Order a beer. Seriously, just order a beer.
West Lawrence · Lawrence · American bar & grill · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Set'em Up Jacks’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Set'em Up Jacks is exactly what you'd expect to find taped to the back of a bar menu at a place with six pool tables and seventeen TVs showing the game. Six options, all Bota Box except for one Gallo White Zin, and zero pretense that anyone here ordered wine on purpose. This is beer-and-a-shot territory, and the wine list knows it.
The entire list is Bota Box — Cabernet Sauvignon, Nighthawk Black Red Blend, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio — plus a Gallo White Zinfandel for good measure. All California, all box-wine-adjacent, zero regional diversity, zero small producers, zero anything that suggests anyone thought hard about this. To be fair, Bota Box isn't offensive — it's consistent, shelf-stable, and people know what they're getting. But calling this a wine program is like calling a vending machine a restaurant.
All six wines are available by the glass, which means the entire list is by the glass — there's no bottle program to speak of. Rotation is nonexistent; this list has almost certainly looked identical for years. If you're here and you want wine, you're getting a Bota Box pour, and that's the whole story.
Bota Box Nighthawk Black Red Blend — null
If you're committed to drinking wine at a sports bar, the Nighthawk is the move. It's the most full-bodied option on the list and holds up better than the others to bar food. Pricing wasn't published, but Bota Box pricing means the markup is unlikely to sting.
Bota Box Sauvignon Blanc
Crisp, simple, and inoffensive — on a hot Kansas night on the patio, it's more drinkable than anything else on this list. Low expectations met.
Gallo White Zinfandel
There is no scenario in which this is the right call. It's sweet, it's pink, and it has no business being the only non-Bota Box wine on the list. Skip it.
Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon + Burger
A straightforward Cab with a straightforward burger — neither is trying to impress anyone, and at a sports bar that's exactly the point. It works.
❌ The Bottom Line
Set'em Up Jacks is a great sports bar that has absolutely no interest in being a wine destination, and that's fine — but don't come here thirsty for anything other than beer. Order the wings, grab a pint, and leave the wine list for the person who forgot to bring cash for a cocktail.
West Lawrence · Lawrence · Italian
Basil Leaf isn't a wine destination, but with half-price bottle nights on Thursdays and Sundays and markups that are genuinely fair, it's the rare neighborhood Italian where you won't resent your wine bill. Order the Chianti, get the pasta, come back on Sunday.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
University of Kansas Campus / The Oread · Lawrence · Rooftop Bar / American
Nest on Ninth is a view bar with a wine list that does its job without embarrassing itself — fair prices, recognizable pours, and nothing to get excited about. Come for the rooftop, order the AIX Rosé, and don't expect more than that.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Lawrence · Lawrence · Tex-Mex
Cactus Grill is genuinely fun for what it is — a casual Tex-Mex spot with solid food and good margaritas — but the wine list is purely ornamental. Come for the tacos, drink the cocktails, and don't overthink the wine.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Massachusetts Street · Lawrence · American Brewpub
Free State is a Kansas institution and one of the best craft beer experiences in the Midwest — come for the beer, stay for the burger, and leave the wine to someone else. The list is fine in the way a gas station sandwich is fine: it exists, it won't hurt you, but it's not why you're here.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / 9th & Massachusetts · Lawrence · European-style café, coffee and cocktail bar
The Bourgeois Pig isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — and that's what makes the wine list a pleasant surprise rather than an embarrassment. If you're in the neighborhood for coffee or cocktails and the mood strikes, the rosé is a legit pour at a fair price.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown / Massachusetts Street · Lawrence · Wine Bar / New American Small Plates
Meadowlark is punching so far above its weight class for a college town wine bar that it almost feels unfair to the rest of Kansas. The list is small but the vision is sharp — if you're anywhere near Lawrence and care even a little about natural wine, you owe this place a visit.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Lansing · Lansing · American bar & grill
Peanut Barrel is a beloved East Lansing institution and a genuinely great place to grab a burger and a beer — emphasis on the beer. The wine list is a placeholder, not a program, and no one at the table or behind the bar is pretending otherwise.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Irvine Spectrum · Irvine · American bar & grill
Yard House is a legitimately great spot for a cold draft beer and some bar food with a crowd, but nobody should be coming here for the wine. The list is overpriced, underdeveloped, and exactly what a national chain thinks wine drinkers want — which is to say, not much at all.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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