If you checked our feed on IG this past Labor Day weekend, you may have seen us revisiting our NYC trip to one of the craftiest, most detail-oriented cocktail bars in our entire itinerary. East Village's MACE Bar is the perfect place to expand the palate beyond traditional cocktails. It is a must stop for those exploring the City's insane cocktail bar lineup.

MACE opened in 2015 by acclaimed French bartender Nico de Soto — the mastermind behind the Experimental Cocktail Club in London. MACE’s central concept, if there is one, is to center each recipe on a particular spice, layering it with root vegetable juices, and other earthy, character-heavy notes.

We were so pumped to taste each drink. And though we invite you to explore other options in the perfectly crafted menu, here are 3 cocktail suggestions we highly recommend:

MACE

Ingredients: Aperol, aquavit, beet juice, orange acid, young Thai coconut cordial, mace mist

The first time I read it, I had to look up what mace was and how it had been historically used in global cuisine. Then we got a class on the subject from house bartender @arnauddissais, who's probably still in bliss from his French National team winning the World Cup, and was kind enough to recreate two drinks off the beautiful menu for us to try. But, if you're going to try one drink, this may be your best bet!

GHOST CHILI

Ingredients: White cocoa fat-washed aquavit, passionfruit purée, coconut milk, ghost chile tincture, egg

Soon after the Mace cocktail was crushed, we were doused with a double feature of the aquavit spirit, Danish's national gem. This time around, we would have it in a flip format, which some may argue, crosses an imaginary threshold of what's cool and what's not, as far as boozy Rocky Balboa training supplements are concerned.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Best Drink Ever (@thebestdrinkever) on Aug 31, 2018 at 5:36pm PDT

Here's @arnauddissais once again with the Ghost Chili, a cocktail that packed a soft punch to the lips.

HABANERO

Ingredients: tequila, mezcal, mole, corn albumin, lime juice, habanero

Finalizing the trifecta from @macebarnyc with even more heat, style, and lots of taste, here's @christianvincentdominguez - head bartender at MACE with another gem:

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A post shared by The Best Drink Ever (@thebestdrinkever) on Sep 1, 2018 at 9:17am PDT

Catch all of out Mace videos and catch our entire NYC journey on our IG feed via #TBDExNYC

While in NYC, be sure to stop by MACE, located at 649 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009.