The Cocktail Hour

Welcome to The Cocktail Hour. I am Valeria Rosales. I was born in Mazatlan in 2002 and I’m currently studying my BA in English Language Teaching. I´m also working as a barista in the afternoons. In my free time, I enjoy finding new bars [ usually starting at 8 pm until 1 am.] where I can feel comfortable and I can have fun by myself or with friends. Recently, I’ve been discovering a lot about the world of cocktails – bartenders are so friendly and helpful and they recommend other bars for me to discover. I am happy to share this new chapter in my life with you. With these connections I can recommend new bars for you to try and describe the drinks and the vibe in those places. Remember all prices are in pesos and please remember that MazatlanLife pays for all the food and drink.  Salud![Valeria has now entered the adult world and is no longer available to write for MazatlanLife, but her comments on the bar scenes live on!]

Introducing, Apricot Wine Bar.

By Sheila Madsen, November 2025

Ernesto ‘Netto’ Yanes, a surfer who fell in love with Mazatlán long ago, finally brought Apricot here after launching the first location in La Roma, Mexico City. With the ocean close by and family in Los Mochis, Mazatlán was the natural home for Apricot’s second location.

Inside, the décor is low-key and comfortable, with lighting that softly defines each area. Everything is air-conditioned. There’s a community table for tastings and plenty of intimate corners for two or four. It’s a hideaway—quiet, relaxed—until the DJ arrives at around 8 p.m. If you prefer the open air, there’s a large outdoor space perfect for dancing or gathering with a group.

About the wines: there is a large selection of natural and organic wines. “What’s the difference”? I asked. Ernesto explained: “Organic wine starts with organically grown grapes—no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. Once harvested, the winemaker can still use regular methods, including adding sulfites or adjusting the wine. Natural wine is different: minimal intervention, no additives or lab yeasts, and usually very low or zero sulfites. Simply put, organic wines focus on how the grapes are grown, natural wines focus on how the wine is made”. A friend piped up and said “I hear you never get a hangover from natural or organic wines.” Now, there’s a challenge I’m tempted to try.

Apricot does bill itself as Wine Club. For $1000 a month you may join and there are many perks. Free wine tastings, with different sommeliers and chefs, and use of the large indoor/outdoor spaces [within reason] for business meetings, yoga classes, workshops, or private meetings. If you don’t want to join the club you are more than welcome to attend their wine tastings, for a fee. There’s a second level of the Wine Club, called POD, and that’s $2,300 a month. I believe the partner Adrian Alex Bodai has the details on what that membership entails.

The main take-away here, is that you do not have to join the club, everyone is invited to drop in an enjoy a glass of wine or a bottle of wine. A glass of wine is $240 [and up] and if you like it you can buy the bottle for the table. My friends ordered gin and tonics and beer –  so, yes, a full bar too.

And with wine you need food. Apricot has followed the new trend in bars, especially in Spain and Portugal, and it’s called conservas – it’s high-quality sustainably sourced canned foods like sardines, mussels, octopus, salmon, razor clams. Canned? These are not cheap supermarket cans, they’re artisanal products packed a peak freshness. Think of it as “canned gastronomy”. It’s become popular in bars as it pairs beautifully with wine. Apricot has an excellent selection of conservas ranging from $196 and up.

The vibe: upscale, elegant, tranquil from 6 pm. to 8 pm. After eight, Apricot embraces the young and music.

[Apricot is located upstairs at El Presidio, Niños Héroes 511, and is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 6 pm – 1 am . It is not handicap accessible. Below Apricot, street level, is Bruma Bar – “ a vinyl coffee bar with signature cocktails and live music.” It is open from Tuesday to Saturday at 5:30 pm. The vibe: a lively bar, with music. If you would like to read more about the history of El Presidio/Casa Garcia, please click here].

The drinks, the vibe at Macaws.

August, 2024

I’m sure Macaws is not an unknown place in Mazatlan, actually I feel it’s a classic bar here; that said, last week it was my first time there. I´ve seen it for years but I never took the time to go there, so it was definitely on my checkslist.

THE VIBE: The first and most notorious thing about this place is that they usually have foreign customers [expats], so if you want to practice your English that’s the right place to go. It is a nice place to be, the color red on the walls and the warm lighting gives perfectly the vibe of a bar. They have a lot of space to sit, so on this occasion I decided to sit at the bar in order to talk with Victor, the bartender and he was very friendly. [In fact, Kathy Bacon a frequent customer, says “we love him, he is one of the kindest people I have met here. He knows how to make my drink better than anyone in this town – a lemon drop.”]. And I can agree with her! They usually play blues and 80s music. It feels relaxing being there but I would prefer to go in winter when the heat is not a problem since they don’t have AC.

THE DRINKS: When reading the menu, I think it’s easy to decide what you want to drink, this time I ordered a Cosmopolitan, it was definitely strong but it had the perfect balance. I wasn’t sure about this cocktail because I tried it in another place and it was not good, but I gave it a second chance and now I´ve changed my opinion. Victor told me that the most popular cocktails they serve are the basics-  such as margaritas, Cosmopolitans and a Bloody Mary. The prices are from $90 to $140. They also offer non-alcoholic drinks.

In general, I had a good time there with a delicious cocktail. The location is perfect and it is easy to find, I am happy I finally know this place after all these years seeing all the people having fun there.

[Macaws is located in Venustiano Carranza #4. Centro. It is open from Monday to Sunday from 7am to 10 pm. Credit cards accepted. Handicap accessible. Live music during “the winter season”.]

The drinks, the vibe at Ruiseñor.

July, 2024

Ruiseñor is a brand new bar for me, it took me some time to find it but now I´m happy I did, even though it is located on a very common street, I had never seen it before, but when I found it, it surprised me.

THE VIBE:  I really enjoyed the vibe in this bar, at first you can perceive it as a dark place but once you take a look to the details, it matches perfectly to the name of the bar. On the walls you´ll find paintings of the nightengale, “ruiseñor”, but even though it is a little bit dark, it feels like a warm place because of the soft lightning -although is a small place, all this together builds the vibe you would expect for a bar. Also, the bar is quite flashy and it works great since it is the first thing you see when you enter the place. So far all good, but my favorite part of this place was the music. I´m into the 70s, 80s and 90s music and nowadays it could be difficult to find places that plays this type of music, but I really enjoyed the time I was there and I knew every song they played! It was the perfect match for me between the music and the drinks. They also have live music every Friday and Saturday at 11:00 pm.

THE DRINKS: When I was talking to the owner, he mentioned that he worked in Spain for a while and he tried to bring to the bar some ideas from there and that the main focus are the drinks, so they try to picture the perfect balance between taste and appearance in every cocktail they make. They have a good variety of drinks on the menu and it is easy to find the one you want. They have the basics and their own cocktails. The prices are from $120.00 to $185.00.

They also have beer and non-alcohol drinks. I really enjoyed my drink and as the owner said it was the perfect balance, you can really taste the alcohol but it blends perfectly with the other ingredients and they are very refreshing.

Overall, I really enjoyed discovering this bar; a good relationship between price and quality and if you´re hungry they also sell a variety of  snacks and food like pizza and hamburgers.

[Ruiseñor is located on Constitucion 77. Centro. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 4:00pm to 12:00 am, Friday and Saturday 4:00 pm to 2:00 am. Credit cards accepted. Not handicap accessible].

 

 

The drinks, the vibe at Ponciano Arriaga 158.

July, 2024

This bar is such a new place for me, and it took time to get to know it – it was definitely on my checklist since every time I was walking by it was always crowded.

THE VIBE: The place is very nice and with a unique vibe, when I first got there, it felt mysterious. You’ll discover both –  a traditional and a Mexican vibe. The music is good and they are open every day! If you are looking to spend a chill time with friends I recommend you to go there before 9 pm but if you want to party, you definitely have to go after 9 pm and you will have a great time at both hours.

THE DRINKS: They have a big menu so surely you’ll find a drink you like, or if you are up to try new things you won’t regret it! The specialty of the house is mezcal and they produce their own, which makes it even better so you can feel on each sip their roots and amazing flavors. They have over 50 different mezcals from different states of Mexico such as Sonora, Nuevo León, Durango and Chihuahua and a wide variety of cocktails with mezcal from $100.00 to $150.00

If you’re not a mezcal person you can find drinks without mezcal and beer. Not to mention they also have a large food menu to match your drink which are very Mexican options such as corn and nachos, and nicely presented. Salud!

[Ponciano Arriaga 158 is located Niños Héroes #1505, Centro, and is open: Monday to Saturday from 5 pm to 2 am Sunday 12 pm to 2 am. Credit cards accepted, not handicap accessible.]

 

The drinks, the vibe at Casa Analco.

June, 2024

This place produces its own Mezcal, which makes it the speciality of the house but, they also offer a wide variety of cocktails for everyone. The menu offers seasonal cocktails created by talented mixologists. These are exotic drinks that you wouldn’t ordinarily order but they also have the classic cocktails such as an espresso martini with vodka, and a Naked and Famous martini made with mezcal.

THE VIBE: I usually sit at the bar because I like to see how they make cocktails and also I can talk with the bartenders and learn new things about the drinks. Casa Analco is a large space for you to go with your friends and enjoy it – inside or outside.  The music is good because you can feel like you’re in a club but you´re still able to chat with your friends. I really like this place for a girls night out and to make new friends. Every time I go there I meet a lot of new people and it’s such a nice experience to spend an evening at Casa Analco.

THE DRINKS: The cocktails are from $165 to $190, and if you´re not into cocktails you can have beer from $50. The top three cocktails at Casa Analco are Santo Remedio, which is made out of mezcal cenizo from the house, it is citric and smoked and you can buy it for $170. The second one is Golden Hour, this one is also made out of mezcal cenizo from the house and it has pineapple, grapefruit and chile ancho liquor – you may find it sweet, spicy and a little bit bitter. This cocktail is $175. The third one is the classic Naked and famous as it’s made out of mezcal cenizo from the house, aperol and lime. This one is citric and herbal and it´s $185. Salud!

[ Casa Analco is located on Niños Heroes # 1511-A, Centro. It opens at 6 pm. to 2 am, from Tuesday to Sunday. Not handicap accessible, accepts all credit cards.]

 

The drinks, the vibe at Azul Cantina Fina Bar & Grill.

June, 2024

THE VIBE: This place was such an interesting discovery for me. When I first went there I thought it was just one floor but to my surprise they have a rooftop where a rock band was playing. Now is when you have to decide if you want to stay on the first floor with karaoke and pop music or enjoy the live music upstairs. I decided to go upstairs and it was such a nice environment, the music was amazing and the vibes too. They have different bands and genres every week but I was lucky enough to find the rock band since that’s my go-to music. It’s great to have two totally different vibes in one place – it’s up to you to go where you want. Upstairs becomes a party with everyone dancing. I think the versatility of this place makes it enjoyable for every age.

THE DRINKS: They offer classic cocktails, mocktails, and beer.They usually have promos on weekends such a 2×1 in margaritas and palomas and a free shot if you are brave enough to sing a song at the karaoke event. The expats love their margaritas – which makes it the most popular drink at $120 but you can also enjoy beer from $45 and mocktails from $85. Salud!

[Azul Cantina is located on Mariano Escobedo # 96, at the corner of Niños Heroes in Centro. It’s open from 5:00 pm to 2 am. from Wednesday to Sunday. It is pet friendly but not handicap accesible. Accepts all credit cards.]

The drinks, the vibe at Casco Viejo Cantina Tropical.

June, 2024.

Updated March 2025: On Wednesdays, the restaurant celebrates Centro’s chefs and cooks with miércoles de vecinos – often local restaurants drop by and cook up “gramma’s recipes.” The idea is to honour local Sinaloa cuisine at reasonable price.

THE VIBE: This bar is perfect to go to before heading out to a club; you can start partying here if you feel you´re still not ready to go to the club. Casco has different spots where you can sit and it’s definitely created to go with good company. The first room is the bar where you can sit or you can choose the other rooms with AC, but the ideal space there, is the patio. It’s a party out there and while they have a lot of seating you may have to wait to get a table as it’s so popular. I feel the vibes in this place are more intended for people between 18 to 40 years old since it is loud and I don’t think older people  would enjoy this bar.

THE DRINKS: I noticed that almost every table was drinking beer, but they also sell cocktails such as aperol spritz. The prices for beer are around $50 and the cocktails are from $135 to $150. The music is a mix between pop music, reggaeton and regional music. In general, it’s a nice place to go with friends to have fun, as I mentioned before it is usually full so you will have to wait for your table and for the staff to take your order. Salud!

[Casco Viejo Cantina Tropical is located on Niños Heroes # 1409, Centro and opens at 5:00 pm to 2 am. from Wednesday to Sunday. Not handicap accessible, accepts all credit cards.]