Update: no longer open.Apothecary Lounge is a relatively new bar on
We were denied roof deck access (the deck’s not that large, and the people occupying it weren’t budging), so sat at the bar on the ultralight metal stools in front on the green-glowing wall of cube shelves behind a bar brimming with tincture bottles filled with herbal essences, small bottles of fine liqueurs, and other special ingredients.
The menu lists all of their intriguing drink specials, including the many, many ingredients in each drink. It’s going to take you a good ten minutes to decide what to order. Just remember that the pleasant, and very busy bartender had patience with you as you decided, so please have patience when they make your drink; it takes a while, and your drink order just went to the back of the line.
How they remember what goes in each drink, which tincture holds what, and where that bottle of liqueur is is quite a feat. I don’t think any of these bartenders are drinking on the job, or else they couldn’t do their job.
I had a hard time deciding on a drink. I ended up ordering the Rustoleo with Brazilian Cachaca, Flor de Cana Nicaraguan Rum, honey liquor, acai, fresh blueberries, lemon, chocolate mole bitters, and European bilberry extract. Told you the ingredient list is long!
The drink smells of honey and, with a drop or two of chocolate mole bitters, the first sip is a touch dark and smoky. The drink is delicious, but is not earth shattering. And I’m sure the alcohol negated any of the anti-oxidizing, vision restorative properties of the bilberry that the drink description hinted at.
My partner ordered the Immunity Idol with Hendricks Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, fresh pineapple and orange, champagne, orange bitters, Echinacea, hawthorn root, elderberry liniment, and inebriated berries. Also a good drink; more fruity and girly than the drink I ordered.
At $10-$14 a cocktail, drinks are pricier than at your average bar. The question is, is the drink worth the price?
Yes - The work the bartenders put into making your drink, and the ingredients that are used in the drink certainly justify the price.
Maybe - Taste-wise, I’m not sold just yet. The two drinks we sampled were good (there are more to be sampled, and maybe I didn’t hit my drink), but nothing so crazy-remarkable that I'm planning a return visit soon.
No - Health properties? Don’t fool yourself. I’m not knocking herbal medicine, but a drop of Echinacea extract in a cocktail is not curing anyone of anything. It’s a harmless and fun gimmick that hearkens to the olden days of pharmacies dispensing herbals in alcoholic potions.
Apothecary has a small food menu, too, but we skipped it. The two parties on either side of us seemed to be enjoying the food. Beer and wine can also be ordered, but why? You’re there for the cocktails.
We concluded that Apothecary is a great bar to take your out-of-town clients. Apothecary is conveniently located to downtown hotels, has a novelty factor that will delight (drinks, not the dark and sparse interior), plus you can expense the drinks. Everyone wins!
Apothecary Lounge
102 S. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-735-7500
Tues.-Sun., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.
4 comments:
Mmmmm fancy drinks. That place looks pretty rad.
this place looks pretty intriguing....definitely have to check it out when i return to philadelphia..
Went to Apothecary for the first time this weekend (Saturday night). Was apprehensive at first as I am not the “trendy/loungy” bar type. And knowing that it was a Saturday night, knew it would be packed. Much to my surprise, Apothecary was a very nice experience. When we arrived the door was opened for us (not sure if it was a staff member or just a polite patron). Very cool interior. Minimalistic, clean and airy. The downstairs seating was full as was the bar, but not crowded. We decided to go upstairs. Found a nice corner sectional (there were 5 of us) sat, down and within seconds our server came, gave us a menu. Came back in less than 5 minutes and took our order (the place was rather busy, the bar was full, all of the inside seating was taken and most of the outdoor seating was filled). Our server took her time describing each drink, and recommended a couple cocktails for us. Very polite, very friendly very knowledged in the ingredients etc… She left to place our drink orders and within 30 seconds another server who just came from delivering her drinks to a party outdoors saw that we were sitting there w/out drinks or menus (since we had already ordered) and asked us if we were taken care of… we were very impressed.
All of our drinks were delivered promptly. We ordered the following:
1) Midtown = Manhattan
2) French Stag
3) Champagne Cobbler
4) Sage Memory
5) I forget the name of this one
All were very interesting and were perfectly balanced.
I had the sage memory which was made with, I think, organic vodka, pinapple, ginko, sage, and a pinapple/sage foam and a sage leaf as “garnish”. Also, some elixers and maybe a liqueur. It was awesome. I also ordered the French Stag that had absinthe, some other liqueur, Siberian ginseng and some elixir concoctions. Excellent drink as well.
As the evening progressed, the bar cleared, so we decided to sit at the bar. Debbie, our bartender, mixed us a really great “shot” which I think the ingredients included the following:
Sage - crushed
Vodka - organic
St Germaine - elderflower liquor
Grapefruit juice, splash
Lemon, splash
Raspberry syrup, splash
With elixirs of elderflower and Echinacea
Excellent!
We sampled the St. Germaine and a Ginger/VSOP Cognac liqueur (Canton). I ordered a Canton/Vodka and club. Which was really good as well. We would ask Debbie questions about the different elixirs, liqueurs etc…and she would tell us about them in detail. Debbie is a great bartender/mixologist. We will definitely go back.
Also, there was a guy who would come by our table with a bottle of water, offering refills when our glasses were emptied or low, as if to keep us hydrated. This was a nice touch. The crowd was a very diverse mix of cultures, ages, genders, straight, gay/lesbian. It was a very “chill” place. We (the party I was with) really enjoyed ourselves and will definitely frequent this establishment. The cocktail prices were as expected in Center City, $10-14.00, but not at all overpriced for the quality of ingredients and the quality of the service and atmosphere. TWO THUMBS UP for Apothecary!
Corrections to hm69!
Sorry for totally bastardizing the names and ingredients of the cocktails I ordered!
French Buck (not Stag)
Sage Wisdome (not Memory)
Immunity Idol (the one I forgot)
For a complete listing of ingredients check out Apothecary's website:
http://www.apothecarylounge.com/
Everything else I wrote above is correct! Sorry!
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