Japp's Since 1879

The story of Japp's stretches back to 1879, when John G. Japp opened a hair-and-wig shop at 1134 Main Street in what is now Over-the-Rhine. In 2010, local celebrity bartender Molly Wellmann reopened the space as a cocktail bar devoted to historical drinks, keeping the building's 19th-century details intact and deliberately leaving out televisions to encourage old-school appreciation for classic concoctions. The menu specializes in cocktails from the 1700s through the 1950s, and if you don't arrive with an order in mind the bartenders will happily build something around your preferred spirit.

Wellmann has long championed alcohol-free drinking here. "I have so many customers that come in that love to drink but don't want to drink alcohol," she told CityBeat, and the bar answers with what she calls "nonnys" — non-alcoholic cocktails made with the same care as the rest of the list. All drinks at Japp's, boozy or not, are crafted with housemade simple syrups, fresh herbs, berries, juices and floral waters. The zero-proof selections live right on the regular menu, typically two rotating house cocktails built on CleanCo non-alcoholic gin. A recent standout, the Beehive Jive, layered CleanCo gin with chai, honey, pineapple, lemon juice and orange-blossom water for a creamy, honeyed sip; the current menu lists the Jade without the Fade (CleanCo NA gin, ancho reyes, toasted-sesame syrup, lime, pineapple, saline) and the lighter Pomade & Pomelo (pomegranate, lemon, lime, simple syrup). Non-alcoholic beers — Sam Adams Just the Haze and Budweiser 0.0 — round things out.

Japp's is small and unpretentious, tucked into OTR's Main Street entertainment strip. It's open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. — until midnight early week and Sunday, and until 2:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday — and closed Mondays. Because the nonny cocktails rotate, the exact two on offer vary by visit, so it's worth asking the bartender for the current zero-proof options; they're glad to recommend one. Note that the bar adds a small operational surcharge to checks (removable on request) and an automatic 20% gratuity on open tabs at close.