Gin Palace (CLOSED)

East Village cocktail booster Ravi DeRossi—whose ’hood holdings include Amor y Amargo and Death & Company, among others—teamed up with Dram's Tom Chadwick and Frank Cisneros for this star-powered project in the Cienfuegos complex. Turning from Cuba to Britain, the trio will transform the former rum-soaked El Cobre space into a rock & roll gin drinkery. Chadwick and Cisneros stocked the gunmetal-railed brass bar with 30 bottles of the stuff, which they plug into 15 cocktails, all at recession-friendly prices of $10 and under. Choose from classic (martini), creative (MI5: Plymouth gin, applejack, Dolin sweet vermouth, cynar) and draft tipples (Ramos gin fizz). In addition to England's national spirit, the Anglo bent also carries over to the menu with classic pub fare such as fish and chips, sausages and oxtail meat pies on offer to offset all the gin guzzling. Although the bar takes its name from the swank gin joints of 1800s London, the decor channels a steampunk aesthetic with a space-age chandelier crafted from green-neon-lit bars, brass bands and light doodads; black-patent-leather walls; and a ceiling painted to resemble watch gears. Plus, the space is rigged up with a top-of-the-line sound system for a cast of rotating DJs spinning a mix of rock and postpunk.