The Ultimate Cocktail Challenge is all about matching spirits with cocktails, and Arturo Vera-Felicie, bar manager at The Rieger, last week earned a slice of bartender glory there. You wouldn’t know it from the press release, which simply states a drink called From Russia With Love made with Samogon Unaged Grape Spirit earned the Chairman’s… Continue Reading
What’s the best way to inject fun into a meeting? Hold it at a bar, of course. It certainly worked during a planning session for Turning Point’s 10th Annual An Evening Among Friends, recently convened at Tavern in the Village. It was fitting—the June 24 event is billed as The Art of the Cocktail. So… Continue Reading
Like many of you, I’ve got a few dusty bottles on my shelf. Things purchased with a certain cocktail in mind, never to be made again. Seasonal things that didn’t sound good over the winter. Or things that just got lost in the shuffle. Some—the Irish whiskies, the rhum agricole, the Colorado gin—will taste perfectly… Continue Reading
Mezcal. I’d read about it, but never given it much thought. Even after Doug Frost opined about its smokey richness back in, oh, 2007 or so. Even after Saveur published a killer article about it in 2009. Even after Ryan Maybee stocked Manifesto’s bar with it, and Beau Williams earned second place with his mezcal-based… Continue Reading
A current fascination with Manhattans dictated my order at Manifesto when we stopped by last weekend. While I love the smokey seductiveness of mezcal, and am still big on Old Tom gin, I couldn’t resist the pull of the Grapevine Manhattan. Manifesto’s interpretation starts with Maison Rouge VSOP Cognac, instead of the traditional whiskey. Lillet… Continue Reading