The new Bar Maritime is a cocktail oasis near Union Square

Similarly, acolytes of Piaskowy have followed him from 15 Romolo to Alembic to True Laurel and, most recently, to Rich Table, where he had a four-year stint as bar manager. Now he is the star attraction at Bar Maritime. 

Those in the know check his menus for a milk punch. He perfected the art of using dairy products to clarify drinks at Rich Table, leveraging his experience as a chef to create a cocktail menu that reflected the seasons, including a tomato milk punch that remains a summer staple. Because highly versatile milk punches allowed him to use excess ingredients from the kitchen, he kept three on the menu at any given time. “People were coming to Rich Table just to drink milk punch,” he says with a laugh. At Bar Maritime, the tradition continues with All That Glitters, a pineapple- and coconut-spiked milk punch inspired by a piña colada but made with scotch. 

The Bar Maritime menu generally sticks to the classics, executed simply but well or with a playful twist. The Mad Macs — served with a tiny bowl of furikake-dusted figs and almonds — riffs on a classic Manhattan, blending scotch and rum with chocolatey Cocchi Vermouth di Torino and a touch of Madeira. The Honey Melon Scruff Scruff is made with sweet glutinous-rice-washed vodka, Japanese whiskey, and Jarritos lime, plus a splash of neon-green Midori. On the more restrained end, there’s the Maritime Martini, a delicate drink featuring sake, vodka, and sweet-tart plum wine.