Dante is no stranger to dedicating an entire menu to one cocktail. And for its newest one, it’s turned its attention to the martini.
Martini Hour, which launched this week at the Greenwich Village bar (79-81 Macdougal St.), features seven takes on the martini ($16-$22), as well as tableside martini service for four for $62.
“Like we’ve previously done with the negroni and the spritz, we wanted to take a deep dive into something we’re passionate about and explore the possibilities around a classic aperitif like the martini,” Dante creative director Naren Young says.
Options include takes on classics like the Martinez and Tuxedo No. 2, as well as modern approaches that use rosewater (Rose Petal) and kombu (Smoke on the Water), pulling from a variety of gins and vermouths.
“We’ve looked at it from a historical perspective, tracing its chronology through certain iconic and influential versions while also putting our own spin on some modern variations that perhaps highlight where the drink is going in the future,” Young says. “We’ve created a dynamic and diverse mix of different flavor profiles so that there hopefully is something for everyone, whether you’re a martini novice or a die-hard aficionado.
Beyond the martini, here’s where you can find focused cocktail menus around NYC:
Gin and tonic
British import Bluebird London (10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Fl.) at the Shops at Columbus Circle puts a special focus on the G&T; its cocktail menu boasts 10 variations ($12-$17), including two nonalcoholic options, along with other gin-based libations. The new bilevel midtown cocktail bar Valerie (45 W. 45th St.) puts the crafting in your hands with its Gin and Tonic Your Way menu ($14-$22): Choose from one of 17 gins and three tonics, including Thomas Henry and Fever-Tree, served in a goblet.
Old fashioned
West Village bar Slowly Shirley (121 W. 10th St.), a speakeasy-esque spot beneath The Happiest Hour, offers nearly a dozen riffs on the old fashioned as part of its Five Families menu, which also features variations on martinis, fizzes and sours, daisies and Manhattans.
Amaro
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Ave.) this month launched a new amaro-focused cocktail menu. Amari at the Met, offered Fridays and Saturdays from 4-8:30 p.m. at the second-floor Great Hall Balcony, features a variety of sparkling ($17), shaken ($18) and stirred ($17) cocktails that feature the liqueur, from the aperol spritz to the negroni. Imbibers can also get a Manhattan or negroni flight of three cocktails ($24).
