In a high-octane city like Manhattan, exceptional cocktail bars aren’t just places to grab a drink — they are ways to decompress. And New York is well served by a slew of storied haunts, sophisticated speakeasies and cutting-edge cocktail dens.
Of course, even in a city overflowing with standouts, a few rise above the rest. Ahead of Forbes Travel Guide’s highly anticipated 2026 Hotel Star Bars reveal on June 9, we raised a glass to five of New York City’s must-try cocktails.
The New York EDITION’s Lobby Bar: A Peach Ain’t One
Occupying a historic clock tower in the Flatiron district, Forbes Travel Guide Recommended New York EDITION’s Lobby Bar pairs minimalist, atmospheric interiors with seasonally inspired cocktails.
A recent winter menu drew inspiration from the city’s local characters, rendered by NYC artist Tanu Vasu’s illustrations — among them, a Forbes Travel Guide inspector. The exacting, photogenic cocktail paid homage with sesame oil-washed Ilegal Mezcal, Nixta Licor de Elote (a corn liqueur), Cointreau, clarified lemon and chapulines (edible grasshoppers).
Spring’s cast of characters is no less impressive. There is, however, one undeniable rising star: the Peach Ain’t One. Doce Mezcal adds smoke, softened by floral lemon balm and juicy peach, with a surprising herbaceous edge from Savoia Orancio, an Italian orange aperitivo, and Casa Lotos sotol, a spirit from the Chihuahuan Desert. It’s like a sophisticated, smoke-kissed peach margarita with a European-meets-Oaxacan feel.
Double Chicken Please: Cold Pizza
Double Chicken Please’s creative, considered cocktails have earned this Lower East Side spot widespread acclaim. Co-founders GN Chan and Faye Chen opened the doors to the design-driven cocktail bar in 2020, featuring two spaces: the Free Range front room and The Coop in the rear.
Step through the partition and the energy shifts. The Coop’s mid-century-appointed back room is where Double Chicken Please’s signature philosophy fully comes to life: taking dishes, dismantling them and reassembling them as cocktails. The menu reads like a dinner menu, moving through starters, mains and desserts, with drinks that evoke everything from a Waldorf salad to a Key lime pie.
The Cold Pizza cocktail is a must-order. Don Fulano Blanco tequila is infused with burnt toast and Parmigiano Reggiano to recall the flavor of a pizza crust, while clarified tomato water serves as the sauce base, rounded out by a lime-basil cordial and oolong tea honey. The ingredients are dry-shaken with egg white, which adds a velvety foam reminiscent of melted cheese. Then comes the topping: an edible rice paper print of a hand holding a slice of pizza.
The Dead Rabbit: Irish Coffee
The Dead Rabbit lays claim to historical bona fides — it’s in an 1828 townhouse and named for the notorious Irish immigrant gang formed to protect the neighborhood in the mid-19th century — but timeless cocktails ensure the bar has a legacy all its own.
The space is divided into two floors, the first serving as a straightforward Irish pub, while the second floor, Parlor, proudly considers itself a “cocktail cathedral.” Surprisingly, the standout sip, the Irish Coffee, is served at the first-floor Taproom, amid the sawdust-sprinkled floors and lively clamor.
Many consider this Irish Coffee to be among the best you’ll find stateside. A Sumatra Mandheling blend from premium Irish roaster Calendar Coffee combines with Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey, demerara sugar syrup and unsweetened, freshly whipped heavy cream.
Bemelmans Bar: Madeline’s Vesper Martini
Bemelmans, the cocktail bar inside Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, is legendary. The bar’s wallpaper, designed by Ludwig Bemelmans, the author of the classic Madeline children’s book series, and sultry, leather interiors might make for excellent Instagram fodder. However, the historic bar has never coasted by on good looks alone, thanks to an impressive cocktail program.
The specialty here is the martini. Each night, bartenders clad in sharp red suit jackets mix an average of 1,000 of them. The must-order is Madeline’s Vesper Martini, a tribute to the bar’s namesake writer and illustrator that puts a refined spin on the classic recipe.
Where the traditional Vesper calls for gin, vodka and Lillet Blanc, Bemelmans swaps in Cocchi Americano — a slightly bitter, wine-based aperitif — for the latter, resulting in a more nuanced and complex tipple. The finishing touch is a whimsical white ribbon tied around the stem of the glass, a nod to the beloved children’s book character who gives the drink its name.
Death & Co: Oaxaca Old-Fashioned
Death & Co’s 2007 East Village opening helped usher in the craft cocktail scene. The speakeasy-style space, complete with exposed brick, low lighting and black leather banquettes, reconstructed the standard drink menu format in a distinctive way for its time.
Instead of sorting cocktails by their base spirit, the menu takes a feelings-first approach — each section is named for the experience it delivers. You might find yourself drawn to something “Elegant & Timeless” or craving a little “Rich & Comforting.”
Nearly 20 years later, creative cocktails are a mainstay at most bars, and Death & Co has expanded, with locations in Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, D.C. However, it’s worth making a pilgrimage to the flagship location, where the menu remains fresh and exciting.
Any visitor would be remiss not to order the iconic Oaxaca Old-Fashioned, which popularized mezcal in the United States. In 2007, bartender Phil Ward concocted this riff on the Old Fashioned, replacing the traditional whiskey with tequila and mezcal and sugar with agave nectar. The smoky, zingy version garnished with a flamed orange twist remains the bar’s most-requested cocktail.
