Apothéke, Chinatown newest liquor grotto, is already garnering a velvety reputation as the Next Big Thing in cocktail culture. Inspired by traditional apothecary cure-alls, renowned barman Albert Trummer and bro-sis pair Christopher and Heather Tierney's exclusive new boîte offers its patrons more than 250 house cocktails, divided into categories like Stress Relievers (with calming ingredients like lavender and sage), Pharmaceuticals (with "flambé techniques and special herbal elixirs"), Aphrodisiacs (with Champagne and cognac for "arousing effects") and everyone's favorite, Euphoric Enhancers (the highlight of which is the House Absinthe, made from a 200-year-old secret recipe). Add in a semi-hidden location (the bar's entrance is below a bright red sign for Gold Flower Restaurant) on an obscure block once known for gang warfare and opium dens, and start counting down the seconds to success. Although only time will tell if Chinatown is poised to be the next Lower East Side.
Drinks: A Tamarind Bourbon Sour was clean and balanced with a sweet-tart finish while a gin-based Cilantro Martini was muddled with cucumber, to refreshing if slightly too sweet effect. (No noticeable change to libido or euphoria level.) Yet Apothéke's orchestration of unexpected ingredients did yield some of the most interesting drinks we've seen in a while: crushed red bell peppers took center stage in a cocktail made with vodka, agave and dill, while flambéed Sambuca and anise seeds offset tequila in a concoction that was equal parts presentation and flavor. Cocktails are a whopping $15 apiece, so be prepared to empty your wallet. And how!
Digs: Luxe-gothic or fey-vampiric. The shelves behind the strikingly back-lit marble bar are stocked with herbal tincture-filled jars, tubes of homemade bitters (like dried tomato and banana), bottles of obscure booze and glassy little old-fashioned vials proudly evoking pharmacies of yore. A huge caduceus (entwined snakes representing the medical world) hangs on one wall, beating yet again upon the drum of "our drinks are like medicine, medicine, medicine." The L-shaped design could make better use of the space, however, as there are only eight tables, all pushed up against the walls, leaving a wide swath of empty floor space.
Music: Electronica and rock 'n' roll, like a Peter Bjorn & John remix followed by Michael Jackson. Not dancey enough for dancing, but dancey enough to keep the crowd moving. And, delightfully, at a decibel that doesn't require screaming to the person next to you.
Crowd: A lot of men in suits with their fashionista girlfriends, but, given the stringent door policy, there were way fewer people inside than we expected.
Bottom line: Good for occasional cocktail-adventuring, special events and for impoverishing—um, educating—your Jack and Coke-drinking friends, but not for everyday drinking. That's what's your opaque exercise bottle is for.
Net results: what people are saying online
[Thrillist]: "The bar itself's inspired by Feudal French apothecaries (cork-lidded, tincture-filled jars, herbs marinating in absinthe, a wall-large apothecary glyph)."
[Down by the Hipster]: "Apothéke is an extremely ambitious and serious project dedicated to the cocktail."
[Grub Street]: "Is this going to be amazing? Yes, we believe it will be, and not just because the address once housed an opium den."
[Shecky's]: "Get ready to lose your mind in Chinatown."
Apothéke
9 Doyers Street, between Bowery and Pell
212-406-0400
Photo by Sam Horine
