The NoMad Hotel's Sublime Cocktails | NoMad, NYC

The sublime Eleven Madison Park is chef Daniel Humm's playground.

At his new restaurant at the NoMad hotel, though, the cocktail genius Leo Robitschek rules.

Robitschek has been quietly impressing behind the stick at EMP, but the nature of that restaurant kept his fabulous creations sidelined.

The bar is central at NoMad however, and, on our recent visits, the busiest part of the sprawling space.

Its popularity is indeed deserved: Robitschek's drinks showcase the beauty of ensemble, with aperitifs and liqueurs leading harder spirits into unforeseen terrain. Obscure offerings such as Suze round out the shandy-like Haymarket ($13), and Thai-chile infused Campari anchors the whiskey-based Satan's Circus ($15).

In another adaptation to his new hotel environs, Robitschek has reinvented bottle service ($250 to $325). We chose a bottle of Plymouth gin and were greeted with a stunning custom bar cart featuring a drawer of Kold-Draft ice cubes, custom mixers, small bottles of bitters and vermouths and cocktail recipe cards.

As we played bartender, our favorite cocktail of the night was the Gin-Gin Mule, thanks to a mixer of freshly pressed ginger juice and rich ginger-lime cordial. We snagged the recipe (click here to see) to use at our home cocktail parties.

Here's to a boozier playground.

The NoMad, 1170 Broadway (between W. 27th and W. 28th sts).; 212-796-1500 or thenomadhotel.com