The New York Cocktail Co. Vesper Martini (375mL)

The New York Cocktail Company is essentially an attempt to bottle the extraordinary standard of modern New York bartending. Founded in 2024 by Linden Pride, Rodrigo Leme, and Malte Barnekow, the company grew out of the success Dante had with cocktails to go during the pandemic. That matters because Dante isn't simply a famous New York bar. The Greenwich Village institution dates to 1915, was revitalized by Pride and Nathalie Hudson in 2015, and by 2019 had been named both #1 on the World's 50 Best Bars list and World's Best Bar at Tales of the Cocktail. For the Vesper, NYCC turned to Takuma Watanabe, who spent eight years behind the bar at the pioneering Angel's Share before opening Martiny's in Gramercy. Martiny's won Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar at the 2023 Spirited Awards and subsequently landed at #24 on the World's 50 Best Bars list in 2024. That's exactly the person you want handling a drink as unforgiving as the Vesper. His version is crisp and elegant, with delicate citrus character and an exceptionally smooth finish. It's the sort of cocktail where balance and texture are everything, and the pedigree behind this bottle makes the proposition particularly compelling. Chill it thoroughly, pour, and you've got a genuinely serious Martini without touching a shaker.