Saving Grace

Two simple pleasures in this life a man should value: a drink well made, and the attention of a beautiful woman.

And that’s just what you’ll get at GRACE, the just-opened Irish pourhouse in Kips Bay that boasts a murderers’ row of female tippling talent.

Named for 16th century Irish “Pirate Queen” (and Finnegan’s Wake cameo star) Grace O’Malley, GRACE serves cocktails conceived by dram-slingin’ dames from spots like Death & Co., Middle Branch and The Dead Rabbit.

We’ll let a few of the ladies explain – and give you some tips on bar etiquette in the process.

Lucinda Sterling, Middle Branch

Drink: Clare Island
Ingredients: Santa Teresa rum, something dire called Black Mission Fig Bitters
Temperament: “Balanced and rested.”
Bar etiquette: “I appreciate when customers use diplomatic terminology when offering constructive criticism about a drink.” (Ed. note: we translate this to mean “If you don’t like your drink, try not to be an ass about it.”)

Franky Marshall, The Dead Rabbit and The Tippler

Drink: Belclare
Ingredients: Louis Royer Cognac. And Absinthe. And Crème de Pamplemousse.
Temperament: “Approachable; interesting.”
Bar etiquette: “Order all your drinks at once. Faster for you and faster for me than if you just order two and wait for me to come back to order more.”

Meaghan Dorman, Raines Law Room

Drink: The Gallowglass
Ingredients: Black Grouse Scotch whisky, Campari, Cherry Heering, Punt e Mes
Temperament: “Smoky, with bitter notes balanced by a touch of sweetness.”
Bar etiquette: “My advice to bar patrons is to stay off your cellphones. I see so many people at bars alone staring at their phones the whole time. Talk to the people around you.”

Pam Wiznitzer, The Dead Rabbit

Drink: The Blind Abbot
Ingredients: Coffee, Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey (a favorite at InsideHook HQ), Galliano and cinnamon syrup
Temperament: “Rounded spicy tones with notes of cinnamon.”
Bar etiquette: “I’m always impressed with a guest who orders a drink with confidence. If you want a Belvedere on the rocks, order it with gusto. It’s also okay not to know what you want. Tell a bartender what you like. It’s our job to match your drink to your palate. There’s nothing more unsexy than someone ordering a drink that they think they ‘should’ order and then be miserable drinking it.”