourcing food and also the cocktails proposed at Wooding Bar.

Although I didn't meet Valeria, I was happy to see Erica Rossi behind the bar at Wooding. She started me off with drink #1 featuring mezcal, wild blackberry kombucha (a naturally carbonated, fermented tea), fermented ground roots and ground elder. The herbaceous cocktail was well-balanced and pleasant on the palate.

I urge the first timer to start with a safer choice, the Wooding reinterpretation of the Old Fashioned. Other than the bourbon whiskey, this Old Fashioned veers far from tradition with (3) koso juzo (a delicious fermentation of 50 herbs that ordinarily would be toxic in nature!) and homemade bark bitters. It's even topped with a fermented cherry.

In speaking to my other friends in the industry, it seems the average drinker isn't quite ready for the creative menu at Wooding. I personally, being a fan of new tastes and ideas, had a great experience at Wooding and would encourage all adventurous cocktail enthusiasts to check it out.

Koso Juso and the bar counter at Wooding

6. Barba, €10 cocktail

For a refreshingly new drinking experience, check out Barba, located at Via San Gregorio 40. This iconic street, already famous for the amazing Gelato Giusto and Osteria del Treno, is now home to one of the best cocktail bars in Milano. I like the minimalist design of Barba, which is much different from the average cocktail bar. Other than the bar area, there are several tables at Barba, where you can chill with your friends over a great drink and tapas style food.

For aperitivo, Barba offers great finger food to go along with your drink. If you want something more substantial, Barba also makes great pulled pork sandwich and tartare dishes thanks to chef owner Lele Cingolini.