Inevitably, ice will arise as a topic of conversation while you're at Weather Up, a Prospect Heights bar now colonizing Tribeca. The neatly sheared cubes are difficult to ignore as nearly every cocktail order is accompanied with the cacophonous melody of ice on metal -- a satisfying, thunking din each bartender molds into individual piston-like rhythms. It bounces off of white tiled walls and high ceilings, while colorful little birds (elegantly taxidermied) perched atop bottles and shelves look on. If ice isn't obvious right away, eventually a giant cube will be left to swirl around a rocks glass begging the ginormous, clear chunk's point of origin. Should you inquire, you'll be regaled with tales of chainsaws, 300-pound blocks of ice, Japanese ice knives and a dram of something strong and brown. Five out of six cocktails on the list are a wintery mix of whiskey, amaro, cognac, bitters or some combination thereof, like the Weather Up Jr. (cognac, amaretto, dry vermouth and Champagne). However, if those don't suit fancies, the suspendered staff would be obliged to crack a few chunks of ice into something of particular preference, or as the menu advises, "Keep calm and carry on. Just ask your
bartender."

Weather Up Tribeca
159 Duane St.

Photo via Eater.com