When the VinePair team isn’t busy working at HQ, we’re in the field doing what we do best: scoping out the best cocktails, wine, and beer in the five boroughs. Here are the cool, current, and flat-out excellent drinks you should try in New York right now, according to our editors.
The dreaded chill of winter finally reached us in New York this month, but we’re trying to focus on the positives: catching up with family and friends over a decadent meal, embracing hot cocktails, and, of course, popping bottles of Gamay while watching the new crop of trashy holiday movies on Netflix.
But when the VinePair team musters the courage to step out into the cold, where exactly are they headed? Some are taking this time to check out the latest openings in NYC’s string of seafood-focused restaurants, while others are checking in on Brooklyn stalwarts. And of course we had to pay a visit to Taylor Swift’s favorite new spot to try a buzzy Martini variation.
Here are the best things to drink in NYC this December, according to our editors.
Riesling (and Narragansett) at Smithereens Credit: VinePair Staff
Smithereens is a New England-inspired restaurant that recently opened in the East Village, and descending into the dimly lit subterranean space truly feels like going below deck on a fishing boat off Cape Cod. Sommelier Nikita Malhotra curated a wine list that matches the restaurant’s seafood-focused fare, but there’s a twist: The extensive program exclusively features white wines. (OK,
