Winter booze buzz

Chasin’ blues away with cocktail $pecials

JANUARY is always the slowest month of the year for the city’s bars and restaurants — and the Omicron variant that’s washed over the city means 2022 is even worse than usual.

But some aren’t taking the January blues without putting up a fight — and a drink special.

Anton’s Cafe and Wine Bar in the West Village, for example, is offering 25-cent Manhattans and martinis for lunch customers on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays throughout January.

After co-owner Nick Anderer made the announcement on his Instagram, there was a buzz about the charming cafe across from the legendary White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street.

“There’s a two-limit drink order per person, but of course that’s not stopping anyone from ordering a third at regular price,” a staffer quipped, as Side Dish tucked into a perfectly prepared herb omelet.

And while the old-school restaurant has not become a scene of over-the-top inebriated daytime antics, lunch reservations are now full — even with a waitlist, a staffer said.

In the meantime, other Big Apple restaurants are launching creative cocktail specials in hopes of drawing the winter crowds.

Drinks got ‘punch’

At HOWM Cocina & Cocktails in Chelsea’s Selina Hotel, frequented by celebs like Jessica Chastain, Zendaya and Ryan Gosling, there’s a “cocktail punch card” starting this week. Diners buy four cocktails and get the fifth on the house.

And at Daintree in the Hotel Hendricks near Bryant Park, there’s an offer to watch the sunset over the Empire State Building with a dozen oysters and a classic cocktail — all for $12. Normally, the cost would be $71: cocktails are $19 and a dozen oysters are $52.

The special deal kicked off on Jan. 15 and runs Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (during sunset hours) until the end of February.