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Bartender preparing drinks beneath an ornate tin ceiling.
Sign out front!
Signature cocktail: The Clara Bow. A sweet blend of bourbon, St-Germain, grenadine, mint and lemon.
Custom branding detail at Character Study featuring themed dice and menu.
Signature craft cocktail paired with house-made dessert specials.
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ASHEVILLE, NC

Character Study

West Asheville bookshelves, cocktail character studies and Bagatelle paperbacks from the Little Jumbo team.

Literary standout
Inventive CocktailsVintageIntimateClassic CocktailsGreat for DatesCozyGroup FriendlyHidden GemUpscale

A 1922 brick building on Haywood Road, opened by the Little Jumbo team in 2024.

Before Character Study, 797 Haywood Road held Alley Cat Social Club. Chall Gray, Jay Sanders and Lucia Gray renovated the 1922 brick building — new windows, more light — and opened in late August 2024, seven years after they built Little Jumbo at 241 Broadway in Montford, the bar Garden & Gun later named among the South’s best. The new room trades Little Jumbo’s format for library carrels along one wall, half-circle booths along another, marbled surfaces, brass and stained-glass pendant lamps, and a mirrored, reservable parlor up front. The shelves are stocked by Bagatelle Books next door — Emily Wilson’s Odyssey, Echo Tree, Priest of Nature — added straight to the tab if you buy one. The cocktail list runs twenty deep, six of them set apart on a shorter, pricier run the menu calls Fancies — sixteen to twenty dollars against ten to fourteen for the rest. Studs Lonigan’s card copy reads “Irish, Chicago-born, evil twin of a White Negroni”; Corpse Survivor’s reads “Life is long if you know how to live it”; and Le Guin & Tonic, gin and elderflower tonic finished with grapefruit essence, sits a few lines down. Finest Deli takes over the kitchen on Fridays and Saturdays, plating marinated mushrooms and olives, tomato-garlic confit and hot-stuffed peppers. A Manhattan runs nine dollars on Mondays, a Negroni the same on Wednesdays, a rotation regulars know by heart and the printed menu never mentions. Ask for a carrel if you want the corner to yourself, a booth if you don’t, and the parlor if you called ahead.

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Visit

797 Haywood Rd #100 (828) 579-1008
Mon 4pm-11pm
Tue 4pm-11pm
Wed 4pm-11pm
Thu 4pm-11pm
Fri 4pm-11pm
Sat 4pm-11pm
Sun 4pm-11pm
characterstudybar.com Menu @characterstudybar

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Reviews

  • Caleb

    One of the best cocktail bars in AVL. Great, high quality drinks you won’t find anywhere else.

    Aug 28, 2026
  • Brandon

    Some of the best drinks on Haywood!

    Aug 28, 2026

Photos

Bartender preparing drinks beneath an ornate tin ceiling. Sign out front! Signature cocktail: The Clara Bow. A sweet blend of bourbon, St-Germain, grenadine, mint and lemon. Custom branding detail at Character Study featuring themed dice and menu. Signature craft cocktail paired with house-made dessert specials. Signature drink with custom branding at Character Study Cozy interior with vintage charm and friendly atmosphere. Extensive backbar selection featuring premium gin, tequila, and spirits Bartender crafting drinks at the polished bar counter.

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