Stumble into any one of the approximately 7 million pubs, dives, dance clubs, ultralounges, beer gardens, and mixology dens in this town and you’re likely to see some sparks flying—romantic and otherwise. That’s the goal, anyway, of the bargoing life in New York: to cut loose with friends, blow off steam, maybe spot your future soul mate through a forest of miniature umbrellas, and, if you’re doing it right, experience the full spasmodic thrill of a night in our great metropolis.

Of course, the means of achieving barroom transcendence is entirely up to you. On the following pages, we examine the full gamut of urban drinking options, selecting exemplary new watering holes of every persuasion, assembling a veritable rainbow coalition of colorful (and delicious) drinks, pitting the best of the new bespoke-cocktail masters against one another, and, in perhaps our toughest maneuver, playing matchmaker with pairs of randomly selected carousers. As every imbibing New Yorker knows, it’s the chance encounters that make life here really interesting. read more [+]