Bar of the Week: Weather Up

As Manhattan becomes saturated with "secret" speakeasies, the trend stakes its claim on Brooklyn. The explosion started with the now-overrun Hotel Delmano in Williamsburg, and up next is Weather Up, a sleek spot decked out with Subway-style ceiling tiles, marbled lights and a polished copper bar in quieter Prospect Heights (so no L train access here). The place is blessed by the classic cocktail godfather, Milk & Honey's Sasha Petraske, who trained the two predictably tattooed bartenders. If you are a patron of Petraske's watering holes, you'll probably recognize the metal spoon-straws, but the drink list, which centers on eight cocktails and even features three beers on tap (all $6), is not about the eggy sours or fresh fruit swizzles that define Little Branch and the like. The owner -- and bar's namesake -- Karen Weatherup (an original partner in East Side Company) focuses her offerings on simplified concoctions, which are prepared meticulously (if slowly) with gigantic hunks of ice. On top of the Dark & Stormy ($9), Old Fashioned ($11) and Gin Fizz ($9), there are slightly more obscure offerings, like a surprisingly subtle Presbyterian ($9) that's topped with candied ginger and a highly alcoholic amaretto-cognac-lemon house cocktail ($15). Just follow the speakeasy rules: Go during the week, and don't expect a sign. 589 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, no phone

Photo from nymag.com