One of my all-time favorite bars in CLT. The place always has energy flowing through it even on a weeknight. A nice beer selection on tap including Angry Orchard, Purple Haze and Greenman. It's good to see a small local joint that mixes up their taps and doesn't just have the standard Bud and Miller on draught. Good number of bottles as well so easy to find a favorite.
The place is a very laid back feel and the doorman who checks IDs (never a cover charge) has always been incredibly nice. Steven is usually behind the bar slinging drinks which is a very good thing. I've become a regular here and he's great at taking care of our group.
The rooftop is great to grab some air and is typically less crowded than the downstairs on Fridays and Saturdays. They have a rooftop bar but sometimes it's open and sometimes it's not. Cornhole on the roof and darts, foosball and shuffleboard downstairs for your entertainment. Seems they always have live tunes on Saturdays and occasionally on Fridays as well - never heard a bad band here and best part is the band is obviously loud but it doesn't overtake the entire bar - I can stand over by foosball and here what the person next to me is saying - feel like that's a rariety for a lot of bars!
Warning though the bar gets beyond packed after 11 or midnight on the weekends - can make it hard to get another drink or your tab at that point so you may wanna double fist and pay as you go. And if that's not your scene, just duck out early. Parking can sometimes be a pain and you'll drive around for 10 minutes looking for a space but just know that the Gin Mill is definitely worth the effort.