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Photograph: Brendan Lekan Matty's brunch punch at Perennial Virant
A $6 cocktail? I watched Perennial's bartender to see if he was pouring from a premade pitcher. Nope. He attended to each glass as if it were his firstborn, blending vodka and housemade pear puree (ingredients change often) with precision. This might be the best booze deal in town. $6.–Marissa Conrad
Photograph: Brendan Lekan Pepino el pyu at Mercadito
The cumin salt rimming this cucumber-laced tequila drink will smack any hangover to the curb. Though it's the hoja santa, or "sacred leaf," that's the stuff of legend, says Tad Carducci, part of the New York duo that crafted Mercadito's cocktail list: According to Mexican lore, Mary dried Jesus's diapers on the plant. Here, bartenders make it into a syrup to add an herbal finish to each sip. $11.50.–Marissa Conrad
Photograph: Brendan Lekan La Bastarda at Tiny Lounge
Combining a mimosa, Bloody Mary, Bellini and margarita into one cocktail sounds like an idea we would have proclaimed genius the night before brunch. Yet talented bartenders make this concept work, producing a "bastardized" cocktail that's fruity (orange juice), aromatic (basil) and doused with just enough tequila to make us want another. $9.–Julia Kramer
Photograph: Brendan Lekan Negroni di Aquila at Longman & Eagle
Longman doesn't so much twist as tug this classic cocktail into something that's better suited for the early hours, subbing mellow Aperol for Campari, introducing effervescence with prosecco and shoving gin out of the picture. $8.–Julia Kramer
Photograph: Brendan Lekan Buster Brown at C-House
Apparently, whiskey is undesirable at brunching hours, when clear spirits rule. C-House comes to the rescue by offering its dinner drinks at brunch, too. Bourbon (softened by a cinnamon-vanilla-cherry infusion), amaretto and sweet vermouth go down just as smoothly as they did the night before. $13.–Marissa Conrad
Photograph: Brendan Lekan Mexican Holiday at 2Sparrows
As a woman who hates coffee, it should be testament enough that I'm borderline obsessed with a drink that lists espresso as its second ingredient. But here, all parts—cocoa tequila, espresso liqueur, cinnamon and Cholula—balance perfectly, with the coffee adding depth, not bitterness. $10.–Marissa Conrad
Photograph: Brendan Lekan Truffle shandy at Sprout [Closed]
I was perfectly pleased sipping Sprout's Afternoon Delight (fernet, basil, fennel, yum)–until I tasted my boyfriend's shandy: vodka, hard cider and truffle honey syrup, finished by a zillion lemon slices floating in the glass like little rays of sunshine. They brightened the drink and my mood, which always improves when I can pretend it's summer. $9.–Marissa Conrad
Beyond the mimosa
Try these new classic brunch cocktails
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