Give it a Name

For bars, names are more than mere labels — they can embody whole identities, attitudes and representations of an individual proprietor’s personality and tastes.

According to David Moo, co-owner and managing bartender of South Slope’s Quarter, the name is an integral part of the locale’s past and future, a genesis as well as a promise to its patrons.

“Some friends of mine and I came up with [the name] in a sort of jam session before the bar opened,” explained Moo. “I was giving them brainstorming seeds, basically… and five and twenty, that’s where we are [Fifth Avenue at 20th Street], and somebody said Quarter. I immediately stopped the meeting and was like ‘That’s it. We’re done. I’m buying the next round of drinks,’” he said.

Moments of accidental brilliance aside, the name Quarter has other connotations; a quarter is also lodging, a place of refuge, a small, comfortable corner that offers little in the way of pretension.

“There was something intimate about the sound of it, and we just liked it, so it stayed,” said Moo.

True to form, Quarter’s interior evokes that well-worn, almost familial atmosphere that so many other neighborhood bars try (and sometimes fail) to achieve. Worn wood, stressed mirrors and subway-tiled walls combine with moody, ethereal lighting, creating a space that is reminiscent of an Irish ex-pat tavern tucked away on a dim Parisian side street — work-a-day, but catering also to a class well above the societal dregs.

 “We always want people to be able to come in and have a carefully made drink,” said Moo. “All the things are chosen to be affordable, but carefully presented, in a place that’s going to encourage people to chat with each other.”

In Quarter’s case, “carefully made drinks” may be an understatement: the bar’s cocktail menu is meticulously detailed, highly planned and thoroughly entrancing, alternating every six months in order to take advantage of seasonal ingredients. Many of Quarter’s specialty drinks have been developed in-house by Moo, a career bartender with 14 years of experience and a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of what constitutes a quality libation.

Take, for example, the Two Bits, an amber-hued mixture of Wild Turkey, Maker’s Mark, amaretto liqueur, Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters with a flamed orange twist to garnish. For a cocktail that contains little to thin out its heavy alcohol content, it goes down easy, with the nuttiness of the amaretto and the fragrant citrus oil providing a smoothing effect to the clashing sweet and dry bourbons.

And then there is the appropriate-named Fall of Man, a cocktail constructed from Plymouth gin, muddled apple, Berentzen’s Apfel Korn, pressed apple juice and Regan’s orange bitters. This pale-green drink, sweet, frothy and served innocently enough with a sliced apple garnish, is a deceptively powerful intoxicant whilst remaining oh-so-delicious.

The beer list is relatively static by comparison, but with good reason.

According to Moo, “We wanted it to represent the widest range of styles we could achieve with six lines. It’s very stable, and we’re trying to create something multiseasonal, but for all seasons.”

Quarter’s broad draft selection has a flavor suitable for every palette, including the light and sweet Allagash White, the bitter, pine-tinged Six Point Bengali Tiger IPA, and the heavy, somewhat chocolate flavored O’Hara’s Irish Stout, for those who prefer to drink their meals rather than eat them. Customers will also find Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen, Boddington’s Cream Ale and Blue Point Toasted Lager on tap, as well as a variety of bottles.

For a bar with just over three years of history, Quarter feels remarkably well-established without succumbing to austerity, a place that serves both the vibrant and settled in equal measure. At the same time, its dedication to quality and rigorous attention detailed make it one of the most attractive and disciplined bars in all of Park Slope.

And all of these qualities, from the intimate surroundings to its purposeful menus are summed up quaintly in a name: Quarter.