The Drifter is a straightforward mixture of Japanese whisky, blanc vermouth, Amaro Nonino and Peychaud’s bitters, garnished with a grapefruit twist.
One of the city’s most beloved industry hangouts, Dalva & The Hideout, is just across the street. Both Dalva in the front and The Hideout in back have been recently spiffed up, but remain beloved, sleeper must-hits.
NOTABLE AND NEARBY
ABV stands as an early prototype of the elevated neighborhood bar. It is unassuming: a nondescript façade, a clean, vaguely industrial interior that isn’t exactly memorable, but also isn’t trying too hard. It doesn’t have to. The bar, opened in 2014 by three hospitality world vets who have been behind some of the city’s best bars (Bourbon & Branch, Beretta), quickly became an industry favorite, and remains so today. The concept is simple: The menu is built around the spirits that the owners want to drink, and the drinks they want to make from them, with a particular focus on mezcal. (This is as much a spirits bar as it is a cocktail bar; the list is exceptionally well-priced and not to be slept on.) The drinks exude the confidence of career bartenders who know how to cleverly stretch classic cocktail blueprints without losing the thread. They aspire to be delicious first and foremost, and in an age where every concept has been turned inside-out and upside-down, a good drink can be curiously tough to find. This is the rare bar that manages to serve the weary and the adventurous.
ABV
Website
Instagram
OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPS
Drinks such as the Loló (left), made with pineapple sherry and tonic, and the Tarragon Fix (center) are clever stretches on classic cocktail blueprints.
Around the corner on Grand Street, Fresh Kills (from Richie Boccato) has been quietly serving some of the best cocktails in Brooklyn for nearly a decade.
NICE TO KNOW
One of the city’s most beloved industry hangouts, Dalva & The Hideout, is just across the street. Both Dalva in the front and The Hideout in back have been recently spiffed up, but remain beloved, sleeper must-hits.
NOTABLE AND NEARBY
An essential guide to the bars and retailers that have turned Oakland into an epicenter of progressive wine culture.
New York's Essential Martinis
READ MORE
In a city where it can be tricky to get a solid meal after 10 p.m., ABV’s kitchen is open until midnight.
• In a city where it can be tricky to get a solid meal after 10 p.m., ABV’s kitchen is open until midnight.
NICE TO KNOW
The Tarragon Fix is a mixture of blanco tequila, tarragon, lime, pineapple and absinthe.
The Loló, a menu mainstay, is a simple combination of pineapple sherry and tonic.