Lantern's Keep

A new cocktail experience is Lantern’s Keep cocktail salon: not a bar, a lounge, a lobby or an offshoot of a restaurant. It’s an entity all to itself and has a great identity as a salon devoted to the art and enjoyment of great cocktails in a transporting experience thanks to the design team at RKIT (Allen & Delancey, Bar Bao…). And the setting is the lovely boutique hotel The Iroquois New York, o

n a stretch of 44th Streets that boasts the Cornell and Harvard Clubs, City Club, DB Bistro, Royalton… It’s a great destination and a beautiful block between 5th and 6th Avenues. A bartender with a following of her own, Meaghan Dorman had a hand in making Raine’s Law Room into a destination of the city’s cocktail aficionados. The room has the feel of a French arts or poets salon, with blue velvet and marble and period paintings of ballerinas and tutus (that have nothing to do with Black Swan, we assure you). The cocktail selection reflects the lore that that Meaghan has diligently sifted through, much like an anthropologist of cocktails of that period during Temperance movement explosion in the US and the subsequent plight of American bartenders to friendlier destinations in Europe. With this they brought their America, eons before Harry’s and the second wave of cocktail refugees fleeing prohibition. For Lantern’s Keep 24 seats Meaghan offers four kinds of ice, lovely period glassware and a free hand given to her by The Iroquois to be as creative as she desires in her tight list of 10 cocktails: Boulevardier (bourbon, sweet vermouth, campari), Poet’s Dream (orange bitters, benedictine, dry vermouth and gin) and a Maison Charles (mint, lime juice, simple syrup, white rum, sugar rim), French 75 (gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, champagne)…. Dorman will train the small staff of four herself and be a presence as well, who will all guide the experience of the guests. Small plates complements of the two star Triomphe, also at The Iroquois, will round off the experience and will be priced at $8, while the cocktails are a reasonable $14. A wine and beer selection with always be on hand for the oenophile and such. Dorman and the Iroquois are debuting Lantern’s Keep on April 19, 2011, which is toward the back of the hotel’s ground floor and not immediately accessible from the street. The Keep will be open from 5:00pm to midnight, with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, weekly. Look for the Lantern on the street entrance to The Iroquois New York. Should it be dark, they would love to have you back another time. Should you want a sure thing before venturing out, be sure to view their website which features the Lantern in real time. Reservations are strongly recommended.