Academia (CLOSED)

Nerd alert: If you love reading, science and booze, this bar in downtown's warehouse district has your name on it. Academia comes to us from Russell Davis, a former Bar Rescue co-star and co-owner of bar consulting firm Unlimited Liabilities. As its name suggests, the bar is designed to be a tribute of sorts to higher learning, with high ceilings, brick walls and university-esque banners that give the cocktail lounge a library feel.  The bartenders here—a staff curated from talent across the country—act as patient professors, taking you through cocktails like the Raw Dill, a drink that might remind you of your favorite lox bagel in the best possible way, or the Trinidad Sour that goes down smooth as silk.