The Wayland in NYC's Alphabet City rolls out new summer cocktails.

The Wayland over in Alphabet City on Ave C is worth the venture to for those not familiar with the area. This lively, social bar is a great place to meet friends, enjoy great cocktails and the local vibe. They stay open until 4 a.m. every night, and even serve food up until last call (or, come earlier and try their dollar oysters at happy hour!). Find yourself there on a Wednesday or Sunday and you’ll be treated to a live band, too.

The menu was born out of our increasing frustration with the immensely inconsistent weather back in May. As per usual, The Wayland did things that were seasonal however this time with one foot in the spring and one still in the winter. The cocktails on the menu have a fresh spring-summer feeling whilst still being completely drinkable and enjoyable on the chillier days and nights.

The cocktails that Mac – the head bartender at The Wayland – created, in particular, the Bramble On and Twenty/20, are born of inspiration from food. Being almost 7 years alcohol-free, Mac tends to find most of his inspiration in the foods he eats; from nostalgic childhood snacks to ice cream to fine dining experiences, he believes the possibilities are endless.

This menu is seasonal and The Wayland will be slowly introducing the summer menu one cocktail at a time in the coming weeks until they are fully changed around early July.

By the numbers, the Bramble On and Ancho Punch are the standouts; however, the Kung Fu Pandan” is a very interesting first for The Wayland with the use of sake.

The Kung Fu Pandan – created by Reuben Perez – was inspired by a trip throughout Southeast Asia. During Reuben’s trip, he discovered the pandan leaf whilst eating pandan cake at small restaurant he’d come across. Through most of his bartending career, Perez had been trying to successfully utilize Fernet Branca in a cocktail. After having made the pandan syrup the idea to marry it with Fernet came to him.

In wanting to keep the Asian theme alive he decided to also include sake which then only left the name. It seemed perfectly fitting to use Kung Fu Pandan to pay homage to his little nephews favorite movie Kung Fu Panda.

There really is inspiration everywhere. Now, go drink up.