Narrative, spectacle and flavor reinforce one another at Sugar Monk, where the menu is divided into “chapters,” featuring illustrations (top left) and themed curation of cocktails, like the Four Horsemen (right) and the Crepuscular Martini flight (bottom left).

Stop 5: Sugar Monk

Spinning tales and mixing cocktails

By Nicole Duncan
June 17, 2026

Awash in jazz clubs and speakeasies throughout the Roaring ’20s, Harlem had a sizable head start on the craft cocktail movement. But Sugar Monk takes the experience to the next level, sourcing many ingredients (from tinctures and bitters to liqueurs and amaros) from sister concept, Atheras Spirits, a micro-distillery across the East River in Brooklyn. It also collaborates with a forager and ethnobotanist when creating its ever-changing menus, including the recent Orion edition. Divided into five “chapters” with each featuring four cocktails, the presentation is whimsical and almost twee, but the execution and craft are decidedly nuanced and geared for mature palates.

For example, the Four Horseman layers in three varieties of amaro and a cardamom liqueur (all from Atheras), plus lemon, patchouli and aquafaba. It’s presented with a lit rosemary sprig to infuse a bit of smoke and pull out the deeper, earthy notes of the patchouli. In the nonalc chapter of the Orion menu, the Negroni Sbagliato goes even deeper into the wild ingredient space, combining a hemp-based spirit with zero-proof sweet vermouth, grape, bitter orange, allspice, juniper, wormwood and tonic.

About the Author

Nicole Duncan is the digital managing editor of Flavor & the Menu. She's reported on the restaurant industry for a decade, most recently as the editor of FSR magazine. In 2021, she won a Folio award for her feature on restaurant tycoon Tilman Ferttita. The following year, FSR was awarded Best Overall Issue for its May 2022 issue featuring Andrew Zimmern. She has profiled well-known chefs including Paola Velez, Fabio Viviani and Daniel Boulud, but also relishes the opportunity to spotlight under-the-radar trends and innovators.Read More Stories by Nicole Duncan