Bottle service, traditionally more about nightclub real estate than quality drinks, has gone craft. At Fatty ’Cue (50 Carmine St., nr. Bedford St.; 212-929-5050), so-called Thai bottle service ($60 to $125 for a 375-milliliter bottle) lets you pick your spirit from a glass cabinet, combining it to taste with housemade mixers ($10 each). At the James hotel (27 Grand St., at Sixth Ave.; 212-465-2000), guests who raid the minibar can call in a $28 setup that includes bitters, simple syrup, and other accoutrements. And at the NoMad Hotel’s Library Bar (1170 Broadway, at 28th St.; 212-796-1500), you can summon a bottle of premium booze presented on a rolling bar cart with three premixed additions and appropriate garnishes—and, if you’d like, mixology lessons from the staff. Above, a breakdown of a typical NoMad bar cart.
1. The top of thecart can be raisedor lowered tofunction as a bar ora serving table.
2. Gin garnishesinclude lemonand orange twists,lemon and limewedges, and olives.
3. Double-sidedjiggers measureone andtwo ounces.
4. A selection ofstraws, essentialfor tastingcocktails.5. Bitters andaperitifs suchas vermouthare presentedin delicateJapanese bottles.
6. Choose yourspirit and brand.This gin cart, forinstance, comes witha 750-milliliterbottle of Plymouth($250) and includescart service andaccoutrements.
7. Bartenders areon hand toinstruct propercocktail-spoon-stirringtechnique.
8. Fever Treetonic water, soda,and gingerale accompanythe gin.
9. Every spirit comeswith three prebatchedcocktailmixers. Carafes forgin contain blendsfor Southside(mint, lemon, andturbinado sugar),Negroni (Campariand CarpanoAntica), and Gin-Gin Mule (ginger,lime, Angosturabitters, andDemerara sugar).10. Slow-meltingKold-Draft icecubes are storedin an insulateddrawer.