The Haymaker

The Haymaker has anchored Fayetteville Street, downtown Raleigh's main spine, since 2017; it closed for a short hiatus and reopened in early 2026 under new owner Glenn Shriver, a mixology veteran, and it presents itself as a craft cocktail bar with speakeasy leanings — a specialty list of rye, amaro and Chartreuse drinks, a run of classics from a Sazerac to a Vieux Carré, wines by the glass and a rotating draught selection. It is not an alcohol-free room and does not claim to be.

What makes it worth a non-drinker's evening is the section the bar calls Pick-Your-Proof. Six house cocktails are listed once and can be ordered three ways — zero proof, half proof or full proof — and the bar's own site describes it as the first ever menu of its kind. Raleigh Magazine, covering the launch in March 2026, reported the pricing as fourteen dollars at full proof, eleven at half and eight at zero, and quoted Shriver on the reasoning: people who are drinking less still want going out for drinks to be part of being social. The point is not the novelty. It is that the zero-proof version of a drink is a printed option with the same name and the same base as the full-strength one, so a non-drinker at a table orders exactly what everyone else does and specifies the proof, rather than asking a bartender to improvise.

The six are built to survive the removal of their spirit. Mama Said Knock You Out is beets, herbes de Provence and citrus under tequila or mezcal; Hello, Nurse! is orange blossom, blue matcha and citrus under gin; Dreams of Oaxaca is pineapple and jalapeño under mezcal; The Rabbit of Caerbannog is carrot, black pepper and honey under gin; Barbie's Second Marriage is strawberry, lavender, citrus and brut under vodka; The Kilt Lifter is hibiscus, ginger and árbol chilli under scotch. Vegetable juices, tea, chilli and floral cordials carry the flavour, which is exactly what a zero-proof build needs and what a spirit-and-mixer drink lacks once the spirit is gone. How the bar handles the sparkling wine in Barbie's Second Marriage at zero proof is worth asking about at the bar.

Hours run late for downtown: four until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, four until two in the morning on Thursday and Friday, five until two on Saturday, with a short Sunday afternoon session from three to eight and a Monday close at ten. The bar takes private events and the menu changes, so check that the Pick-Your-Proof heading is still on the list; it was read from the bar's own site in September 2026.