Time Out Market New York’s new seasonal cocktails are inspired by Brooklyn
As sunshine fades before the work day and the temperature outside dips into jacket weather, thoughts turn from fun frozen drinks to autumnal and wintry sips. So Michael Manjon, Time Out Market New York’s beverage director, recently reinvented the sprawling food hall’s cocktail menu to reflect the seasons and nod to the neighborhood.
“A lot of the drinks on the menu are inspired by Brooklyn and fall and winter,” Manjon says. He gathered details large and small from Dumbo and beyond while creating the latest lineup.
“When I come up with cocktails I sometimes think of the name first and work backwards, which is kind of what I did with Jane’s Carousel,” he says. “I was thinking about the surrounding area.”
Jane’s Carousel, of course, is the beautiful, century-old attraction that sits right outside of Time Out Market in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Not only is the Jane’s Carousel cocktail named for the darling landmark, it also includes Widow Jane bourbon, which has a distillery just a few miles away in Red Hook.
“It was Widow Jane that made me think, oh, Jane’s Carousel,” Manjon says.
His take on the espresso martini seemingly sweeping the nation also brings the buzzy beverage closer to home, mixing it with Brooklyn-born, Bronx-made Grady’s Cold Brew in lieu of the standard espresso, and referencing an area anthem in its title.
“I thought the No Sleep ‘Til... was the perfect name for an espresso martini rather than just calling it that,” he says, noting that the market’s fifth-floor terrace also has a photo-op that reflects the same Beastie Boys’ sentiment.
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The Brooklyn Bramble is another new addition that includes locally made ingredients.
“That cocktail is a classic cocktail. Brambles have been around forever,” Manjon says. “It just rolls off the tongue, people love saying it. Using Brooklyn Gin was a no brainer. It’s gorgeous, so not only is it from Brooklyn, but when the bartender picks up that bottle and starts pouring, it's impressive, and that’s another thing that people are drawn to.”
Manjon’s King’s County Cobble combines his inspiration points, conceived with fall colors, the streets outside and and even its own creation in mind.
“Cobble has two meanings,” he says. “The cobblestones outside, there’s cobblestones everywhere in Dumbo, and the word cobble’s meaning of just throwing it together. That’s kind of what this drink was. It was a bunch of liquors that I thought reminded me of fall: Brandy and Scotch and amaretto. When you look at this drink it looks like the leaves changing color. So the Kings County is Brooklyn, cobble is cobblestones and throwing it together.”
See all of Time Out Market New York’s new cocktails here, and plan your visit before Manjon and his team are shaking and stirring next year’s seasonal sips.
“I’m always thinking about the next one,” he says.
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