NEWPORT, RI – One of the best bars in the world brought its cocktails to one of Newport’s best rooftops this week.
New York City’s Sip & Guzzle wrapped up a two-day rooftop residency at The Vanderbilt, Auberge Collection, bringing a taste of the Greenwich Village cocktail destination to Mary Street for a late-summer collaboration that felt like a natural fit for both brands.
Sip & Guzzle has quickly become one of the biggest names in the cocktail world. Opened in January 2024, the bar was named the No. 1 bar in North America for 2026 by North America’s 50 Best Bars after debuting at No. 5 the year before. It also landed at No. 39 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2025 and earned the organization’s Best New Opening Award.
Not bad for a bar that’s been open for less than three years.
The concept comes from internationally acclaimed bartender Shingo Gokan and longtime New York bartender Steve Schneider, formerly of Employees Only. Their idea is essentially two bars under one roof. Upstairs, Guzzle is energetic, approachable and centered around highballs, Japanese beers and riffs on familiar cocktails. Downstairs, Sip slows things down with a more intimate setting and technically driven cocktail program influenced heavily by Japanese bartending style and hospitality.
If you want the full experience, you can find them at 29 Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, where both concepts operate from the same address. For two nights this week, however, Newport got its own taste of S&G.
Sam Morris and Victoria Garcia from the Sip & Guzzle team took over The Vanderbilt rooftop, and their concoctions did not disappoint. We worked our way through a few of the offerings (I tried them all and was paying for it this morning…), including a refreshing riff on a mojito and a salty-and-sweet mango martini that was Bethany’s favorite of the night.
It was creative without trying too hard, which I think is part of what makes a great cocktail program work. I worked behind the bar for the entirety of my twenties and early thirties, so I know firsthand. The drinks were interesting and technical but still easy and fun to drink. Add in a beautiful summer evening overlooking Newport from one of the best rooftops in the city and it made for a pretty great experience.
After the pop-up, Bethany and I stayed at The Vanderbilt for dinner and, thanks to my mom, enjoyed our first night out in Newport sans child.
We grabbed seats at the downstairs bar in The Dining Room, where Director of Food and Beverage Rory Douthit and his team delivered a wonderful experience from start to finish. The hospitality was polished without feeling overly formal, and it reinforced something that has become increasingly noticeable about The Vanderbilt: this is a hotel that is continuing to evolve.
If you haven’t been to The Vanderbilt recently, do yourself a favor.
The 33-room hotel sits at 41 Mary Street, tucked into the Historic Hill neighborhood just steps from Washington Square and Thames Street. It is one of those Newport properties that somehow feels hidden in plain sight. You can walk past it a hundred times without fully appreciating what is behind the front doors.
Inside, the hotel strikes a difficult balance. It is gorgeous and chic, but comfortable. Elevated, but increasingly inviting. It feels luxurious without making you feel like you need to be staying upstairs to enjoy it.
And then there is the rooftop.
The views are second to none. From its perch above Mary Street, you get a completely different perspective of downtown Newport, the harbor and the surrounding Historic Hill neighborhood. On a summer evening, there aren’t many better places in town for a cocktail.
The building itself also has a fascinating history.
Despite some long-running Newport lore suggesting otherwise, the property was not originally constructed as a private Vanderbilt mansion. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt funded the building in memory of his father, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and it opened as Newport’s new YMCA in 1910. The Mary Street YMCA remained there until 1974, when the organization relocated to Middletown. The building was later converted into a luxury hotel, eventually becoming Vanderbilt Hall and Vanderbilt Grace before joining Auberge Collection.
That history makes its current chapter particularly interesting.
Heritage Hotel Group completed its acquisition of The Vanderbilt in April 2025, while keeping the property under Auberge Collection management. The hotel remains a 33-room luxury property and is also recognized by the MICHELIN Guide.
For a city that has no shortage of historic hotels, restaurants and bars, the challenge is figuring out how to respect what made a property special in the first place while continuing to give people a reason to come back. That is where I think the Vanderbilt is getting it right.
Bringing Sip & Guzzle to Newport for two nights is a good example. This pop-up brought one of the most talked-about bar programs in the country to Newport, put talented bartenders in front of a local audience and created an experience that felt different from the typical summer hospitality calendar.
Our hospitality industry has always been one of the city’s greatest assets. Continuing to introduce new ideas, collaborations and experiences helps keep that industry fresh, particularly for those of us who live here and have been to many of these properties countless times. The Vanderbilt has the history. It has the location. It has the rooftop, the rooms and the pedigree that comes with Auberge.
What has been fun to watch is the continued effort to make it feel like more than simply a hotel. Sip & Guzzle’s residency was another step in that direction, and after spending the evening there, I am excited to see what Rory and the team come up with next.
If a trip to New York is on your calendar this Fall, put Sip & Guzzle on the list. Just be sure to get there early (and ask for Sam & Victoria). I know we will!
