New Atlantic Ave. Bar Named One Of Best In America

ATLANTIC AVENUE, BROOKLYN — Diamond Reef, a tropical-themed speakeasy that opened in March on the no-man's-land that is Atlantic Avenue, is already getting recognized in a big way. Esquire just named it one of its "24 Best Bars In America," not three months after it officially opened for business.

The bar was started by the same team behind Attaboy, a popular cocktail bar on the Lower East Side. The owners said they didn't want to have such a serious vibe in Brooklyn.

"We want to move away from the doting over cocktails and intellectualising them. People who are really worshipping at the bar of a cocktails kind of seems silly to us sometimes," managing partner Dan Greenbaum told Gothamist just after opening in March. "The drinks are great but it's more about the space and the vibe and friendly bartenders."

As part of that contrast, they created a signature drink called "Penichillin,'" a frozen play on Attaboy's signature Penicillin drink made with scotch, lemon, honey and ginger.

Esquire was apparently a big fan.

"The Penichillin' sums up this place," reads their blurb for Diamond Reef. "That's the frozen, slushy-machine version of the internationally famous, de facto Serious Cocktail Person calling card that is the Penicillin, a smoky mix of Scotch, honey, and ginger created by co-owner Sam Ross at Milk & Honey, the original Serious Cocktail Person bar. The drinks are just as good, but the vibe is much more chill. As if the food truck and colorful Miami-meets-Cali-in-a-former-Brooklyn-auto-body-shop ambience didn't clue you in."

We've reached out to Diamond Reef, and we'll update this post if we hear back. In the mean time, you can check out Esquire's full list here.

Image via Google Streetview