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Blue Ruin, named after a pre-Prohibition-era term for gin, is a dark, old-fashioned New York bar co-owned by Kabin’s Kal Narvilas and Michele Gascoigne, who’s also head bartender. Most nights of the week you’ll find Gascoigne, usually decked out in Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots, slinging drinks (claim to fame: while at Hogs & Heifers, Gascoigne got Sir Paul McCartney to dance on the bar). The duo designed the bar together, even partially installing the century-old floorboards (straight from the old Pepsi-Cola factory in Queens) themselves. The crowd is chatty neighborhood regulars, construction workers, and fans of novelty shots like the staple Big Apple (SoCO, Amaretto, apple pucker, and cranberry). The pool table is in the back and, yes, there are panties hanging from the light fixtures. — Kathryhn H. Cusimano