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Best Serious Cocktails

  • Boilermaker

    13 First Ave., at 1st St.; 212-995-5400

    The divey-cocktail-bar boom has reached an apotheosis with Boilermaker, the reboot of ’70s-themed Golden Cadillac led by Don Lee and Erick Castro. The bar has a less gimmicky space—exposed brick, black leather banquettes—and a playful three-page drinks menu that includes eight boilermakers (beer-and-shot pairings, $7 to $13) and cocktails both classic and newly invented. They’re shaken (the $11 Lazarus Pit uses rye, falernum, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon, and allspice), stirred (Blood of My Enemies, $11, is a potent mix of rum, Amaro Montenegro, and Punt e Mes), even served on tap (the $10 Five String Banjo, with bourbon and “Billy Pilgrim” spiced cream soda; the pop is housemade).

From the 2015 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine