The Dead Rabbit Operators Say Their Bar Has an Icelandic Copycat

New Yorkers aren't the only ones who love FiDi cocktail bar The Dead Rabbit — apparently some Icelandic bar owners are opening a copycat in Reykjavik, according to the Daily News. Owners Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry tell the paper that a former employee of the Reykjavik bar tipped them off. The Icelandic owners closed down their bar Brooklyn Bar and are reopening it as The Dead Rabbit, stocked with drinks from the New York bar's cocktail book, the tipster told Muldoon and McGarry. "If anyone's going to open another Dead Rabbit, we want it to be us," Muldoon says.

Muldoon and McGarry want to sue the Icelandic owners, but the name of their bar is only trademarked in the U.S. A trademark in the European Union is also pending, though Iceland still wouldn't fall under that jurisdiction. Since The Dead Rabbit opened a few years ago, it's been winning accolades, including a 2013 award for world's best cocktail menu. They mostly fear that a bad experience in Iceland will end up reflecting poorly on the New York location. "They say imitation is the best flattery," Muldoon says, "but the problem is I don't think this is going to be a good imitation."

Did we tell you about that bar we're opening in Reykjavik? Yeah, there's a reason for that. We're not opening one. Buyer beware, folks. Accept no imitation libations. From the REAL Dead Rabbit...

A photo posted by The Dead Rabbit NYC (@deadrabbitnyc) on Jan 4, 2016 at 1:06pm PST