When you step into the Raines Law Room at The William hotel on East 39th Street in Manhattan, you'll find a series of tastefully decorated lounges. Softly upholstered chairs, tufted leather couches, and low-light sconces create an atmosphere that's more swanky club or private living room than hotel bar. But although there's a boutique hotel with a few dozen rooms above (rates run anywhere from $275 to well over $1,000 per night), the Raines Law Room is a bar.
Like its sister location in Chelsea, the bar at The William hotel is one of New York City's finest cocktail lounges, with elaborately designed riffs on classics. There's the Led By Moonlight, a kind of Old Fashioned with aged rum, sotol, dry Curaçao, muscovado, and both mole and orange bitters. Or you might prefer the Desert Bloom, a twist on the spicy margarita, with mezcal instead of tequila, plus bergamot, aji amarillo pepper, passion fruit, and lime juice.
