A craft cocktail bar with over 300 whiskeys is ready to serve Charlotte’s South End

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated June 16, 2023, to reflect a change in the soft opening date.

A Raleigh-based craft cocktail and whiskey bar has set an opening date for its debut in Charlotte.

Dram & Draught will have a soft open for its seventh location, all in North Carolina, on June 27 at 1220 S Tryon St., suite 300. The Charlotte bar will have a grand opening celebration July 14 and a day-long party July 15 with live music and prizes.

The Charlotte bar will feature more than 300 whiskeys from around the world, hand-crafted cocktails and mocktails, draft beer and an international wine list, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Dram & Draft is one of several retailers at the 5-acre, mixed-use Vantage South End site.

More about Dram & Draft

The cocktail menu, like other Dram locations, includes seasonal and classic drinks, dram and local favorites and wines, as well as mocktails.

The 2,800-square-foot Dram & Draft space has a corner outdoor patio at South Tryon and Catherine streets.

Kevin Barrett, who managed bars across Raleigh, and Drew Schenck, an Army veteran who has owned several restaurants, opened the first Dram & Draught seven years ago in Raleigh. Other locations are in Cary, Durham, Greensboro, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

More at Vantage South End

Vantage South End, a development by The Spectrum Companies and Invesco Real Estate, includes two 11-story office towers.

The site includes 635,000 square feet of office space, retail and amenities. Corporate headquarters at Vantage South End include online lender Lending Tree, Brightspeed, a broadband and telecommunications company, and Armstrong Transport Group.

Along with Dram & Draught, other retailers that are open or planned to open include:

▪ Culinary Dropout, a restaurant by James Beard-nominated restaurateur Sam Fox.

▪ Sixty Vines with 60 wines on tap and food.

▪ Good Wurst Co., a Euro-New York style deli with scratch-made bagels and sauces.

▪ Yolk, an all-day Southern breakfast spot by three-time James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier.

▪ Bluebird Cafe, in the lobby of the West Tower, offers coffee, catering options, and grab-and-go breakfast and lunch from the creators of Roots Cafe.

This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 3:29 PM.