Cocktails

ABC Cocina's Ann Marie De Bello on using the menu to inspire the drinks

With substantial space carved out for drinkers, newly opened ABC Cocina's bar is likely to get as much play as its dining room, and sure enough, when we stopped by last week for an early taste, the cavernous area was packed to capacity with imbibers sipping fresh, bright cocktails and pitchers of sa ... More >>

Behind the Bar: DelFrisco's Mike Saul Advises Martinis Before Steak, Hopes You Don't Order Mojitos

Vintage steakhouses, like Bill's Food & Drink, are having a moment, and head bartender Mike Saul at DelFrisco's in Midtown knows the scene well. For the past decade, the old-school veteran has poured out hefty cocktails for the expense account set, while also altering to the Rockefeller Center masse ... More >>

Holiday Guide: Beer, Wine, and Cocktail Books

The entertainer's shelf helps boost your festive spirits

What's Happening This Week: Free Cocktails, Beer Dinner

Monday, September 10 Free Cocktails. From 5 pm to 7 pm head over to Carmine's bar on the Upper West Side for complimentary samples of Absolut Harvest Punch, a autumn cocktail made with Absolut Orient Apple Vodka, Canton ginger liqueur, cranberry and lemon, and the herbaceous Plymouth Gin Rosemary Re ... More >>

Bittermens' Janet Glasser on Bitter Liqueurs

After trying Bittermens gentian liqueur in The Shanty's Sauvetage cocktail, we decided to check out Bittermens Spirits, a Brooklyn-based company that specializes in bitter and herbal liqueurs. We found that its products have been embraced by some of the city's top bars like PDT, Amor y Amargo, and D ... More >>

James Bond Becomes a Beer Man, Fans Not So Impressed

James Bond will no longer be ordering martinis "shaken, not stirred." The Bond franchise has sealed a marketing deal with Heineken, rumored at $45 million, to have the spy sip on the Dutch beer instead of the usual martini in the upcoming Bond film, Skyfall.

Happy Hour at Mercadito Grove

​ Haven't had enough margaritas for one week? Head to Mercadito Grove (100 Seventh Avenue, at Grove Street, 212-647-0830), where you can get a traditional margarita for $5, a margarita with fresh fruit for $6, and red or white sangria for $5. Cut your tequila with the restaurant's signature guacam ... More >>

Make Spice Market's Ginger Margarita for National Margarita Day

The refreshing-looking ginger margarita​Today is National Margarita Day, a great holiday of dubious origin that allows us to drink a lot on a Wednesday without feeling guilty. In honor of the holiday, Spice Market is having a half-off special on pitchers of its signature ginger margarita, making t ... More >>

Alfama's Tarcísio Costa on Spanish Sirens

At Alfama, diners can feast upon traditional Portuguese favorites with modern twists. The eatery (214 East 52nd Street) -- previously in the West Village -- now has a cocktail menu at its new location, to complement these plates. We chatted with Tarcísio Costa to get a sense of the restaurant ... More >>

White & Church Not So Conventional, After All... Brandy Topped with Scorpions, Anyone?

jurvetson/flickrNo flies in soups, but bugs in drinks.​When we first heard that the kooky Il Matto was changing its name and concept after just 10 months in operation and pretty decent reviews, it sounded like the aim was to go bland. The owners told Diner's Journal they wanted to make the pla ... More >>

Theater Bar Illusionist-Mixologist Jeff Grow Reveals the Tricks of His Trade

Jeff Grow, mixologist-illusionist.​ Jeff Grow has a title you don't come across very often. He's a 'bar illusionist' at Albert Trummer's recently opened-to-the-public Theater Bar (114 Franklin Street) in Tribeca. He discusses just how manages to mix drinks with magic and why the two are a grea ... More >>

Open & Closed: Say Hello to 61 Local, Goodbye to The City Grill

Restaurants and bars, they come and they go. Here are a few making their debuts and bowing out this week. La Taqueria in Park Slope has closed completely after downsizing from sit-down restaurant to takeout joint in October. [Eater] East Village vegan café the Little Bird appears to be closed and ... More >>

The Tap Room's Matthew MacCartney Talks Wine, Beer Cocktails & Australian Hangover Cures

Matthew MacCartney​Matthew MacCartney is one of a growing list of sommeliers currently dabbling in cocktails. As the head wine guy at Colicchio & Sons and its bar, the Tap Room, he also designed the list of mixed drinks. Now, guess which one he finds more fun? (The answer might surprise you.) ... More >>

Jake Zavracky of Lowlands Talks Happy Hour, Booze in Beer & the Allure of Miller Lite

zavracky.comJake Zavracky​Jake Zavracky is living the dream: tending bar by day and making music by night. Or is it the other way around? In any case, when he's behind the bar at Lowlands, the beer garden that opened in Gowanus earlier this year, he aims to please. What's on tap that's season ... More >>

Cienfuegos Rums Up the East Village

Sloshing and noshing Cuban-style

A.B. Smeby Bittering Company's Louis Smeby Talks Seasonal Bitters, Bartender Egotism & the Brooklyn Gastro-Revolution

Daniel KriegerLouis Smeby: a bitter guy.​Louis Smeby had always been a bit of a DIY guy. When he started experimenting with making his own bitters, the results quickly proved good enough to sell. His A.B. Smeby Bittering Company specializes in handcrafted, small-batch bitters sourced from loca ... More >>

Copenhagen Gets a Cocktail Culture; South Africa Hopes Wine Can Bridge a Racial Divide

​Beer-happy Copenhagen is getting its own cocktail culture, with several serious cocktail bars cropping up in recent years, and the debut of Copenhagen Cocktail Club, a group of bartenders dedicated to "promoting and developing the art of drink and bar and cocktail culture in Denmark and acros ... More >>

Tales of the Cocktail Announces Its Nominees for Best Bar

Who does booze best?​The boozefest-slash-cocktailing convention that is Tales of the Cocktail will take place July 21-25 in New Orleans. Each year, a mini awards ceremony names the best bars and bartenders in the country and beyond. This year, the nominees are...

Milk & Honey's Mickey McIlroy Talks Bad Customers, Anti-Social Bartenders & Just Where They Hid the Vodka at His Bar

Mickey McIlroy will not make you a unicorn.​Back before every bartender was a self-proclaimed mixologist and seasonal cocktail lists were announced via press release, a business card was circulated among those in the know for an unmarked and unlisted bar on a dingy Lower East Side block where ... More >>

Brandy Library's Ethan Kelley Talks Peat Week, Rare Booze & How Mixologists Can Take the "Joy Out of Drinking"

drinkingtheworld.comLet Brandy Library's Ethan Kelley school you.​Thousands of brown liquor-loving booze hounds will congregate at Pier 60 in Chelsea Piers today for Whisky Live, a trade show featuring dozens of exhibitors and a heckuva lot of stiff drinks. Brandy Library is celebrating the ev ... More >>

One Year in, Harlem Speakeasy 67 Orange Hits Its Stride

Selena Ricks​ Just northwest of Central Park, behind an unmarked storefront with purple velvet curtains, sits one of the most surprising success stories from an otherwise rocky year for New York's hospitality industry. 67 Orange Street, located at 2082 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, celebrate ... More >>

Behind the Bar: Highlands' Brian McGrory on Why Scotch Isn't So Scary (Hint: His New Cocktail Menu Debuting This Weekend Has Something to Do With It)

​It's ok, you can admit it: Scotch can be scary. Luckily, Brian McGrory of the recently opened Highlands in the West Village has some practical tips for easing you into the malted spirit. And, if you haven't met the charming Scotsman or been to his cozy establishment, be assured that there are ... More >>

Behind the Bar: Rye House's Lynnette Marrero

Leo Borovskiy​The newly opened Rye House specializes in all-American spirits, such as, well, rye. But it also stocks premium applejack, which dates from the American colonial period. Lynnette Marrero (formerly of Freemans, Elettaria, and now the president of LUPEC), who created the cocktail me ... More >>

Certified Open: Bar Henry in the West Village

​Bar Henry (90 West Houston Street), the purported "American sister" of the West Village's Cafe Henri, opened last night. This wine-centric American bistro, housed in the space formerly occupied by Zinc Bar, is serving up Pat LaFrieda and Niman Ranch-sourced meats prepared by chefs Christian O ... More >>

Rising 'Bar Chef' Maxwell Britten to Launch Pop-up Supper Club

Sonya Moore/nrnstandardsandpours​Maxwell Britten, a bartender at Freemans, who was named a Rising Star in mixology by StarChefs earlier this year, has plans to launch an invite-only pop-up supper club, to be held monthly at secret locations throughout the city. The Tucson native and his brothe ... More >>

'Bartender Wars' Premieres Tonight on Fine Living Network

vinniecosta.comBehind the bar: Vinnie, Deb, and Gage​It was inevitable: The reality show competition model would spread from cooking to winemaking to, now, bartending. The Fine Living Network's Bartender Wars, debuting tonight at 10:30 p.m., will follow three of the city's bartenders each week ... More >>

Hi-Fi Still a Dive, Only Now with Fancy Cocktails

​What's this city coming to when even dive bars have to start serving signature cocktails? "Well, we don't have to," says Mike Stuto, owner of Hi-Fi. "It's just about giving people what they want." Hi-Fi has been an East Village mainstay since it opened in 2002, at the height of New York's l ... More >>

What's Happening This Week: A Corn Fiesta & A Lesson in Drinking Green

As many of you know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Greenmarket Inspired Mixology Astor Center August 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Drink responsibly! No, not in moderation, silly. Drink sustainably. Drink green. Join Allen ... More >>

Jonathan Pogash To Design Empire Room Drinks

Rendering of the Empire Room  Art deco-themed bars seem to be going around like a bad cold these days. The new upscale cocktail lounge by Hospitality Holdings on the ground floor of the Empire State building will feature a cocktail menu designed by mixologist Jonathan Pogash. As Director of Co ... More >>

Open & Closed--Say Hello to Table 8; Goodbye to Atria

The long-awaited New York debut of Govind Armstrong has arrived in the form of Table 8 at The Cooper Square Hotel. The California chef will focus on local, seasonal products, and feature in-house cured meats, rare salts and custom-blended teas. Entwine has opened with its small bar that seats se ... More >>

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Photo by Esparta @ FlickrCelebrate the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla with these Cinco de Mayo fiestas: Elizabeth in Nolita is hosting a Garden Party tonight from 5-7 pm featuring 50-cent shots of Tanteo tequila, 50-cent pulled pork, roasted chicken, grilled steak and veggie tacos, 50-cent ... More >>

The Early Word--Mayahuel

Outside Mayahuel--named for the Aztec goddess of agave--on a Friday night We stopped by Mayahuel, Phil Ward's new tequila-and-mezcal-focused cocktail bar on Friday night. It was only about 8pm, and not too busy, so we were able to snag a table upstairs. Downstairs, the low-ceilinged space is very ... More >>

This Week in Booze News

Dear god is it the weekend yet. If you can smell the infused liquor, you're almost there. Here's some boozy news of note this week:The Cooper Square Hotel Bar (25 Cooper Square) is now open...albeit with a sad 11pm last call. [Urban Daddy]Gran Centenario has introduced a hibiscus-infused tequila cal ... More >>

Dirty Blonde: Happy Hours in Unhappy Times

Dedicated boozers handle the recession by being (slightly) more selective

Entertaining Tips With Deborah Williamson of James

Jigger of Gin at a New Grand Street Cocktail Lounge

In a pickle at a fashionable Williamsburg cocktail lounge

Great Drunken Balls of Watermelon

Cheap and Outside

Bars with inexpensive drinks and a backyard

Gouge Away

Introducing our Overpriced Cocktail Hall of Shame

Hipsters Spotted Having a Good Time in Midtown Bar

A Quick Visit to Puerta del Sol by way of the F Train

Packing a Punch

Preferred drink of the cheap, lazy, and incredibly sophisticated

Room For Norm: A Bar a Mile Long Accommodates Everyone

Pulp Nonfiction: Home to Licentious Libations and Big Boobs

Bizarre Boozin'

A No-Name Destination Serves Up Tchotchkes and Tipples

NY Mirror

South American splendor: A Latin bar heats up midtown

Booze Cruise

Ten Inventive Signature Cocktails Shake Things Up This Fall

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