Making Spirits Bright

Yes, yes, I know. I should be baking. There are doughs to be mixed, ovens to be watched, timers going off just when you step out of the room. And yet, there is something about the bar that calls to me this time of year.

Do I feel the need to be drunk in December? No.

Do I feel the need to be festive? Without question.

There is nothing like a great cocktail in your hand and a great room around you to make any day feel like a celebration. A good bar can do in one glass what weeks of twinkle lights try to accomplish: it shifts your mood, recalibrates your spirit, and reminds you that pleasure is allowed.

Recently, I went with a friend to Bar Rêve on Smith Street in Brooklyn. The photos looked very good on Instagram, which always makes me suspicious. Instagram is a beautiful liar. But Bar Rêve turns out to be the real thing.

The room is red, unapologetically so, warm and enveloping, with just the right belle époque touches. Cozy without being precious. Intimate without being claustrophobic. And then there’s the fireplace, which pretty much seals the deal.

The owner is French. The accent helps – let’s not pretend otherwise – but the cocktails stand on their own. Thoughtful, balanced, quietly confident. Which brings me back to a question I ask myself every time I sit at a bar: is a cocktail better when the atmosphere wraps itself around you?

For me, the answer is always yes.

Atmosphere matters. Lighting matters. The bartender matters. They don’t need to grin at you. (Phil Ward taught us that long ago.) But they do need command – of the bar, of the room, of the moment when your drink arrives and suddenly the day feels different.

A good bar is about welcome. About festivity. About turning an ordinary evening into something that feels, if not quite like a holiday, then at least like a small celebration you didn’t know you needed.

So don’t worry, I’ll be home. I’ll be mixing batter, watching the oven, baking all the things. (And, of course, I will also be working. A girl has to pay the bills!) But every once in a while, this girl needs a break.

And when she does, she appreciates the opportunity to raise a lovely glass in a gorgeous room – with good company.