Cocktail hour

Forget the standard stuff: Take your special friend for some delicious sips at the various cocktail bars that are popping up all over town. Backbar has been open for a little more than a year, and hasn’t failed to capture some noteworthy buzz.

The bar, which isn’t the easiest bar to find, may well be one of the coolest. The scene at the bar, with bartender Sam Treadway, left.

Backbar, 9 Sanborn Court, Somerville, www.backbarunion.com