Brandy Library

On our list of the best cocktail bars in New York.

Since 2004, Brandy Library has lined its walls in Tribeca with backlit, stave-paneled shelving holding more than 1,500 aged spirits, a list running fifteen pages before it reaches a single cocktail. Leather lounge chairs sit low enough for a long night, and a fireplace anchors one corner for pouring through flights of Calvados or Armagnac. Small bites, gougeres, cheese, and a beef filet with peppercorn sauce, cover what there is to eat. Reservations run through Exploretock in parties of six or fewer, and the age minimum is 25 rather than 21.