When: Tuesday, 6:11pm
What did I drink? Maidens Blush (see below) $12, Gladstone (rye, parfait amour, caraway aquavit) $14.

Leaving the 11211 zip code, going out before 9pm and avoiding weekends is an advisable tactic. I’m only sad that Dead Rabbit showed up a block from my office right as I’m moving into a building that will have a Señor Frog’s on the ground floor.

Amidst all the grown frattiness of Stone Street and the disappointment that was Demi Monde, Dead Rabbit gets everything right. Not only are you given a cool glass of water, the hallmark of the adult bar, but also a teacup of welcome punch. It sets the tone. The dim, flattering lighting, minimal cell phone absorption and seated parties only, added to the pluses. And importantly, the bar stools turned out to be plush leather 2×2 seats (even the cranks at Mouthfuls would approve).

Working theory #2: the more expensive the drinks, the more mature (or douchey, depending) the audience. $14 cocktails ensure plenty of suits and quite a few over-50s.

From 5pm-7pm, though, there are dollar oysters and $12 specials like the Maidens Blush (Ransom Old Tom Gin, Pernod absinthe, lemon, raspberry cordial, rose water, orange bitters) which is not a delicate drink, despite the name but brown and intense. Two straight-up cocktails are enough to work their magic and get you home at a respectable hour.

Was I carded? No, I encounter that far less in Manhattan, but there was an Irish doorman, presumably for crowd control.
Age appropriate? Highly. Mission finally accomplished. For a brief period, we could’ve sworn our group consisting of two 40-year-old women and a token 36, were the youngest in the room.

The Dead Rabbit