Behind the Backbar at Huckleberry

Ask a bartender how they feel about the government managing the sale and distribution of alcohol, and you’re likely to get an earful. “It is a very big pain in my side to have to restrict what spirits I’m able to get,” says Sean Teague, bar director at the newly opened Huckleberry in Charlotte, North Carolina. (He was also one of Punch’s Best New Bartenders of 2026.) This is the reality for 17 control states across the country, where the variety of spirits brands is limited; there are hurdles for small out-of-state producers; bars have long wait times for shipments; and there are added levels of bureaucracy every step of the way.

“There are lots of really cool tequilas, rums and amaro I can’t get,” says Teague. “It’s frustrating, but it also gives me the opportunity to fill the menu with other things, like readily available local products.”

Huckleberry’s menu pairs nostalgic flavors (there are drinks channeling cherry Coke and Welch’s grape juice, for example) with modern cocktail chemistry, putting to use some of the knowledge Teague gained during a stage under legendary cocktail scientist Dave Arnold last year. I asked Teague to walk me through the bottles that best define the bar. Here are five spirits he’s tapping at Huckleberry.