Grand Army Bar is getting a honky-tonk makeover for summer

Boerum Hill's Grand Army Bar is a quintessential Brooklyn drinking den, but for summer 2024, it's taking on a bit of a Southern twang. The bar has a tradition of regularly switching up its menu themes—previous iterations include a "Summer Camp" motif, a “CATS (not the musical)" concept, a Mean Girls-inspired beverage lineup and the most irreverent bar theme of all, “Nicolas Cage.” And its newest cocktail series for spring and summer will be "Grand Ole Army," a spirited nod to Nashville's iconic Grand Ole Opry, the iconic cultural institution that has played host to legendary country stars like Dolly, Garth and Reba. 

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The May menu features 10 brand new drinks—including one shot, one frozen drink and two spirit-free options— collaboratively dreamed up by the Grand Army Bar team, led by head bartender Patty Dennison. Available until early fall (the autumnal menu flip usually takes place around early October), the new drinks include the "Ain’t Woman Enough" (a mezcal highball highlighting woman-made spirits), the "Backwoods Barbie" (a summer martini with notes of cucumber and melon) and "Folsom Prison Blues" (a toasted coconut coffee Old Fashioned).

The shooter option, "Bless Your Heart" is a chilled, dill-infused tequila shot, while the frozen number is the rum and cachaça-based "Rhinestone Cowboy" (sweetened with strawberry and banana, and available with an optional floater). And those who want their cocktails without any alcohol can enjoy the "Highway Man" (an herbaceous, soba tea milk punch with bright pops of lemongrass), and "Kiss An Angel," an orange passionfruit soda spiced up with ancho chili. 

As is tradition, there's a custom illustrated menu to highlight the theme, including Mad Libs of classic country songs. In addition to the new menu, Dennison and the bar team has updated the bar's "greatest hits" menu section, which features a curated selection of the staff's most popular drinks since the bar opened in May 2015. Making a return this summer are the “Whisper Sweet Words” shaken gin cocktail from the fall 2018 Townes Van Zandt menu, and the “Spring Sazerac #3” from the Pink Drinks menu of 2016.