Travel Bar Brooklyn

Where the magic happens. Photo courtesy of Extra Fancy.

Alex Farrington, the spirit and wine director at Mouth, knows a thing or two about good cocktails. She works closely with distillers and winemakers to bring the best and most interesting bottles to Mouth's liquor shop in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood. She was kind enough to give us a hit list of her favorite Brooklyn bars and restaurants serving craft cocktails.

BROOKLYN – My favorite local bars have the same qualities as the distilleries and wineries that I work with. They're small, thoughtful in execution, unfussy, focused on quality ingredients, representative of their neighborhoods, and full of friendly folks. In other words, they're bars run by people, not by companies.

Our dream bar. Photo courtesy of Extra Fancy.

WILLIAMSBURG

Because intra-borough travel is difficult (thanks MTA!) I don't get up to Williamsburg as much as I used to. But when I make the effort, I'm consistently greeted by new bars and restaurants doing amazing things. There are a few spots on my list that I have returned to time and time again, and stanchions where one can pay homage to the Williamsburg of old.

) and industry veteran, educator, mentor, and influencer Allen Katz, the Shanty is a place where you can take a tour on a Saturday or Sunday and grab some cocktails, beers, a light nibble, and have yourself a fine day.

Extra Fancy
302 Metropolitan Ave.; +1-347-422-0939
As with most things in Williamsburg, the name Extra Fancy is said with a wink and a nod, as it's truly anything but. Make your way to the casual New England seafood-shack-inspired restaurant with killer, hilariously named cocktails, an amazing playlist, an entertaining and award-winning bar staff, and a late-night menu that cannot be beat (and is open until 3:30 in the morning). Grab a huge oyster tower with friends or nosh on Szechuan fried chicken to stave off the headache you're bound to have when you wake up.

A sophisticated but approachable space. Photo courtesy of Grand Army Bar.

We'll take one of each please. Photo courtesy of Leyenda.

COBBLE HILL

Years ago, a friend from Cobble Hill complained that she needed to take the subway to Manhattan whenever she wanted a good drink. Said friend would be shocked to see the choices in the neighborhood now. I can neither confirm nor deny that I've been known to make a bit of a bar crawl out of all these great spots.