Table Talk: Lounge takes a healthy interest in cocktails

Apothecary Bar + Lounge, the city's newest lounge, is right down the block from one of its oldest, the circa-1874 McGillin's Olde Ale House.

And while you can hoist a beer at McGillin's, you sip refined cocktails at Apothecary (102 S. 13th St., 215-701-4786), which joins neighbors Bindi, Lolita, Capogiro, El Vez and Vintage. Hours/days are being hashed out.

Apothecary's concept harks back to the old-fashioned apothecary as the place to find cures for what ails you. It's a literal and figurative take on the idea in both the food and drinks.

Bartenders (think of them as pharmacists) will whip up drinks such as a RustOleo ($12), consisting of Beleza Pura Cachaca, Flor de Caña Nicaraguan rum, honey liqueur, açaí, fresh blueberries, lemon, chocolate molé bitters, and European bilberry extract. The fresh blueberries are antioxidants, right? And RustOleum is an antioxidant-type paint, right?

There also are bottled cocktails ($46 to $58) - mixed ahead and sealed into bottles, which the menu says contain "enough to slake the thirsts of four wanton souls or six chaste spirits."

And yes, a few beers on tap. They're using Kold-Draft ice cubes, claimed to be purer and colder than regular cubes.

The food menu is similarly whimsically healthful-sounding: A panini called Dr. Cacao's Sweet Blessing ($9) contains hazelnut chocolate and marshmallow on grilled bread with olive oil and salt.