Best New York Cocktail Bars

“Here’s to alcohol, the rose-colored glasses of life.” So wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald, mythic New Yorker and legendary drinker, in The Beautiful and Damned. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald drank their way through this fair city with prodigious abandon — as did the vast majority of their literary contemporaries (and a fair many since) — because in a concrete jungle of these proportions, rose-coloured glasses are the lens through which unforgettable nights are found.

Today, nearly a century after the Jazz Age, “tying one on” remains an art. Classic drink destinations such as Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle are sophisticated slices of days gone by. The barkeeps at these polished institutions will fulfil any boozy wish your heart desires, although such environments beg for the classics — think Martinis, Old Fashioneds, Gin-Gin Mules, and the like.

According to Jared Brown and Anistasia Miller — noted cocktail historians and directors of spirits publishing and consultancy company, Mixellany Limited — the place where you drink says a lot about who you are. “You’ve found yourself a living room outside of your home,” says Miller. “If you’re at The Dead Rabbit, your living room possesses the dichotomy of an ‘Irish bar mentality’ alongside some truly fabulous cocktails.” No matter where you choose, he says, a city with choices as numerous as New York’s offers you the chance for reinvention — even if just for one evening.

If you’re looking to make a good impression no matter where you go, Miller and Brown are full of suggestions. “If you want a single drink that will never fail to get the bartender to take you seriously, have a Negroni,” suggests Brown. “They’ll look at you and say, ‘You’re for real.'”

If you’re feeling more adventurous, do as Miller does: “Smile at the bartender and ask, ‘Is there anything you’re working on that isn’t on the menu yet?’ The bartender will love you instantly, and for the rest of the night.”