In Amor y Amargo and a few other choice places about town, aperitifs and digestifs appear not only on their distinctive own, but also as smartly used elements of cocktails.

At The Dead Rabbit, Jack McGarry uses Bittermen’s Amère Nouvelle in the White Rabbit cocktail, Carpano Antica vermouth in his Western Gate cocktail, and Cocchi di Torino in his Sneak Thief cocktail. Not ready to try aperitifs or digestifs straight? Slip upstairs at the Dead Rabbit, and have them in a blend. With Dead Rabbit’s penchant for infusions (Chili-honed Old Forester bourbon is particularly stimulating), you’ll find your appetite sharpened or stomach soothed well before the bottom of the glass.

On Lafeyette Street, aperitif and digestif cocktails can be enjoyed at Gato. If you’re in Brooklyn, you’ll find aperitif and digestif cocktails at Thistle Hill Tavern.

If those aren’t in your comfort zone – and, for the purposes of this topic, comfort is everything – then ask the bartender in your favorite bar to mix a classic aperitif- or digestif-inclusive cocktail for you or, if you’re bold, to concoct something new. (You’d better be a regular, if you’re going to ask for that – but bartenders enjoy a challenge, as long as it doesn’t come on a busy night.)

Some places are self-challenging. With its cutting-edge approach to the classics, The Dead Rabbit is one of them. Open daily from 11 AM until 4 AM, the Dead Rabbit is as fit for a pre-lunch appetite boost as it is for a way to ease the troubled gut and soul after far too many hours in the office. The food is good, too, so you don’t need to leave when the switch from “sip” to “bite” starts sounding good.

6/7