The Shanty

Great cocktails and ambiance. You can have your drinks made with Gin and ‘Rock and Rye’ made on the premesis, viewable through glass panels across from the bar. The loud punk music can get a little loud even on slow nights, but not a deal breaker. The décor is simple– just wood floors and a few tables with candles– but the bartenders are artists.

I’m torn about this review. When The Shanty first opened, I was in love after the first visit. I loved the distillery and story and look and feel of the bar and the delicious drinks.
I was so smitten with the place that I planned a birthday party get-​together there. I arrived early to grab the seats by the view into the distillery and was pretty excited to show my friends the beat spot I discovered. Nay, as my friends were arriving, the bathrooms clogged and The Shanty had to close for the night. We were forced to chug our cocktails, pay, and gtfo. I scrambled to relocate everyone to a different spot for the evening.
I came back recently to bring a friend there to catch up over drinks. It was her first time and I was looking forward to falling in love with The Shanty all over again. We started off using our Cocktail Passport which gives us 1 selected cocktail covered by the passport. We were looking at the rest of the menu and happy hour specials and planned to have several rounds of drinks. When the bartender came with our drinks, he says «you know that tip isn’t included.» We’re sitting at the bar, didn’t get to have a sip yet, we’re not going anywhere and he’s already demanding a tip? Rude. We finished our drinks, tipped, and took our business elsewhere to have several more rounds.
I wish I was able to rediscover the magical feeling I got upon first visiting The Shanty. But alas, it’s time to admit I was mistaken.

Came to the Shanty around 10pm on a Friday night, I didn’t get to tour the distillery area but it was still a nice quiet area.
Good cocktails, quiet spot.

Take the best cocktails, add a mellow vibe, knowledgeable bartenders, and a view inside the distillery, and mix to perfection.

As one of the oldest distilleries in New York (third, I believe?), The Shanty is absolutely a must if you’re in Brooklyn. While the outside looks like a run-​down garage, the inside of the joint boasts an eclectic, old-​timey bar in addition to their quaint distillery. I’m not a big whiskey drinker, but even I was smitten with their crafted Rock & Rye (it’s on the sweeter side, so maybe that’s why I liked it). If you have time, definitely take a tour of the distillery. My boyfriend and I were shown around by Diane, who was lovely and made the whole experience enjoyable and interesting.

Con:
Possibly the rudest bartender I’ve met this year.
Me: «Hey man can you recommend a good cocktail?»
Him: «I don’t know you.»
We put our card and money on the table to pay separately.
Him: (bluntly) «What does this mean.»
Me: «Um, I guess I can Venmo my friend.»
Him: (snatches up card) «Sweet dude.» Very condescending.
My friend: «Yeah, thanks dude.»
I didn’t want to tip zero because the bar back was very friendly. But I won’t return here because I don’t like feeling like I’m bothering my barkeep to do his job.
Pro:
Drinks didn’t suck

One of my new favorite bars in the 5 boros.
Great cocktails mixed professionally using top quality spirits distilled just a couple dozen feet away for the most part. The bartenders are friendly and you will know their names by the end of the night. Plus, bartenders taking a day off from their normal bartending job come *here* to drink!
The kicker is that very few drinks cost more than $ 11, and during HH they are even cheaper.
Best value in NYC period.

Get the Gowanus Razor Blade if you’re into gin.

Superlike this distillery. Free Gin tasting & a very much explained small tour. Love this hipster vibe in the bar. Live music makes it perfect.
Totally 110% recommend.

What happens when you have an awesome distillery (New York Distillery Company) attached to a bar with an even better bartender — The Shanty!
This place was amazing not just because of the drinks, but the bartender made the night. He was suggesting and concocting drinks like a champ.
If you want a custom made cocktail from liquor made in Williamsburg try this place out.
For more information and pictures check out our site:

My friends and I ducked in here on a Saturday and were immediately excited to see they had a 2−5pm weekend happy hour, which was a pleasant surprise. We ended up getting $ 7 cocktails (original $ 11) and hanging on one of the long benches, where you get an awesome view of their distillery area. (They have three tours a day, which unfortunately we had just missed.)
Anyway, the Big Iron was definitely a hit and goes down very easy. The Heart of Saturday Night was similar but definitely has the licorice taste of a swell absinthe. Most of their cocktails are gin based — not my fave, but I was able to find the whiskey-​based ones.
They had live music, which set the tone but made it a little harder to hear my friends.
They also have a few snack items. The cheese-​stuffed peppadew (6 pieces, including some toast) were perfectly sweet, and the pimento cheese had a small kick and was great to share.
Nice find and worth stopping in.

Great great place. Gets a little crowded on weekends due to the distillery tour but absolutely worth it to come to this hidden spot with great prices and spot on cocktails.
The Dorothy Parker based gin cocktails are my fav. We had a friends treasure hunt one pit stop as this place and all of us loved it :)
Recommend!

Rad bar that’s smack next to (and obviously) a part of NYC Distilling Co.
For a very industrial and dim space, it’s quite cozy and quaint. Big enough for a lot of your friends but small enough that you don’t feel like you’re sharing the bar with the rest of the world. I instantly liked the place as soon as I set foot inside. Very cool!
If you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for you can take advantage of product distilled right next door and ask questions and taste a few things — but more than just a place that sells their own product, they’re a full service bar too. So if you have picky friends you can make everyone happy whether they want to support local or someone else.
On tap you’ll find a solid mix of craft brews for beer fans, too. Cool spot!

Great place, really good cocktails and live music.
Busy bar tender today (only 2 at the bar — sat 5pm).
A little busy and loud.

I am not certain that I should call this place a 5 but it is pretty close. Cocktails are very good and super cheap during Happy Hour — $ 7.00. Keep them coming. My guest told me that their gimlet was the best that she had in years.
Gal bartender on shift this Sunday PM was professional, friendly.
They make on premises Dorothy Parker American style gin (OK), Perrys Tot Naval strength gin (nice), and Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin (odd taste). They also manufacture Mr. Katz Rock & Rye which I like a lot. It is like an Old-​Fashioned in a bottle but more sweet. They will have their first rye on sale soon — labelled as Ragtime Rye.

This is the first time I update a 5 star review to give another 5 star. I went to this place again and have firmly established that this is my favorite bar in new york.
Their cocktails are phenomenal. The 700 songs gimlet was still amazing. Every other drink on the menu is awesome too.
However, what sets this place apart is the the environment. Despite having top notch cocktails it is not pretentious at all. The bartenders wear t shirts and jeans. The drinks don’t cost you an arm and a leg — all drinks between 10 to 11 usd. Then there is the whole there is a distillery right behind you that adds to the cool environment.
Then there is the super cool bartender. It was kinda late on a Thursday so there weren’t many people
I got to talk to him for a while and was just super nice and down to earth. He shared great stories and really showed what makes this place unique, like when they sold 20 year pappy for 50 $ less than the rest of the city. Then as we were leaving he gave me a drink of their house gin that was infused with campari (think negroni) and it was amazing.
Thank you shanty!

Y.

There’s no separate Unilocal listing for NY Distilling Co, so consider this a joint review for both. Came here for the free distillery tour (2 to 5 on weekends), but loved the cocktails at The Shanty. Lots of gin and whiskey cocktails (obviously), and at some point, a live band started playing. It’s a pretty big space so the music filled the room nicely.
Anyway, the tour and free tasting was fun. Our guide was really knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the history of the company as well as of the explosion of gin in New York.
Of course, the gin was also delicious.
If you’re looking for a lazy weekend activity, definitely consider the tour!

When in Williamsburg this is the place for a great cocktail. Laid back vibe of the spot is cool and the creations coming from behind the bar are on point.

My wife and I came here on a nice, sunny spring afternoon to hear live music and have a couple of drinks.
This establishment is actually attached to the NY Distilling Gin company, in which there’s a gin tour every ³⁰⁄₄₅ minutes.
We tried a drink/​combo from the menu: «Brooklyn Lager with a shot of pink Gin* I am NOT a fan of gin but the taste was very mellow yet pungent, perfect for gin drinkers. Following drinks, we took a quick tour (which is literally in the next room); we learned how gin is made and how often and was able to sample four different gin qualities.
I’d definitely recommend this place for very small crowds (3 or less) and bring your own food as this isn’t a place that carries bar food (or you can drive or walk a mile to the trendy eateries in the Williamsburg areas).

Get to the Chase:
Pros:
1) Out of this World amazing drinks… My daunting little hobbit self could not resist their devilishly delicious drinks and downed 3 pints and two whiskeys… let’s keep going!
2) Right next to their own gin and rye whiskey distillery, which you can see through a giant window (one of the only ones in the US to do so)
3) Really nice bearded bartender! So nice and chanced a lovely banter with his customers!
4) Clean bathrooms! YAY no piss puddles
Cons:
1) Next to a fire station… WOOOOWOOOOWOOOOWOO!!! Great for finding your fireman, but bad for your ears, but great for drinking games… it’s a love-​hate kinda thing