Drink to Spring at These New York Cocktail Bars

Spring weather may be coming late to New York this year, but with the new season officially kicking off March 20, that should not stop you from heading out to some of New York’s hottest bars for a couple of celebratory cocktails. To help you bid farewell to the cold winter months we have compiled some of our favorite NYC spots to welcome in season of bloom.

Baar Baar
Chef Sujan Sarkar’s contemporary Indian restaurant in East Village also has cocktails worth trying. The drinks incorporate Indian flavors and influences, such as Badam Lassi made with gin, cashew Feni (a liquor made in Goa, India), almond milk, egg white, cream, orange oil, citrus, and soda. The Calcutta Cup is Baar Baar’s take on the Penicillin cocktail using mango ginger.

Dante at Genuine
New Yorkers can now have Dante’s Negronis and other cocktails in Little Italy at the bright Dante at Genuine. Join them for Negroni Sessions where the classic drink flows from a fountain or opt for a Paloma Italiano (tequila, bitters, aperitivo, grapefruit, oregano, pompelmo soda). Find a selection of variations on the classic such as Negroni Bianco (gin, quina, vermouth bianco, lemon bitters, verjus).

Due West
This West Village gastropub offers cocktails from by a Locanda Verde vet. Find cocktails on tap or ouse bottled Paloma (tequila, salted grapefruit, fizz) alongside other crafted cocktails. For spring, try a DW Sour (gin, tangerine, tamarind, lemon, egg white) or stick with the classics with a “Due” your own Old Fashioned cocktail.

George Washington Bar
George Washington Bar at the Freehand Hotel is located in the hotel’s former library room, when it was the George Washington Hotel. The space boasts original mahogany and vintage furniture pieces paired with new and inspired cocktails by a Angel’s Share vet, including Nothing Gold Can Stay (dry vermouth, umeshu, Benedictine, sakura) and For Sarah (Barr Hill gin, rose, cardamom, pomegranate, citrus, cream, egg white, soda).

Gibson + Luce
The new speakeasy inside LIFE Hotel is named after former LIFE magazine editors Charles Dana Gibson and Henry Luce and located in the space rumored to have been a speakeasy for the magazine staff during Prohibition. Sip more than just classic cocktails with drinks like the Room Upstairs (whiskey, allspice dram, mandarin tea jam, lemon, shiso leaves) and an impressive collection of vermouths and amaros.

Legacy Records
One of the hottest new restaurant in town, Legacy Records comes from the team behind Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones with a cocktail program curated by Jeff Bell from P.D.T. at the sophisticated upstairs lounge. Sip on the Repo Rush, made with oak-aged tequila, Amontillado sherry, lemon and honey.

Loverboy
A laid back spot in Alphabet City from the same team as Mother’s Ruin, Loverboy is a go-to for bar bites, pizza, and fun drinks like Grape Drank (gin, lemon, aloe, pomegranate, and OJ bitters). Just like Mother’s Ruin, there’s also a rotating adult slushy. The current one features Copper Dog whiskey, cider, lemon, and cinnamon.

Mother’s Ruin
When the weather warms up, it’s time to head to this low-key neighborhood in Nolita for the drinks coming out of the slushy machine and other drinks that change almost daily. Pair them up with comfort food during dinner or brunch which is available every day.

Patent Pending
Don’t miss this new bar featuring a cocktail program from Dead Rabbit and BlackTail veterans Harrison Ginsberg and Nick Rolin. The bar is located in the Radiowave Building, where Nikola Tesla once lived while he first experimented with radio waves. The cocktail names are themed appropriately such as the AC/DC made with Blanche Armagnac, peach, fennel, genever, lemon, egg white and seltzer.

The Lost Lady
Sail away at this nautical-themed bar in East Village for their fun and unpretentious cocktails. When the weather warms up, try their frozen Spiced Hibiscus Margarita (tequila, hibiscus flower, jalapeno) or the Capsized Colada (gin, aperol, lime, coconut cream, pineapple, angostura over crushed ice).