A Spicy New Addition

Greg Boehm, Zach Sharaga and international bartender Nico de Soto open a New York City cocktail den inspired by a modern spice shop .

 

Spices were once considered a form of international currency and a ticket to global discovery. Dating back to the beginning of civilization, trading cinnamon, ginger and cardamom shaped world history. Today, they are poised to make their mark on the New York cocktail scene with the opening of Mace, scheduled to open on Monday, March 30, 2015. Located at 649 East 9th Street between Avenues B and C, Mace reflects a collaboration between partners Zach Sharaga, Greg Boehm and Nico de Soto, a globe-trotting bartender who draws inspiration from the myriad of aromatics found on his travels to create a menu of cocktails that each celebrate an exotic spice.

The 12-drink menu, priced $13 and up, will welcome guests to explore the far reaches of the world – Southeast Asia via Pandan, India in the form of Ambrette, Indonesia through Mace – from the comfort of one of the bar’s 40 seats. Each cocktail will showcase de Soto’s progressive bartending skills, which have earned him the title of most influential French bartender at the 2014 Cocktails Spirits Show in Paris. De Soto has worked at such noted bars as Experimental Cocktail Club in London, Paris and New York, Curio Parlor in Paris, and Dram and PKNY in New York. Most recently, he and partners Sharaga and Boehm, who owns leading barware company Cocktail Kingdom, held a pop-up Christmas bar called Miracle On Ninth Street in the space that Mace now calls home – formerly Sharaga’s 14-year-old bar Louis 649. The opening cocktail menu features:

Thai Chili
Gin, Cucumber Juice, Thai Bird Eye Chili Tincture, Lime Juice, Elderflower Liqueur, Egg White

Cocoa Bean
Banana-Roasted & Cocoa Nibs-Infused Prata Cachaça, Pecan Orgeat, Olive Oil, Salt, Egg

Chamomile
Brown Butter & Hay Fat-Washed Cognac, Chamomile Syrup, Lemon Juice, Champagne

Cumin
Calvados, Oloroso Sherry, Cumin Syrup, Lemon Juice, Pale Ale
 
Mace
Aperol, Aquavit, Beet Juice, Orange Acid, Young Thai Coconut Cordial, Mace Atomizer

Pandan
Dark Trinidad Overproof Rum, Jamaican Rum, Batavia Arrack infused with Pandan Leaves, Clarified Milk, Clarified Pineapple Juice, Clarified Lime Juice, Aman Black Tea, Coconut Water, Ginger Juice, 8 Spices

Paprika
Blanco Tequila, Smoked Paprika & Pea Shrub, Balsamic Vinegar, Verjus, Champagne
                                                                                   
Licorice
Seaweed-Infused Scotch Whisky, Licorice Syrup, Fig Bitters

Cinnamon
Cinnamon-Infused Pisco, Merlet Creme de Peche, Oat Gomme, Lemon Juice, Egg White           

Ambrette
Rye Whiskey, Ambrette Bitters, Soy Sauce, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Tobacco Essence

Cardamon
Vodka Fat Washed with Pistachio Oil, Coffee, Cardamom Syrup

Grass
White Tea-Infused Mizu Shochu, Grass Cordial

To complement the cocktail menu, Mace will offer a menu of bar bites created by Chef Miguel Trinidad of other East Village hotspots, Jeepney, Maharlika and Boilermaker; the menu will feature:
 
Snacks

Spiced Nuts
Mixed Nuts, Cumin, Cayenne, Butter

Melon & Prosciutto Skewers
Cantaloupe, Honeydew And Watermelon, Dill Vinaigrette, Prosciutto De Parma

Flatbreads & Toast

Crab & Avocado Flatbread
Lump Crab, Lemon, Avocado Crema, Basil

Goat Cheese Flatbread
Curry Goat Cheese, Red Grapes, Granny Smith Apples, Parsley And Golden Raisins

Bacon & Fig Jam Toast
Smoked Bacon, Fig Jam, Manchego, Balsamic Reduction

Boards

Cheese Board
Sliced Apple, Red Grapes, Local Honey, Country Bread
Manchego, Old Chatham, Haystack Mountain
(selections may change)

Charcuterie Board
Sliced Apple, Red Grapes, Local Honey, Country Bread
La Guercia Proscuitto, D’artagnan, Tasso Ham, Crested Duck Lamb Coppa
(selections may change)

Sweets

Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookie

Designed by Jeannette Kaczorowski and Kalos:eidos Projects, led by Ryan Brooke Thomas, Mace will evoke a modern spice shop through a palette of neutral tones and materials such as copper, waxed canvas and ebony-stained wood, anchored by a long zinc bar top and a wall of spice jars that completes the ode to the fragrant substances that were once worth their weight in gold.

Mace will be open Monday to Friday, 5pm to 2am, Saturday and Sunday, 4pm to 2am. For more information, please call 212-673-1190 or visit www.MaceNewYork.com, or find it on Facebook and Twitter, @macebarnyc (#macenyc on Instagram).