The Shanty

WILLIAMSBURG, NEW YORK –

Gin reigns supreme at The Shanty, a fact that’s hardly surprising given that this industrial but cozy space adjoins the New York Distilling Company.

Two guesses what the NYDC’s principal product is.

Opened in late 2011, the small square room with its poured cement floor, brooding brick walls, and Tetris-style sculpted lights became a quick favorite of Brooklyn’s many avid cocktail hounds.

Serving what its other half is busy stirring, the bar overlooks the distillery through big glass windows where enormous glinting vats shine through the semi-darkness.

Two kinds of gin pour from the stills, both named for famous New Yorkers: The Perry's Tot after Navy Yard Commander Matthew Perry, and the Dorothy Parker, honoring the renowned poet and satirist.

Though the vibe is chill early in the evening, late nights invariably find the space brimming with high-spirited souls mingling along the diminutive wood bar or around the low tables in back, and Fridays and Saturdays after 9pm all but guarantee that a friendly elbow or two is necessary to get a drink.

The libations go the artisan route, heavy on the house-made syrups and exotic bitters, but there’s also a modest selection of local beers and a hard cider on draft as well.

A mecca for gin lovers and those who’ve yet to be gin-spired, The Shanty is like visiting a crazy uncle’s backwoods distillery, except the room is far prettier and the booze won’t make anybody blind.