Night of Joy (667 Lorimer Street) sits on a forlorn East Williamsburg corner in the shadow of the BQE. It also stands in the shadows of the city's great cocktail bars and that's not a good place to be.At first glance, Night of Joy has some things going for it - a large space, friendly prices ($9 cocktails), lack of crowds and a roof deck. However, stepping into the somewhat schizophrenic, dimly lit space, with its Victorian front, long bar with cushy high backs and rear room with pool table, hopes for something interesting start to fade. The disjointed atmosphere - part lounge, part hipster hangout - just does not gel.
The drink list is short and lacking in information - only the ingredients and booze are listed, not the maker, which in retrospect should have been a clue. It turns out they are not using the top shelf stuff in their drinks - hence $9 cocktails - and the results were, for us, universally disappointing. The drinks are also heavy on herbs - beet and dill vodka anyone? Not for us. We started with a Basil & Lime Gimlet made with Mr. Boston gin. The drink was one-dimensional and would have benefited from a gin with more character. The Jalapeno, Black Currant and Tequila was slightly out of balance and too spicy to fully enjoy, though with ice dilution it became more bearable. Rosemary, Bourbon, Ginger and Lemon was a bit soapy and the Evan Williams bourbon surprisingly got lost. Another spicy drink, the Cilantro Bloody Maria, made with tequila, mostly tasted muddy. Something added an unpleasant note and we suspect the Worcestershire sauce, though we can't be sure. In addition to the cocktails, there are local beers and a short, affordable winelist with selections priced at $8 by the glass and $30 by the bottle.
Night of Joy doesn't have it together yet in the way that nearby Hotel Delmano or The Counting Room does. A little less pretension and higher booze standards would go a long way in rectifying that. Otherwise, that blinking neon out front light may not be illuminating the night much longer.
Dear Head Bartender,
We appreciate you visiting our bar, Night of Joy!
However, we do have to correct one piece in your review. We have been open a mere 3 weeks and in experimenting with our specialty cocktail list, have infused every liquor brand imaginable to find the best recipes (from Evan Williams to Maker's Mark, etc.) Since you are so kindly concerned, we feel we should let you know that after much trial and error, we settled on Tito's for our vodka cocktails, Plymouth for gin, Cruzan for rum, Sauza for tequila and Jim Beam for bourbon.
Sorry you didn't like our decor.
All the best,
the Night of Joy family
Thanks for your comment. We're happy you are going to upgrade the liquor used in your cocktails. Plymouth is a great gin and would have added some complexity to our basil and lime gimlet. Unfortunately, the gin used in our drink was Mr. Boston.