Jack the Horse

Photograph: Roberto De Luna

The recent additions of Clover Club, the Jakewalk and the tap room at Prime Meats have kept cocktail cultists of Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens sated. But further north, in the perennial restaurant-and-bar wasteland of Brooklyn Heights, those who thirst for a well-crafted mixed drink have only this Currier-and-Ives-cozy tavern on a lonely, picturesque corner. Jack the Horse is primarily a restaurant, dispensing seafood dishes and comfort-food staples like burgers and mac and cheese. But the bar attracts a devoted clientele of its own; on a recent weekday night, there was no wait for a table, but barstools were at a premium. This is largely due to the precocious wizardry and attentive service of Jack’s boyish head bartender, Maxwell Britten, who shakes up the cocktail menu weekly. Making regular appearances is the Robbie Robbie, a cockle-warming spin on the Scotch-based Rob Roy, which enlists Luxardo’s cinnamon-flavored bitter, Amaro Abano, to spicy effect. The Dos Amentes (tequila, mescal, Cherry Heering, dry vermouth, lime juice and cognac-almond syrup) is a rich tequila drink that allows the spirit’s aromatic, vegetal character to shine through. There’s also a rotating special; recently this was the refreshingly citrus-forward Oceanic Royal Punch, a rum-based reviver whose accents of prosecco and Britten’s own grapefruit-nutmeg syrup sparkle on the tongue. The atmosphere at the bar is convivial, and you’re as likely to get into a conversation with the stranger next to you as you are with Britten, who’s known to try out new concoctions on willing patrons. If he offers, let him do as he likes. His is a horse worth betting on.—TONY

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