Unlike the basement hangs of your youth, you don't have to steal your parents' liquor-cabinet key to enjoy this rec-room bar. In the 3,000-square-foot subterranean dive—outfitted with brick archways, communal tables and subway tiles—bar vets Tim Cooper (GoldBar) and Justin Noel (1534) conjure '80s New York with a local-themed cocktail menu, laid out on an NYC subway map with drinks inspired by different stops. The Delancey station offers the Big Trouble in Little China (toasted-sesame-infused bourbon, cucumber dials, salt tincture), the mescal-and-jalapeño Sho'Gun reps Spanish Harlem, and the Dirty Hipster (black lager, egg yolk, rye) references—duh—Bedford Avenue. Ratcheting up shuffleboard's cachet—along with Gowanus's Royal Palms—the drinks den is hooked equipped with broom-and-biscuit tables, as well as vintage arcade games, foosball and board games from Cooper's own childhood basement. Mini corn dogs, pork-bun sliders and sweet-potato fries are on the menu, in case you work up a hankering between puck-and-tang matches. See the cocktail menu below. 643 Broadway between Bleecker and Bond Sts (212-253-7467, drinksweetwater.com)
COCKTAIL MENU (all $14):
Big Trouble in Little China
Toasted sesame infused bourbon, lemon juice, cucumber, salt tincture, club soda
Bouquet #2
Scotch, oloroso sherry, velvet falernum, lemon juice, maple, cinnamon
WU-Tea-Ki
Black tea infused rum, lemon demerara, citrux bitters, angostura bitters, pellet ice
The Samba
Cachaca, pineapple, basil, lime juice, cardamom tincture, pellet ice
Dirty Hipster
Baba black lager, rye whiskey, calvados, egg yolk, grade B maple, nutmeg
Ivan Drago
Vodka, ginger syrup, lime juice, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, pellet ice
Mama Picante
Reposado tequila, Ancho Reyes, orange juice, lime juice, agave nectar, cayenne salt
Day at the Races
Gin, 10 year port, lemon juice, cinnamon, cranberry preserves, mixed berries
Sho'Gun
Mezcal, green chartreuse, jalapeno, pineapple juice, lime juice, cilantro
Symphony
Apple brandy, mezcal, Pedro Ximenez sherry
Almond Milk Punch
Herbaceous vodka, apricot eau de vie, vanilla almond milk, lemon juice. nutmeg
Ticker Tape
Bourbon, all-spice dram, banana demerara, angostura, lemon juice
Moonstruck
Aged peach brandy, dry vermouth, aperol, Carpano Antica, orange bitters, orange oil
Lively Up
Aged Jamaican rum, lime juice, French roast demerara
Frozen Special
Rotating frozen cocktail