Madam Geneva (Shanna Ravindra for NY Mag)
It’s out with the gin, in with the mescal.
Madam Geneva was one of those places that routinely made lists of the best bars in the city and heck, even the country. But if you’re a mixologist, sometimes you just gotta shake things up, har har. That’s exactly what Eben Freeman, a true master of the cocktail craft, has done. Madam Geneva, the gin-loving cocktail den attached to sister spot Saxon + Parole, has ghosted and has been replaced with a new spot, Ghost Donkey.
This new project, also involving Nacho Jimenez (formerly of another AvroKO sister spot, The Daily in Soho), will focus on tequila and mescal. While those aren’t the most cutting-edge spirits (the mescal trend has been happening since at least 2009, when Mayahuel opened), you can bet these guys are gonna do interesting things with them. The place’s namesake drink, El Burro Fantasma, is served in a ceramic donkey and, given that it serves two, presumably has enough mescal and chili in it to kick your ass (har har again). In addition, there’ll be a rotating frozen drink: The first one is a tamarind margarita with an injection of chamoy sauce. There are also mescal samplers featuring “curated salts” (I know, I know, the word curated is so annoying but take it with a grain of salt). The curated salts in question include: Mexican chocolate, chipotle, avocado leaves, piloncillo ancho (ancho brown sugar), and hibiscus.
Just like AvroKO teamed up with chef Paul Liebrandt for an item on the Genuine Liquorette menu, they’ve teamed up with Fanny Gerson of La Newyorkina, whose mini Mexican popsicles goes into a prosecco drink. Her horchata goes into the brandy milk punch. Oh, and if you’re not one for tequila, the old fashioned is made with coffee-infused rye.
Finally, the food menu consists of a variety of haute nachos, including one that combines chorizo and tripe. Check the drinks out below.
Ghost Donkey, 4 Bleecker St., nr. Bowery, East Village; 212-254-0350.