Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Albert Trummer works out of an old opium den, plays with fire, studies murderers and infuses his own absinthe. Don't call the cops just yet. Let him make you a drink; in fact, let him make you five.

Come meet the Austrian-born impresario at Apotheke, a new nightspot in Manhattan's Chinatown. Trummer is the resident Willy Wonka with a passion for his Guatemalan sugar cane press: The device looks like an Indiana Jones-style bone-crushing machine.

Trummer, 39, once the ``bar chef'' for the Bouley empire, owns the drink den with Sorted's Heather Tierney. The mad- scientist metaphor is apt; he'll soon wear a white coat with ``apotheker'' stitched on front.

``This is my laboratory,'' the blond bartender says. He whips out a copy of ``Das Parfum,'' Patrick Suskind's novel about a cologne-making murderer.

``Perfuming is the next stage of cocktailing,'' Trummer says. He backs up the assertion with an intoxicating Cilantro Paso (gin, agave nectar, lemon, cucumber and lots of the namesake herb). If the Jolly Green Giant wore aftershave, it would smell like this.

Apotheke is part-cocktail lounge (with lace-gloved waitresses), part-pharmacy (drinks are designed to heal) and part-Cirque du Soleil (burning absinthe flies across the room).

Pain Killers

The party's on Doyers Street, the ``bloody angle'' of New York, once known for Vietnamese gang wars, gambling rackets and drug trafficking. Now people line up outside Apotheke for Himalayan salt margaritas ($15) or pairs of Krug-topped mojitos ($195 -- you get a half-bottle of bubbly).

The sign outside says ``Golden Flower Restaurant.'' That's where Apotheke hides. Old couches pepper the pitch-black space. Couples make out. Candles glow, Baccarat chandeliers shine. The pink marble bar is as wide as a sidewalk, but no stools; everyone stands. Drinks are shared with strangers.

The menu is divided into ``health and beauty'', ``stress relievers,'' ``pain killers,'' and other medical terms; a ``tasting menu'' of five cocktails is $40. The antidote to a recent breakup? ``Champagne,'' Trummer prescribes.

Try his pricey riff on a sidecar: XO Cognac with lime, sugar cane juice, elderflower jelly, hibiscus water and Valencia orange oil. It's smooth, earthy and exudes bitter citrus. Cost? $28.

Request the homemade absinthe ($35). Trummer sets the spirit ablaze. He throws the indigo flames from glass to glass. Down a shot of the hot liquor. The fire burns off much of the alcohol; the absinthe goes down easy. You tongue goes a bit numb. You feel woozy. It all feels like a secret festival in a post-apocalyptic Versailles. Most drinks are $15.

Apotheke is at 9 Doyers St. near Pell Street. Information: +1-212-406-0400.

How to Drink

Allen & Delancey on the Lower East Side has a new cocktail program. And a set of instructions. Get your pencils ready.

Each drink has two versions: the No. 1 and the No. 2.

``No. 1 is light and festive, with citrus and fruit meant to refresh the mind and whet the appetite, while No. 2 showcases a base spirit, a stirred cocktail best drunk with thought, time, and good conversation,'' reads the menu.

Translation: Save the mind-blanking martinis for last. Think of it as whites before reds, light before heavy. Thank Alex Day for this sound advice. The 25-year-old has given Neil Ferguson's high-end pub fare 10 ambitious libations to match; these drinks wouldn't be out of place at the city's better cocktail dens. (Appropriately, Day also works at Death & Co).

Lavender Bitters

The William & Mary (No. 1) is a riff on the classic Aviation, with gin, lime, maraschino and yellow chartreuse shaken and served up. A few drops of rose and lavender bitters give it the orchard-like complexity of a Loire Valley white.

The No. 2 stirs gin, green chartreuse, white vermouth and a few drops of cinnamon essence. It smells like Big Red chewing gum; it tastes like an off-dry martini.

The Atlantic Ruin (No.1) reinvents the daiquiri. Rum, lime and sugar become tea-infused rum, lemon and maple. The acidity is enough to cut through Ferguson's rabbit terrine, or caramelized bone marrow with caviar. Strong, fatty flavors sometimes take just as well to sour cocktails as to crisp wines. Drinks are $13.

Allen & Delancey is at 115 Allen St. at Delancey Street. Information: +1-212-253-5400; http://www.allenanddelancey.net.

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City bars and restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 30, 2008 00:01 EDT