Experimental Cocktail Club
191 Chrystie St., nr. Stanton St.; no phone
Riddle yourself this: A bar in Paris, inspired by New York’s craft-cocktail scene, has opened a sister site in New York. The M.O. is the same (top-shelf drinks, an atmosphere fostering what the owners call joyeux bordel, or “a merry mess”), if a bit meta. Sound gimmicky? Maybe, but it works. The weeks-old drinkery is virtually undetectable from the outside (careful not to wander into also-unmarked neighbor The Box by accident), but inside, two buzzy rooms—decked out with low-hanging lamps and vintage Hindustan wall murals—conjure Paris in the twenties. The D.J. spins jazz and funk while fashionables sip cocktails packed with ingredients—some you’ll recognize (Buffalo Trace bourbon), others you won’t (Indonesian rum Batavia arrack). Bar manager Nicolas de Soto knows his way around a jigger and is happy to make recommendations; his pumpkin-pie-esque Jack O’Lantern ($14)—made with butternut squash–infused rum, cinnamon-bark syrup, and coconut milk—is toothsome and frothy. Reservations recommended (e-mail madameandmonsieur@experimentalcocktailclubny.com).