Fun place. Had a great Saturday night here. Whiskey flight was awesome. Old fashions were done right. Service from Sophie and Autumn was phenomenal.
Glenn Fischer
How can you not love a cocktail flight? Four beautiful flavors to try. It's a great way to decide on a full sized drink.
Davidsonian
Sign and online says open until 11. It's Saturday and it's 10 pm and the doors are locked. Don't waste your time here like we did. This was on 7/26/25
Mapping Our Tracks
Unique and one of a kind cocktails! Absolutely loved stopping by here and trying their drinks
Austin Hargis
I'm not a huge spirit enjoyer, I don't have the palate to identify hidden notes in a spirit, or even identify the difference between them. The cocktails though, are delightful. Recently visited and had the Orange Dreamsicle one and it was very good. Prices are decent and the staff are cool and seem to care a lot about this craft.
Arlo Kaczor
I've thought about making this review for awhile. I've been going to American Fifth with my partner frequently over the last year.
American fifth has one of my favorite gins and the seasonal menus can be interesting and tasty (in theory) That being said getting a cocktail here feels like playing Russian roulette.
The bartenders/servers are often quite curt, rude, or dismissive.
The biggest issue however is there a massive issue with consistency when ordering drinks. If you get the same drink order, especially off their seasonal menu, no two drink of the same order will taste the same. Often one of the ingredients will be so strong and overpowering that the balance of the whole cocktail is thrown widely off. I've had the experience multiple times of trying something when the menu shifts, loving it, ordering it on 3 or 4 other times and being widely disappointed with the result. It feels like there's no written recipe for their cocktail and all the bartenders know is the ingredients and just wing the ratios from there.
Another issue I've noticed is that the bartenders chronically underfill the cocktail glasses. I'm not talking about low balls where the point is for most of the glass to be empty, but they do this with high balls and coups. I've ordered many drinks that are served in martini or coup glass that have like 1/3 of the glass be air. If anyone knows anything about volume, you'll know that like half of a Martini glass's volume is in the first 1/3 of the glass. All that to say, even if the drink itself tastes good, which is not as common of an occurrence as it should be, I feel like I'm being cheated a little by how much of the glass is air.
I love cocktails, and I really wanted to love this place. I've been more than a dozen times in the past year alone, but don't feel like I can recommend this place to anyone as there's too many problems going on at the moment.
There's real potential here, and I hope it gets better. Lansing should have a nice cocktail bar.
Jeremiah Cone
Kira made me an old fashioned 2.0 and it was excellent. This drink is why I come in. I tried a few others as well but the 2.0 is the best thing next to Kira and it was only her second day.
Deborah O'Connell
I have always enjoyed the cocktails at American 5th. Hands down the best place for cocktails in town. But this visit Autumn was our bar tender and she was an absolute delight. While training a new employee she still was exceedingly friendly and attentive. So much laughter shared. Kudos, Autumn!
Gerard / Jim Streelman
A gem of a cocktail bar and distillery with a smooth retro jazz vibe. The spirit flights (especially the barrel-aged whiskey and gin) were great, but the cocktail flights really stood out — creative, tasty, and just plain fun. Friendly, knowledgeable staff made it even better.
Just moved to downtown Lansing so I stopped in to grab a drink. Heather was awesome, You would think I was the only one in the bar with the service I received. Definitely my new favorite spot. Love the atmosphere and the whole vibe of the place
Visited a couple weeks ago on Girls Night. This place is so cool! Love that the spirits are crafted in-house. I got the Spring Flight & my fave was the Lavender Whisper. Your new manager Justin was exceptional (quite a change from a few months ago) and Autumn was attentive & super sweet. It was busy but our service was still ON POINT! Nice crowd, good vibes! Great team! Keep it like this & I will definitely be back!
Monica Jones
I was born and raised in Lansing. After moving away for a decade, I had no idea this place existed. To my surprise, I showed up for ladies night, and found my new favorite place. I cannot write enough positives. The entire vibe is excellent. The music, the ambience, and the drinks are impeccable.. Justin, the manager, took the time to update me on all I had been missing. He and the staff really made my first experience unforgettable. Excellent service. Definitely my favorite spot in Lansing.
Anna Hurlock
Zach and Justin were absolutely phenomenal. We have not been to Lansing since graduation in 2018. We are back for a wedding from SLC, and these two are incredible. It was a breath of fresh air to find amazing staff at one of our favorite long time establishments. The prices are criminally low. So go and order craft cocktails at a ridiculously low price. We tipped nearly 200%. These guys should light some herbs on fire and create more of an experience. But even without that, they are killing it. American fifth has a great, long time name, and we are happy to see Zach and Justin representing one of our favorite Lansing establishments.
Bobby Boutin
sophie is a rockstar. we are an obnoxious bunch and she played right along. thanks a lot and we’ll be back.
Mateo Gebon
I sampled several of the spirits made here one evening and found them to be quite pleasant. The absinthe was especially nice with a little cold water. The staff was busy but friendly, and they definitely put a lot of effort into their cocktails. It’s a pretty cool place with a somewhat stylish atmosphere. I could see it being a good spot for drinks during a date.
Fun place. Had a great Saturday night here. Whiskey flight was awesome. Old fashions were done right. Service from Sophie and Autumn was phenomenal.
How can you not love a cocktail flight? Four beautiful flavors to try. It's a great way to decide on a full sized drink.
Sign and online says open until 11. It's Saturday and it's 10 pm and the doors are locked. Don't waste your time here like we did. This was on 7/26/25
Unique and one of a kind cocktails! Absolutely loved stopping by here and trying their drinks
I'm not a huge spirit enjoyer, I don't have the palate to identify hidden notes in a spirit, or even identify the difference between them. The cocktails though, are delightful. Recently visited and had the Orange Dreamsicle one and it was very good. Prices are decent and the staff are cool and seem to care a lot about this craft.
I've thought about making this review for awhile. I've been going to American Fifth with my partner frequently over the last year.
American fifth has one of my favorite gins and the seasonal menus can be interesting and tasty (in theory) That being said getting a cocktail here feels like playing Russian roulette.
The bartenders/servers are often quite curt, rude, or dismissive.
The biggest issue however is there a massive issue with consistency when ordering drinks. If you get the same drink order, especially off their seasonal menu, no two drink of the same order will taste the same. Often one of the ingredients will be so strong and overpowering that the balance of the whole cocktail is thrown widely off. I've had the experience multiple times of trying something when the menu shifts, loving it, ordering it on 3 or 4 other times and being widely disappointed with the result. It feels like there's no written recipe for their cocktail and all the bartenders know is the ingredients and just wing the ratios from there.
Another issue I've noticed is that the bartenders chronically underfill the cocktail glasses. I'm not talking about low balls where the point is for most of the glass to be empty, but they do this with high balls and coups. I've ordered many drinks that are served in martini or coup glass that have like 1/3 of the glass be air. If anyone knows anything about volume, you'll know that like half of a Martini glass's volume is in the first 1/3 of the glass. All that to say, even if the drink itself tastes good, which is not as common of an occurrence as it should be, I feel like I'm being cheated a little by how much of the glass is air.
I love cocktails, and I really wanted to love this place. I've been more than a dozen times in the past year alone, but don't feel like I can recommend this place to anyone as there's too many problems going on at the moment.
There's real potential here, and I hope it gets better. Lansing should have a nice cocktail bar.
Kira made me an old fashioned 2.0 and it was excellent. This drink is why I come in. I tried a few others as well but the 2.0 is the best thing next to Kira and it was only her second day.
I have always enjoyed the cocktails at American 5th. Hands down the best place for cocktails in town. But this visit Autumn was our bar tender and she was an absolute delight. While training a new employee she still was exceedingly friendly and attentive. So much laughter shared. Kudos, Autumn!
A gem of a cocktail bar and distillery with a smooth retro jazz vibe. The spirit flights (especially the barrel-aged whiskey and gin) were great, but the cocktail flights really stood out — creative, tasty, and just plain fun. Friendly, knowledgeable staff made it even better.
#AmericanFifth #LansingDrinks #CraftCocktails #CocktailFlightFun
Just moved to downtown Lansing so I stopped in to grab a drink. Heather was awesome, You would think I was the only one in the bar with the service I received. Definitely my new favorite spot. Love the atmosphere and the whole vibe of the place
Restaurantji Recommends
Visited a couple weeks ago on Girls Night. This place is so cool! Love that the spirits are crafted in-house. I got the Spring Flight & my fave was the Lavender Whisper. Your new manager Justin was exceptional (quite a change from a few months ago) and Autumn was attentive & super sweet. It was busy but our service was still ON POINT! Nice crowd, good vibes! Great team! Keep it like this & I will definitely be back!
I was born and raised in Lansing. After moving away for a decade, I had no idea this place existed. To my surprise, I showed up for ladies night, and found my new favorite place. I cannot write enough positives. The entire vibe is excellent. The music, the ambience, and the drinks are impeccable.. Justin, the manager, took the time to update me on all I had been missing. He and the staff really made my first experience unforgettable. Excellent service. Definitely my favorite spot in Lansing.
Zach and Justin were absolutely phenomenal. We have not been to Lansing since graduation in 2018. We are back for a wedding from SLC, and these two are incredible. It was a breath of fresh air to find amazing staff at one of our favorite long time establishments. The prices are criminally low. So go and order craft cocktails at a ridiculously low price. We tipped nearly 200%. These guys should light some herbs on fire and create more of an experience. But even without that, they are killing it. American fifth has a great, long time name, and we are happy to see Zach and Justin representing one of our favorite Lansing establishments.
sophie is a rockstar. we are an obnoxious bunch and she played right along. thanks a lot and we’ll be back.
I sampled several of the spirits made here one evening and found them to be quite pleasant. The absinthe was especially nice with a little cold water. The staff was busy but friendly, and they definitely put a lot of effort into their cocktails. It’s a pretty cool place with a somewhat stylish atmosphere. I could see it being a good spot for drinks during a date.
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