Esquire published its list of The Best Bars in America in 2026 and included one Arizona bar.
The editor, Jeff Gordinier, introduced bars as places of gathering, communication and planning, dating back to 1776 when social media wasn't even a thought. He credited the beginnings of the United States to the Atlantic seaboard taverns, where rebels met and fleshed out their ideas.
For this list, Gordinier gathered some of his best writers to write about bars "where that deep sense of American comradeship is alive and well."
If they were open then, maybe these were the bars and pubs where people would have read Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" out loud.
Only 14 bars made the list.
The sole Arizona bar among them: .
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The Cork's bartender James Hernandez won the heart of the Esquire reviewers with his kindness and attention to customers.
The Cork Tucson is a bar and restaurant that's been housed inside an adobe building since 1966. The bar offers only 14 stools and three tables. Writer John Birdsall raved about bartender James Hernandez, calling him "the kindest, most courteous barman you’ll ever face."
He called the cold drinks well-made and straightforward.
The Cork started as the chain Cork 'N Cleavers in 1966.
In 1984, all the restaurants were sold off.
One of its loyal customers, Bill Hillenbrand, purchased the Tanque Verde location and ran it until 1994, when he sold it to his favorite chef, Jonathan Landeen, who changed the name to Jonathan's Cork.
When Landeen decided to retire 30 years later in 2023, a couple who'd met in a building north of The Cork decided to purchase and preserve it.
The current owners are Australian-born restaurateur Glenn Murphy and his wife, Arizona-born Sally (Shamrell) Murphy, a former TV journalist and actor.
Save for the name, upgrades to the kitchen and adding new patio and bar furniture, they kept the place at 6320 E. Tanque Verde Road mostly the same.
Historic bank vault now new Tucson speakeasy
