What Are Craft Cocktails? Everything You Need to Know — And Where to Find the Best Ones in Brooklyn
If you've spent any time exploring the bar scene in New York City over the past decade, you've almost certainly encountered the phrase "craft cocktails" on a menu, a chalkboard, or a social media post. But what are craft cocktails, exactly? The term gets used so frequently and so loosely that its meaning can feel elusive — somewhere between a marketing buzzword and a genuine philosophy of bartending. The truth, as with most things worth understanding properly, is more interesting and more specific than the surface-level usage suggests.
Craft cocktails are, at their core, a commitment. A commitment to quality ingredients, thoughtful technique, intentional flavor combinations, and the kind of attention to detail that transforms a drink from something you consume into something you experience. They represent a rejection of the shortcuts, artificial flavors, and assembly-line mentality that dominated mainstream bar culture for decades, and an embrace of the idea that a well-made drink deserves the same respect and creativity as a well-made dish. Understanding what craft cocktails are means understanding not just how they're made, but why they're made that way — and what that means for the experience of drinking them.
At Bar Louise on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, craft cocktails are not a trend or a talking point. They are a founding principle — one that shapes every drink on the menu, every technique behind the bar, and every interaction between the team and the guests they serve. This blog is your complete guide to what craft cocktails are, where they come from, what makes them different, and why Bar Louise is one of the best places in Brooklyn to experience them at their finest.
Key Takeaways
Craft cocktails are defined by quality ingredients, skilled technique, intentional flavor development, and a genuine commitment to the art of bartending
The craft cocktail movement has its roots in the late 20th century cocktail renaissance, which revived classic recipes and elevated bar culture globally
Key elements of a great craft cocktail include fresh juices, house-made syrups, premium spirits, proper dilution, and thoughtful garnishing
Bar Louise on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn serves a full menu of craft cocktails crafted with creativity, balance, and genuine expertise
Understanding what craft cocktails are makes the experience of drinking them richer, more rewarding, and infinitely more enjoyable
What Are Craft Cocktails — A Definition Worth Understanding
The question of what are craft cocktails is one that bartenders, drinks writers, and hospitality professionals have debated with genuine passion for years. At its simplest, a craft cocktail is a drink that has been made with intention — where every ingredient, every measurement, every technique, and every presentation choice has been considered carefully rather than executed by habit or convenience. It is the opposite of a well drink poured from a speed rail without thought. It is a drink that has been built, not just assembled.
The word "craft" carries real weight in this context. In the same way that craft beer distinguishes itself from mass-produced lager through the quality of its ingredients and the care of its production, craft cocktails distinguish themselves from standard bar drinks through their relationship with technique and flavor. A craft cocktail bartender — often called a mixologist, though many in the industry prefer the simpler title of bartender — approaches each drink the way a chef approaches a dish: with knowledge of flavor theory, an understanding of how ingredients interact, and a genuine desire to create something that is more than the sum of its parts.
What are craft cocktails in practical terms? They are drinks made with fresh-squeezed juices rather than bottled mixers. They use house-made syrups infused with botanicals, spices, fruits, and herbs rather than generic sugar syrup from a plastic bottle. They call for premium and often small-batch spirits chosen for their specific flavor profiles rather than their brand recognition. They are measured precisely, stirred or shaken for the correct amount of time, served in the appropriate glassware, and finished with a garnish that is either functional — adding aroma or flavor — or beautiful, or ideally both. At Bar Louise, every one of these principles is applied to every drink that leaves the bar, which is exactly why the craft cocktail program here is one of the strongest in all of Park Slope.
The History of Craft Cocktails — Where It All Began
Understanding what are craft cocktails requires a brief journey through the history of how they came to exist in their modern form. The cocktail itself is an American invention with roots stretching back to the early 19th century, when bartenders like Jerry Thomas — widely considered the father of American mixology — were already treating the craft of drink-making with seriousness and showmanship. The golden age of cocktails ran roughly from the mid-1800s through Prohibition, producing classics like the Manhattan, the Old Fashioned, the Daiquiri, and the Martini that remain benchmarks of craft cocktail culture to this day.
Prohibition devastated American bar culture in ways that took decades to fully repair. The forced underground nature of drinking during the 1920s and early 1930s led to a reliance on low-quality spirits masked by sweet mixers, and when Prohibition ended, many of those habits lingered. The mid-20th century saw cocktail culture decline into a world of pre-made sour mix, artificial flavors, and drinks valued more for their novelty than their quality. What are craft cocktails if not a direct response to that decline — a movement that said the golden age of bartending deserved to be reclaimed and built upon rather than forgotten?
The modern craft cocktail renaissance is generally traced to New York City in the late 1980s and 1990s, led by pioneering bartenders like Dale DeGroff at the Rainbow Room who began reviving classic recipes, insisting on fresh ingredients, and treating the bar as a place of genuine craft and hospitality. By the early 2000s, bars like Milk & Honey in Manhattan had established a new template for what a serious cocktail bar could look like, inspiring a generation of bartenders across the country and eventually the world. Today, the craft cocktail movement is global, and its influence is felt everywhere from Michelin-starred hotel bars to neighborhood spots like Bar Louise, where the principles of the renaissance are alive in every pour.
The Key Elements That Define Craft Cocktails
Now that we have a fuller sense of what are craft cocktails and where they come from, it is worth examining the specific elements that define them in practice. Because craft cocktails are not defined by a single ingredient or technique — they are defined by a philosophy that manifests across multiple dimensions of how a drink is conceived, built, and presented. Understanding these elements makes it possible to recognize a genuine craft cocktail when you encounter one, and to appreciate what goes into making it.
Here are the core elements that define craft cocktails at their best:
Fresh, high-quality ingredients — craft cocktails rely on fresh-squeezed citrus, seasonal fruits, house-made syrups, and premium spirits chosen for their specific flavor contribution rather than generic substitutes that dilute the integrity of the drink
Precision and technique — measuring ingredients accurately, understanding the science of dilution through stirring or shaking, knowing which technique suits which drink, and executing that technique consistently every single time
Intentional flavor development — building a drink with a clear flavor arc, balancing sweetness, acidity, bitterness, and alcohol so that each element enhances rather than overwhelms the others
Thoughtful presentation — serving craft cocktails in appropriate glassware, finishing with garnishes that contribute aroma, flavor, or visual beauty, and presenting each drink in a way that reflects the care that went into making it
Beyond these four pillars, what are craft cocktails without a sense of creativity and originality? The best craft cocktail programs — like the one at Bar Louise — go beyond executing classic recipes well. They develop original signatures that reflect the personality of the bar, the preferences of the neighborhood, and the imagination of the team behind the bar. At Bar Louise, drinks like the Orchid Romance — pommeau, aquavit, shiso, lemon and ginger — and the Faint Heart — pisco, calabrian chile amaro, lemon, cranberry, cinnamon, and egg white — are craft cocktails that could only exist here, built by a team that understands both the rules and when to break them.
Craft Cocktails vs Standard Bar Drinks — What's the Difference
One of the most common follow-up questions to what are craft cocktails is how they differ from the standard drinks available at most bars. The distinction is real and meaningful, and understanding it helps explain why craft cocktails typically cost more, take longer to prepare, and deliver a fundamentally different experience than a drink made with speed-rail spirits and bottled mixers. The difference is not just about price — it is about philosophy, process, and the respect accorded to the person drinking the final product.
A standard bar drink is optimized for speed and margin. It uses house spirits selected for cost rather than quality, pre-made mixers that prioritize shelf life and consistency over flavor, and techniques that prioritize throughput over precision. There is nothing inherently wrong with a standard bar drink — it serves its purpose — but it is not a craft cocktail, and it does not deliver the same experience. The flavors are flatter, the balance is less precise, and the sense of intentionality that makes craft cocktails genuinely pleasurable to drink is largely absent.
Craft cocktails, by contrast, are optimized for experience. The higher price reflects the cost of fresh ingredients that must be prepared daily, premium spirits that bring genuine complexity to the glass, and the time and skill required to execute each drink properly. At Bar Louise, the craft cocktail program represents a genuine investment in the guest experience — one that is evident from the first sip of the Party Dress, with its elderflower, strawberry, lychee, and Himalayan pink salt rim, to the last sip of a Great Western, built from mole bitters, Amaro Montenegro, bourbon, and orange twist. These are craft cocktails that justify every penny and make the standard bar drink feel like a different category entirely.
The Role of Spirits in Craft Cocktails
No discussion of what are craft cocktails is complete without a serious examination of the role that spirits play in defining the quality and character of the finished drink. The spirit is the foundation of any cocktail — it contributes the dominant flavor, the structural backbone, and the overall character that every other ingredient is either complementing or contrasting. In a craft cocktail, the spirit is chosen with the same deliberation that a chef brings to selecting a primary protein — it is not interchangeable, and it matters enormously.
The spirits selection at Bar Louise reflects the depth of commitment that a genuine craft cocktail program requires. The bar carries a remarkable range of premium options across every major category — bourbon selections like Elijah Craig Small Batch, Fort Hamilton Double Barrel, and Woodford Reserve; gin expressions including Plymouth, Tanqueray, Hayman's Old Tom, and the Botanist; rum options spanning El Dorado 3 Year through to the 15 Year aged expression; and a mezcal selection featuring Del Maguey Chichicapa and Del Maguey Vida, two of the most respected names in the category. Each of these spirits brings a distinct flavor profile that shapes the craft cocktails built around them.
What are craft cocktails without the knowledge to match spirit to recipe with precision? The Bar Louise team understands the flavor architecture of every spirit behind the bar and uses that knowledge to build drinks that feel coherent, balanced, and complete. The jalapeño infused reposado tequila in All the Rage is not just a heat delivery mechanism — it brings a specific earthy, agave-forward quality that works in concert with the mezcal, Campari, and blood orange in a way that a blanco tequila simply would not. That level of specificity — choosing the right spirit for the right role in the right drink — is what separates craft cocktails from everything else on a bar menu.
Craft Cocktails and Food Pairing — Elevating the Full Experience
A dimension of craft cocktails that is often underexplored is their relationship with food — specifically, the way a well-constructed craft cocktail can function as a pairing partner for a dish in much the same way that wine does. What are craft cocktails in the context of a full dining experience? They are flavor companions — drinks that, when chosen thoughtfully, enhance the food they accompany and create a complete sensory experience that neither the drink nor the dish could achieve alone.
At Bar Louise, the craft cocktail menu and the small bites menu have been developed with this relationship in mind. The Espresso Martini — fresh espresso, brandy, coffee liqueur, vodka, and demerara — pairs beautifully with the rich, savory depth of the Wagyu Pigs in a Blanket, the bitterness of the coffee cutting through the richness of the wagyu beef and soft pretzel blanket. The Starina Sour — Starlight blackberry whiskey, rose vermouth, ginger, and lemon — finds a natural partner in the Tuna Tartare, its bright acidity and fruit-forward character complementing the delicate yellowfin tuna and avocado mousse in a way that makes both better. These are not accidental pairings — they reflect the thinking of a team that understands craft cocktails as part of a larger experience.
The Bar Louise food menu, crafted by Executive Chef Hector Vasquez, is built to work alongside the drinks program rather than in parallel to it. Dishes like the Charred Octopus with blistered baby potatoes and salsa verde pair naturally with the herbal, botanical quality of gin-based craft cocktails. The Caviar Service finds its perfect companion in a glass of the Carboniste Extra Brut Rosé or a clean, precise Martini. Understanding what are craft cocktails in the context of food pairing transforms a visit to Bar Louise from a drinks outing into a full culinary experience — one where every element of the evening has been considered and curated for your enjoyment.
Where to Experience the Best Craft Cocktails in Brooklyn
Knowing what are craft cocktails is one thing — knowing where to find the best ones in Brooklyn is another. The borough has a vibrant and genuinely competitive cocktail scene, but Bar Louise on 7th Avenue in Park Slope stands out for the consistency, creativity, and community spirit that define its craft cocktail program. This is a bar where the team genuinely loves what it does, and that love translates directly into every drink that crosses the bar.
Bar Louise is located at 221 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215, open Monday through Sunday with hours that accommodate happy hour, date nights, weekend afternoons, and late evenings. Weekday happy hour runs Tuesday through Friday from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, with $14 martinis making the craft cocktail program accessible to every budget. The full cocktail menu is available throughout all operating hours, and the team is always happy to guide guests through the list or build something bespoke based on flavor preferences. Reservations are available through Resy, and walk-ins are always welcome.
The craft cocktail experience at Bar Louise is enriched further by the weekly specials program, the extraordinary natural wine list, and the elevated small bites menu that surrounds it. Whether you arrive knowing exactly what craft cocktails you want to order or come with an open mind and a willingness to be guided, Bar Louise delivers one of the most rewarding craft cocktail experiences in all of Brooklyn. This is where the answer to what are craft cocktails stops being theoretical and starts being something you can taste, hold in your hand, and genuinely enjoy.
Conclusion — Craft Cocktails Are an Experience, and Bar Louise Is Where to Have It
The question of what are craft cocktails has a technical answer — fresh ingredients, premium spirits, skilled technique, intentional flavor development — but it also has an experiential one. Craft cocktails are the difference between a drink that you finish and a drink that you remember. They are the product of bartenders who care deeply about what they do and guests who appreciate the result. They are one of the great pleasures of a well-spent evening, and they are available to you any night of the week at Bar Louise on 7th Avenue in Park Slope.
Book your table on Resy, walk in on a whim, or call ahead at (347) 223-4514. Come experience what craft cocktails taste like when they're made by a team that genuinely loves making them. We'll see you soon. Cheers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are craft cocktails exactly?
Craft cocktails are drinks made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, premium spirits, precise technique, and genuine creative intention — representing a philosophy of bartending that prioritizes flavor, balance, and the guest experience above all else. They are distinguished from standard bar drinks by the care, skill, and quality of ingredients that go into making them.
What makes a cocktail a craft cocktail?
A cocktail earns the craft designation through the use of fresh-squeezed juices, house-made syrups, carefully selected premium spirits, precise measuring and technique, and thoughtful presentation including appropriate glassware and considered garnishes. The defining characteristic is intentionality — every element of the drink has been chosen and executed with purpose.
Are craft cocktails more expensive than regular cocktails?
Craft cocktails typically cost more than standard bar drinks because they use premium spirits, fresh ingredients that must be prepared daily, and require more time and skill to execute properly. The higher price reflects a genuine difference in quality, experience, and the care invested in every glass.
What spirits are used in craft cocktails?
Craft cocktails use premium and often small-batch spirits chosen for their specific flavor profiles, including aged bourbons, craft gins, artisanal mezcal, aged rums, and quality vodkas. At Bar Louise, the spirits selection spans dozens of premium options across every major category, all chosen to support the craft cocktail program.
Where can I find the best craft cocktails in Brooklyn?
Bar Louise at 221 7th Ave in Park Slope, Brooklyn is one of the finest destinations for craft cocktails in the borough, offering a creative menu of original signatures and classics executed with genuine skill and premium ingredients. The team is knowledgeable, the list is thoughtfully built, and the experience is consistently exceptional.
Can craft cocktails be paired with food?
Absolutely — craft cocktails can be paired with food in much the same way as wine, with the flavors of both the drink and the dish working together to create a more complete sensory experience. At Bar Louise, the craft cocktail menu and small bites menu have been developed with this relationship in mind, making food and drink pairing a genuine pleasure.
Does Bar Louise serve craft cocktails?
Yes — craft cocktails are a founding principle of Bar Louise on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a full menu of original signatures and classics made with premium spirits, fresh ingredients, and genuine bartending expertise. Weekday happy hour martinis are available from $14, making the craft cocktail program accessible every evening of the week.