I did not realize that Beaufort South Carolina was a place I would enjoy a wide variety of adult beverages, including craft beers, cocktails, and specialty libations.
4 places in Beaufort to find a drink~
1 – Hearth Wood Fired Pizza
If you arrive mid-afternoon, head over to Hearth Wood Fired Pizza in the historic district. You’ll find an airy and inviting setting offering wood-fired pizzas, chicken wings, and additional Italian fare to go with your libation of choice.
The choices here are extensive. On the beverage menu, find 18 white wines and 14 reds, along with eight red blends and pizza wines. If beer is what you fancy, peruse the list of 15 bottled varieties along with numerous draught choices that are rotated, and change based on the season.
There are several specialty drinks, such as their Seasonal Sangria and other specialty mixed drinks. We tried two. The Pear Sangria was made with pear vodka, brandy, Pinot Noir, along with Montepulciano wine. It was rich and smooth and a fitting accompaniment to our Shroom pizza and wings.
We also enjoyed the Fizzy Kaine, consisting of Virgil Kaine ginger-infused bourbon, house-made blackberry syrup, lime juice, and ginger beer. Mmmm, delish. Yes, it was not yet five o’clock. Still, we were on vacation.
We enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and friendly waitress and bartender while we sipped our cocktails. You could spend quite a bit of time here tasting all there is to offer on the drink and food menus.
Walking it off
After indulging in a mid-afternoon pizza and wing-fest, we walked off the effects of early happy hour drinks. We strolled along the waterfront and admired the scenery of the boats along the Beaufort River.
When you go, pop into the visitor’s center, and make an appointment for a walking history tour or a horse and carriage ride. Shops along the main street could keep you busy for a while, and it’s always fun to catch live music at one of the restaurants that back up to the river. At some point, you’ll want to slake your thirst again, and there is a fun sports bar down on Boundary Street that would be a perfect place to do so.
2 – Bricks on Boundary
Bricks on Boundary is a casual sports bar with a large food and drink menu, and on certain nights offers live music or trivia. We were there on a trivia night, so we came up with a clever team name and got busy answering questions as we looked at the extensive beverage menu. So many choices. Should we try a specialty drink? Martini? Margarita? There’s domestic and imported bottled beer, plus draught selections that change depending on what is produced locally, plus white, and red wine.
After discussing our many options with our server, we decided on a Newcastle draught and a Kentucky Mule. The mule consisted of bourbon (rather than vodka), lime juice, and ginger beer. Is it a coincidence that ginger beer is showing up everywhere? Regardless, both drinks hit the spot, with crisp flavor and just enough carbonation to be thirst-quenching. The atmosphere was fun, with trivia questions and answers being rushed to the DJ and adult beverages being enjoyed by all.
3 – Hemingway’s
Get up late the next morning and mosey on over to Hemingway’s back in the historic district. You’ll want to arrive past brunch because they don’t serve it unless you count the quiche of the day. You don’t go for the atmosphere unless it’s warm enough to eat outside and enjoy the waterfront vistas.
You do go for the Bloody Mary. It’s what everyone online raves about, and when you taste it, you’ll know why. It’s served in a large solo cup, perfect for holding the just-right mix of tomato, vodka, lime, and whatever else makes such a drink.
Where Hemingway’s B-Mary excels is the accouterments. Here comes your drink, festooned with hot and spicy pickles, olives, pickled asparagus, and a cheese stick. Yes, the same one you pack in your preschooler’s lunch box. It seems weird, looks funny, but you can bet we munched on ours as we sipped our delicious drink. Who needs brunch anyway?
4 – Old Bull Tavern
For your last night in town, you’ll want to go where the cool kids go. It should be a place that feels crowded and energetic, has a creative and evolving menu, and old-fashioned as well as imaginative cocktails.
Old Bull Tavern (OBT) is where you’ll find all of these. If there’s a short wait outside, pull a chair up to the fire pit. Wait for a server to come and take your drink order.
Once you are inside, take your time looking over the menu. It has a few choices in each category. I’m sure there will be something you’ll rave over. In the bar-snacks category, the wasabi deviled eggs with bits of fried prosciutto are divine.
From the Starters menu, the street corn and shrimp make a nice light supper, especially if you want to leave room for the butterscotch pudding with caramel sea salt. You’ll want to leave room. We really did have to force ourselves not to lick the bowl after enjoying this treat.
Before we stuffed ourselves, we did enjoy reading the decadent sounding cocktail menu. If you aren’t in the mood for wine or imported or domestic beer, try one of the OBT cocktails. With names like French Connection and Inspector Clouseau, it may be hard to decide.
Fortunately, there was one called the Cathead Cooler, which was intriguing for one reason. It allowed us to continue our streak of enjoying cocktails containing ginger beer. This one had honeysuckle vodka, St. Germaine, cucumber, mint, lemon, and ginger beer. Sweet, floral, tart, and yummy. A fitting end to our discovery of all the ways ginger beer may be used in a cocktail and a lovely lasting impression of what’s to drink in Beaufort.
When you go to Beaufort South Carolina
There are plenty of things to do in a historic city like Beaufort, South Carolina. If you are lucky enough to live within driving distance, you owe it to yourself to jump in the car and take a quick weekend getaway. You would need more than a weekend getaway to sample all the enticing food and drink options in Beaufort. Now that we are aware of all there is, we will visit more often. While there, you will discover the small-town charm, historic buildings, a beautiful waterfront, and many restaurants and pubs in which to relax and unwind.
The combination of history, beautiful scenery, southern hospitality, plus your choice of wine, beer, and cocktails make Beaufort a place to add to your vacation destination calendar.
