7 Spring Cocktail Recipes From New York's Best Bartenders

Nitecap: Natasha David

The newest member of the cocktail world is Nitecap, a LES subterranean watering hole that's already becoming a household name with the downtown crowd. It's a bar by bartenders, for bartenders (as well as anyone else with a penchant for tasty drinks), judging by the amount of bartenders who've made it an after-hours hangout. With a team from institutions like Death & Co. and Mayahuel led by Natasha David, it's no surprise it's already joined the ranks of the top bars in NYC, and the quirky menu alone has us coming back for more. From: "I spent the last 11 years in NYC so I consider myself a New Yorker" Experience: Mayahuel, Death & Co. (guest bartender), Maison Premiere, Woodson & Ford Personal drink of choice: "To be honest I just love a glass of wine at the end of the night, but if I had to get a cocktail I would get a negroni for sure." Spring cocktail: Pinkies Out "So one of my shameful drinking habits is I love white wine spritzers, but that's not very socially acceptable, so Pinkies Out is my ode to the white wine spritz, and sort of making it a little fancier so that you don't have to feel so embarrassed drinking it (laughs). So instead of using white wine I'm using an orange wine, and a little bit of verijus, some fortified wines, and apple cider. It's a session cocktail; you can drink a ton of them, it's refreshing, and you can hang out with your friends and not get sloshed. It's just something you can drink all day long, and it hydrates you too, and that's my favorite kind of drinking. I love low alcohol beverages." [Natasha David] Pinkies Out: 2 oz Orange Wine (we use Kabaj Ribula, a nice dry white wine will be fine too) 1 oz Cocchi Americano 1 oz Chamomile infused Dolin Blanc (infuse 5g dried chamomile flowers in 1 750 ml btw of Vermouth for 30 min) 1/2 oz Verjus Blanc Top with Trabanco Poma Aurea Apple Cider (or any other dry apple cider) Build in a wine glass over ice and stir. Garnish with an orange slice.