There are certain cities where you expect to find a great cocktail: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago. But Dallas? I wasn’t convinced.

But at the end of February, I embarked on a trip to the lonestar state with my sisters and we were completely blown away by the cocktail scene.

I had rounded up a list of places I wanted to hit, and the rest we picked up from local recommendations along the way. We sampled 31 different cocktails (!) at 10 bars throughout the city—and sipped some very memorable drinks. The showstopper had to be the Reconstructed Champagne Cocktail at Parliament, shown in the video at the end of this post. An absolute must!

We also spent some time window shopping in the Bishop Arts District, scarfing some delicious pizza in Deep Ellum, embarking on a day trip to Waxahachie, and schooling ourselves at the Grassy Knoll where JFK was shot (and touring the neighboring Sixth Floor Museum).

Dallas really charmed us, and we all left singing its praises and recommending a visit to all our friends. If you have the chance to make a stopover, I highly recommend it. Just be sure to make time for cocktails!

Here are the cocktail spots we visited, ranked from most to least favorite. You can also download our super-handy cocktail guide—just click the link below!

• Parliament: Chic space, incredibly nice staff, and show-stopping cocktails. A+.

• Black Swan: No cocktail menus here—they whip up a drink based on your preferences alone. We called our bartender, Dylan, a cocktail savant. Two thumbs way up.

• Armoury DE: A little snobby, but the cocktails are fantastic.

• High & Tight: Barbershop with a cocktail bar in the back. Spacious but cozy, and poured some of our favorite drinks.

• Standard Pour: Great looking bar, interesting cocktails. They also serve a GIANT ($100) moscow mule, which we didn’t get and might be our biggest regret.

• Parker & Barrows: Perfect space for nice afternoons, with its outdoor bar seating and well-designed interior.

• Midnight Rambler: Very cool space—go for the ambiance.

• Dish: More restaurant than bar, but tasty cocktails.

• Twenty-Seven: Super-nice staff but the cocktails were underwhelming.

• Remedy: Touts itself as a grown-up soda bar; they spike their hosuemade sodas in an effort to create original cocktails. Unfortunately they totally fell flat (pun intended) and were nearly undrinkable.

On our list for next time: Proof + Pantry, HG Supply Co., Filament, The Theodore, Ida Claire, Rapscallion, Atwater Alley, The Mitchell.