A little known fact. It’s not a fact so much as convincing folklore. Sinatra et al were named the Rat Pack by the tabloids of the day, while their own preferred title was ‘The Summit’. The Summit Bar then, at 133 Avenue C, has some big boots to fill. Can you use such a name without being worthy of it? Only time will tell for this new establishment; but with veterans from The Mercer Kitchen, the Miami Standard and the Minetta Tavern at the helm, expect greatness. The bar menu is simple and under-stated - and, as the esteemed gentlemen of The Summit were - also stylish and contemporary. It’s nice to see that the classics are coming back in style, with the use of egg whites in pisco sours, or a vesper martini which simply and absolutely refutes the notion that the martini is now merely chilled vodka in a pretty glass.

However, as is the trend with today’s cocktail bars, there must be a twist. And there is. The ‘alchemist’ side of the Summit’s menu doesn’t shy away from exotic ingredients, and cocktails such as the Gov’ner’s Coming To Town highlight the fact that the rise in popularity of Japanese Whiskeys are deserving of their title. The bar menu does seem small, but with such an array of ingredients embodied in only 14 cocktails, the scope for variation seems endless.

It’s nice to know that if you could use some exotic booze, there’s a bar a little closer than far Bombay…