The Best Cocktail Bars in New York City

In this newsletter, I feature three of NYC's best bars and why they're worth visiting; plus, paid subscribers get the benefit of having my exclusive Google Maps list of NYC cocktail bars.

If I had a dime for every time someone asked me for my NYC bar recommendations, I could probably retire. (Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But I have recently gotten hooked on Love Island, so…) Anyway, whenever anyone does seek my expertise on the subject, I always riddle off a list of at least ten cocktail bars. I try to balance a few older institutions that are still around (e.g. Attaboy, Employee’s Only, PDT) with a few of NYC’s hottest and trendier cocktail bars, such as Double Chicken Please, Katana Kitten and Overstory. I do this so that whomever I give my list to has a well-rounded experience of the city’s scene.

But the reality is that my shortlist will always just be a drop in the bucket as far as great bars in NYC are concerned. While tipsy travelers typically try to taste the trendiest tipples at 50 Best bars when traveling to new cities (oh, hell yeah alliteration), NYC demands a more considerate bar crawl to best comprehend its influence. It is, after all, the birthplace of the contemporary cocktail renaissance — the city where bartending legends such as Dale DeGroff (aka King Cocktail), Sasha Petraske, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, and the like all plied their trade and trained the next generation of incredibly talented and influential bartenders who’d go on to open some of the world’s best bars in the years to come (e.g. Sam Ross, Jim Meehan and Kenta Goto just to name a few).

Me with some of my favorite books on drinks, bartending and flavor. Dave Arnold’s influential Liquid Intelligence is at the bottom of the pile.

NYC is also where culinary wizard and bar owner Dave Arnold opened his pioneering high-concept cocktail bar Booker and Dax back in 2012 — a bar which helped spur on the publication of his groundbreaking book on the art and science of the perfect cocktail, Liquid Intelligence. Without this piece of expertly-researched literature on advanced culinary techniques as applied to drinks, I firmly believe the global cocktail scene wouldn’t be where it is today (or at least you wouldn’t see as many centrifuges, carbonation rigs and acid powders used to manipulate drinks).

This is all to say that, as far as cocktail culture is concerned, NYC is the motherland. The bar pedigree is unparalleled. And while places such as London, Barcelona, Singapore and Mexico City are some of the hottest on the global scene at the moment, outshining NYC’s bars in terms of innovation (for now), it’s important to pay respect where respect is due. And hot damn does NYC and its influence on contemporary cocktail culture deserve it.

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The following three bars that I’ve highlighted showcase a balanced range of NYC’s cocktail scene. For paid subscribers, you also get exclusive access to my list of 40+ NYC cocktail bars — the full destination guide that should keep you busy for nearly a lifetime depending on how often you’re in New York. When referencing the full list, feel free to leave a comment or DM me on Instagram asking for more specific recommendations based on bars that have interested you. I’m always happy to show some extra love to my paid subscribers who support this creative outlet of mine. Now, let’s dig in!

Attaboy

Courtesy of Attaboy

Attaboy is located at 134 Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan — the former home of Milk & Honey. If you aren’t familiar with Milk & Honey, what you need to know is that it’s the most influential cocktail bar of the last century, and possibly of all-time. It is where the contemporary craft cocktail revival gained momentum thanks to the late Sasha Petraske whose speakeasy-style bar and refined approach to cocktail-making helped legitimize bartending as a career, paving the path for every other speakeasy bar you’ve ever been into around the world (seriously). (I could go on and on, but this article on PUNCH is a good way to better understand its significance.)

As for Attaboy, it had big shoes to fill when it took over the space in 2012, but Petraske’s protégés Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy, owners of Attaboy and influential figures in their own rights, have championed what Milk & Honey started while subtly evolving with the times. You still have to buzz a bell to get in (although there’s always a line outside, so entry is anything but instantaneous), and there’s no menu at Attaboy as the bar still champions the bartender’s choice concept started by Milk & Honey; but there isn’t the decorum that there used to be as guests have moved away from serious and stuffy towards more relaxed drinking experiences.

At Attaboy, you are drinking classic cocktails and subsequent twists. The best move is to try a range of modern classic cocktails in the space where they originated. Ross’ Penicillin (blended scotch, lemon juice, ginger-honey syrup and Islay whisky) and Paper Plane (bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and lemon juice) are strong suggestions, with the former being one of my favorite cocktails, period. And If that doesn’t suit your fancy, McIlroy’s Right Hand cocktail (aged rum, Campari, sweet vermouth and chocolate bitters) is perfect for any adventurous Negroni drinker. Attaboy is currently ranked No. 22 on the World’s 50 Best list, so this won’t be some dusty, old speakeasy experience. Going to Attaboy is going to church, y’all.

Double Chicken Please

Courtesy of Double Chicken Please

All-in-all, Double Chicken Please might just be the best bar in the world right now as far as I’m concerned. DCP has two bar concepts within one space: the front room and the back room. In the front, the environment is more casual and buzzy. All of the cocktails are served on tap, and the fried chicken sandos are flowing. In the back room (pictured above), you are in for one of the best cocktail experiences you’ll have in the States. The drinks are all inspired by well-known food dishes, such as the Waldorf Salad, Key Lime Pie, Red Eye Gravy, and so on. Don’t leave without having a Key Lime Pie — it’s one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had, and I’m not alone in that sentiment. Currently, DCP is ranked No.6 on the World’s 50 Best list, which has resulted in a daily queue and fully-booked reservations up to a week in advance. So, if you’re planning on popping by, make sure to plan well-ahead to avoid disappointment. I don’t foresee the queue shrinking anytime soon.

The Dead Rabbit

Credit: Liz Clayman

This year is The Dead Rabbit’s ten-year anniversary; and in that ten years this bar, which is modeled after a modern Irish pub, has gone from strength to strength. It won the best bar in the world in 2016; it expanded its world-famous first floor taproom just a few years ago to accommodate more of its global visitors; and its Irish Coffee has established itself as one of the best in the world (read about the most recent iteration here if you haven’t already).

Personally, when I lived in New York, The Dead Rabbit was one of the few bars that I frequented as a young twenty-something. (I didn’t have tons of savings, which is a true testament to how much I enjoyed, and still enjoy, being there.) Sitting at the bar in the taproom with its sawdusted floors, rubbing elbows with some Irish tourists while drinking an Irish Coffee and pint of Guinness just after midday is one way to experience the essence of drinking in New York City. It’s something I’d do as often as I could, and I highly recommend. (The food is also delicious, just for the record.)

But if you’re also after tasting some of the more creative cocktails at The Dead Rabbit, then booking a reservation for the Parlor upstairs is the move. Currently, the bar is going through an exciting transformation with a new head of research and development creating some brilliant ingredients for the bar team to play around with, resulting in a fresh style of cocktail that is new to the bar and on-par with where drinking trends are at the moment. Minimalist, prep-heavy, flavor-led drinks with a distinct style and sense of place. With two new locations set to open in Austin and New Orleans in 2023, The Dead Rabbit is back making noise on the global scene, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them back on some of the bar industry’s most coveted lists in the near future.

(Note: Currently, in Feb 2023, the bar is hosting a month’s worth of anniversary celebrations, from live musical performances to bar takeovers and the like. Be sure to pop by if you’re around, and tag me on IG stories if you do. I’ll be living vicariously through you.)