Inside Bar Calico, The Georgia O’Keeffe-Inspired NYC Hideaway Serving up Cactus Cocktails and Sotol Shots

Bar Calico isn’t your typical neighborhood dive. Located on the second floor of Manhattan’s historic Freehand Hotel, the cocktail hideaway blends the sensibility of a 20th-century speakeasy with an impassioned tribute to all things Georgia O’Keeffe. Think Southwest-inspired drinks, salse verde and enough cacti to populate a desert botanical garden.

We recently had the chance to stop by the venue alongside The Vibe Imbibe Show, a series hosted by bartender Vibe Cabrera exploring mixology destinations with an eye for stories, ambiance and boundary-pushing recipes. For an in-depth look at everything Bar Calico has to offer, be sure to check out the video above.

Behind the Scenes at Bar Calico

The Freehand Hotel is the stuff of local legend, and not merely because it advertises rooms for as much as $3,000 per night. Originally opened in 1928 as The George Washington Hotel, the swanky, 18-story building has attracted a motley crew of artists and writers over the decades, including W.H. Auden, Dee Dee Ramone and Keith Haring. In the early aughts, the premises were temporarily converted into mixed-use student housing and rent-stabilized apartments, and by 2018, the ribbon was cut on the freshly renovated, red neon-signed Freehand Hotel as we know it today.

(Photos: Bar Calico)

We wouldn’t go so far as to call Bar Calico a speakeasy, but it does take some know-how to get to: up a velvet staircase, around a corner, down a hallway and through a pair of sweeping doors. The decor leans American Southwest, with a Prohibition-era flair for dim candles and dimmer corners. A towering cactus stands at attention behind the bar, illuminated by a warm halo of light that draws the eyes to a wide variety of agave spirits, sotols and whiskeys. One side of the room looks out over the bustling New York City street; the other side of the room, a nook of couches and a cow skull hung from the wall.

Head bartender Alex Dominguez guided us through the essentials.

Our welcoming drink of the night was The Shelton, listed under the “Bar Calico’s Latest Works” section of the menu. The crisp highball made use of Renais Gin, founded a few years back by “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson; Italicus liqueur; a housemade apple-and-watercress soda; and Nami Mexican Sake. Though Bar Calico positions itself as a sotol hotspot, it’s clear that the staff is eager to elevate overlooked Mexican beverages of all ilk. Crafted in the state of Sinaloa, Nami is the first — and possibly only — sake brand brewed in the country, and it has already picked up respected mixology cosigns from the likes of Mexico City’s Pujol and the Financial District’s Mexi Stone Street.

Might as well add Bar Calico to that list, because The Shelton was downright exceptional. The drink playfully reimagined the flavor of a gourmet apple soda (think Martinelli’s) with a light, grassy kick that tasted like an appetizer in a glass. Rarely have we tasted a $22 cocktail in Manhattan that was so crushable.

Next, we perused the nonalcoholic options. Of the five zero-proof drinks available to guests, two included cactus as a main ingredient. We opted for the neon-green First Word, a mix of Ritual Gin, frothy cactus juice and lime served up in a Nick and Nora glass.

The drink walked a tricky line between subtle botanicals and in-your-face vegetal flavor. The dominant note was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the cactus juice, which coated the palate with a thick and grainy mouthfeel halfway between watermelon rind and jalapeño peppers. Totally unexpected stuff. If ever there was a nonalcoholic cocktail that could stand toe to toe against its boozy contemporaries, The First Word is it.

The night ended with a round of sotols selected by Alex to showcase the breadth and depth of the oft-overlooked spirit. Highlights included a sotol de pechuga distilled with venison and a wildly pungent bottling matured in WhistlePig 10-year rye whiskey casks. All were served with apple slices, walnuts and — you guessed it — coin-shaped medallions of cactus.

Find Bar Calico on the second floor of the Freehand Hotel at 23 Lexington Ave, New York.