Juniper Bar at Hotel Vermont

Juniper Bar at Hotel Vermont on Cherry Street occupies the ground floor of Burlington's most celebrated independent hotel, a beautifully designed property that opened in 2013 and quickly established itself as a benchmark for locally conscious Vermont hospitality. The bar and restaurant has become a destination in its own right, drawing hotel guests and Burlington locals with an all-Vermont craft spirits cocktail programme and a small-plates food menu built from Vermont-sourced ingredients.

The cocktail programme is the bar's defining feature and one of the most distinctive in the state: every spirit used in the cocktail menu is produced in Vermont, drawing from the state's growing roster of craft distilleries to create drinks with genuine regional character. Classic cocktail templates — negronis, sours, old-fashioneds, gimlets — are reinterpreted using Vermont-made gin, whiskey, vodka, and botanical liqueurs. The result is a menu that functions as a structured tour of Vermont's distillery landscape.

The food menu focuses on small plates designed for grazing alongside drinks: the Vermont cheeseburger, one of Burlington's most discussed pub-style burgers, arrives juicy with local cheddar and house condiments. Charcuterie platters incorporate Vermont-made cheeses and cured meats. Local oysters on the half shell are a reliable order when the shellfish are in season. The menu is not exhaustive, but every item is executed carefully and sourced locally.

The bar space is handsome and contemporary, with warm wood surfaces, leather seating, and views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains visible from the windows. The atmosphere is convivial without being loud, attracting a cosmopolitan mix of business travellers, weekenders, and Burlington professionals.

Walk-in seating at the bar is first-come; restaurant seating may be reserved.