Bars near the Statue of Liberty

Overstory is as cozy as a music box in the sky inside, with views that seem to go on forever out on the wrap-around terrace. Perched on the 64th floor of 70 Pine Street above sibling spots Crown Shy and Saga, it's the just-drinks cherry on top of the trio of outstanding spots. The futniture's plush, the cocktails are crafty and even the ice is extra nice at what's become one of NYC's most elegant cocktail destinations since it opened last year. 

It's only a whiskey stone’s throw away from the Dead Rabbit—Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry’s exceptionally successful cocktail bar on Water Street (dubbed the World’s Best Bar at 2015’s Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards)—but the sequel from the renowned team couldn’t be further away in terms of theme. Where the original tavern looked to the Irish gangs of Five Points- in New York, this second outfit, located inside the Pier A Harbor House complex, channels Prohibition-era Cuba, a time when Americans flocked to the island nation for the liquid pick-me-up that U.S. law was denying them. A statue of Cuban lit hero José Martí stands proudly at the rum-flowing bar, where the stools are modeled after those in Ernest Hemingway–frequented joints in balmy Havana, and the expansive menu is loaded with more than 50 cocktails pulling from the 1920s through ’50s. And unsurprisingly, those cocktails are excelente.ORDER THIS: Meticulously researched cocktails ($16) created by some of the planet’s most illustrious bar talent. A collaboration between McGarry, Dead Rabbit head bartender Jillian Vose and BlackTail head barman Jesse Vida, the menu upholds Cuban classics like daiquiris and mojitos, which are made with the bar’s proprietary “Cuban Rum Blend” (Bacardi Heritage, Barbancourt White Rhum, Caña Brava and Banks 5 Island). A humble rum and Coke is elevated with the refined fizz of champagne, the amaro edge of Fernet-Branca and a few dashes of house-made Orinoco bitters; the country’s i

At this time-capsule FiDi nook, you can drink like a boss—Boss Tweed, that is. In a redbrick landmark, Belfast bar vets Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry (of Northern Ireland’s acclaimed Merchant Hotel) have conjured up a rough-and-tumble 19th-century tavern. And it’s just the kind of saloon that the bare-knuckle Five Points gang the joint’s named after (its emblem was a dead rabbit impaled on a spike) would have frequented. DRINK THIS: Resurrecting long-forgotten quaffs is nothing new in Gotham, but the Dead Rabbit’s sheer breadth of throwback libations eclipses the competition. Spanning 100-some-odd bishops, fixes, nogs and smashes, the bar squarely hits many of these mid-1800s hallmarks. The Byrrh Wine Daisy ($14), era-appropriate in its china teacup with mustache guard, is particularly well wrought: Puckery rhubarb soda, raspberry eau-de-vie and fresh citrus amp up the fruit-forward Byrrh, while bitter Amaro CiaCiaro and piney angelica tinctures squelch any overt sweetness. Some drinks are less successful in their reincarnations (the Tween Deck is a flat mix of Jamaican rum, Sixpoint cask-conditioned ale, lime sherbet and allspice), but the whopping list holds plenty of sure-footed sips alongside the missteps. GOOD FOR: A working-class drink—though that working class is now buttoned-down bankers instead of roughneck Irish dockhands. McGarry and Muldoon liberate the cocktail from its blue-blood trappings. The snug, sawdust-strewn first floor is made for pints and whiskey slugs

This Revolutionary-era tavern now operates as the first stateside outpost of Dublin’s Porterhouse Brewing Company. Tangles of filament bulbs above the bar and distressed mirrors on the walls smack of artificial ye-oldeness, but the real pedigree of the place still holds appeal for beer-swilling history buffs, who can geek out over the thought of George Washington drinking here in the 1700s. Hoist imperial pints of Porterhouse’s own brews—we like the smooth, slightly tangy Oyster Stout and the easy-drinking Porterhouse Red—or sample the globe-trotting selection of guest beers, including Victory Prima Pils on tap and bottles of Schlenkerla smoked beer.

Five and Dime NYC is located within the lobby of the iconic Woolworth Building and serves as a coffee bar by day and cocktail hotspot by night. Stop in for happy hour every day from 3-6pm for discounted drinks, with live opera music on Tuesdays from 7-9pm. They also screen original films by local filmmakers—so head to their Instagram for dates and times.

A stone's throw from its 19th-century namesake, Castle Clinton—America's first beer garden—the folks behind Watermark Bar honor the storied nabe with a 4,000-square-foot Battery Park beer hall of their own. At the marble bar, 20 taps rotate selections of hard-to-find German and domestic brews, available in pints, half pints or third pints. A flux capacitor behind the bar controls the carbonation and temperature of each tap, ensuring that pints are served at an optimal 34 degrees. Pub grub includes 10 different types of burgers, a sweet-and-salty donut grilled cheese, and classic bar bites like waffle fries and Bavarian-style soft pretzels. 

A downtown Irish pub and restaurant that feels like a charming relic of yore.

Puff celebratory stogies (Padron, Arturo Fuente, Ashton, La Aurora,  Don Pepín García, Carrillo and more) any day of the week at this secluded member-only smoking hideaway. For a hefty price tag, cigar aficionados get access to a private locker in the walk-in duplex humidor with a snazzy ambiance. Follow the staircase downstairs, where you’ll be greeted with exposed brick walls, antiques, leather seating, bookshelves and a piano. Prepare to multitask—that is, with a toke in one hand and a glass of single-malt Scotch in the other.

The Moxy’s Recreation is the tucked-in polo shirt of bars. It’s not our style—both sartorially and venue-wise—but there was a large crowd that certainly seemed to be enjoying it on the weeknight when we went, so if that’s your look, then go for it, sport. Inside the Financial District hotel, elevator doors open to a 5,000-square-foot area that, during bankers’ hours, is a communal workspace, but by happy hour it becomes a bar and the preferred fuel changes from coffee to cocktails. The intent was to make Recreation feel like “the ultimate living room for the neighborhood,” with shuffleboard, Skee-Ball and Ms. Pac-Man in digs hugged by warm wood and throwback, yellowish lighting. That sounds good on paper—and looks great in photos—but, in person, it felt as if Refinery29 Rooms had built a 30th facade called “Cool-Guy Man Cave” and dropped it in Manhattan. The on-tap cocktails and shared plates do have the going-over-to-a-friend’s-house-to-watch-the-game vibe—that is, if your friend is adept at mixing a pitcher of margaritas (note, however: there are no TVs at Recreation). Curiously, even though the cocktails were premade, the service crawled, but the snacks were dad-on-Pinterest-level cute: We are now adding the everything-bagel–inspired flatbread and the chicken-and-waffles on a stick to our Super Bowl menu. In a room off the bar sits a slick, single-hoop basketball court. A private holiday party was underway—the space is open to the public, when not rented—but we crashed it.

  A cocktail bar in the Financial District.