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.”)

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”