The Chase & Shade Cocktail Recipe From The Vanderbilt Restaurant In Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Cocktails take the stage in Prospect Heights

Nightlife in Prospect Heights may be thriving at spots like cocktail haunt Weather Up and the burger-slinging Soda Bar anchoring Vanderbilt Avenue, but the neighborhood's latest newcomer has officially made it an outer-borough drinks destination.

Chef-owner Saul Bolton, who marshaled in Smith Street's culinary renaissance a decade ago with his eponymous Saul, has opened another game changer with The Vanderbilt, a former hardware store hammered into a long, spacious gastropub styled with reclaimed wood and an open kitchen.

His menu of globe-trotting small plates–which is heavy on pork and house-made charcuterie–seems crafted with drinking in mind, whether it's something from the selection of mostly local draft beers, the list of value-minded wines or the half dozen house cocktails (all $9) concocted by Weather Up's Brian Floyd.

The King Edward (pictured) is a strapping, aromatic blend of rye, Cherry Heering and vanilla, with a spritz of Scotch providing smoky depth. The namesake Vanderbilt Pimm's gives the gin-and-Pimm's combo a vegetal tweak by incorporating sweet basil and bitter lemon.

And the Chase & Shade, made with Applejack, apple-cider molasses, black tea, lemon juice and a dash of bitters, expertly channels fall's essence (click here to download the recipe).

The Vanderbilt, 570 Vanderbilt Ave. (at Bergen St.), Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; 718-623-0570