Cocktail Culture in NYC

I really love cocktails, and I really appreciate a bartender who knows how to make a good one - it's not as easy as it looks. Beer cocktails are pretty amazing as well!

Yeh, I remember being so excited to order Martinis at a bar in Berlin during the Berlinale. Got all the Germans with me to order them too, since they seemed so wonderfully inexpensive. Only to get a mid-sized shot glass with some pre-bottled martini mixture thing. Yech. I had to explain to the whole table that in NYC that would never never pass for a martini, but I don't think anyone really believed me that cocktails in NYC are an art form and everyone was just nodding their heads politely.

@NeverSleeps Beer cocktails?

@Uraniumfish Yes! Such as these: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/drinking/beer/top5_beercocktails

I remember the trend being pretty strong last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/dining/01cocktail.html?_r=1

@NeverSleeps Aaaaaaaha! They were drinking beer mixed with Sprite in Germany but little did I knwo it was a beer cocktail. I just attributed it to the wacky German customs.

My friend is a huge cocktails fan, and says there's nothing like NYC for an "Old school" revival, especially among places with a Mad-Men theme or inspired ambiance. Although from what I know it seems Don was more likely to order something simple than a crazy concoction...

I'm more of the wine persuasion, but not above a gin and tonic once in a while. I was at a great cocktails bar in the Village with friends recently: though I tried a gin cocktail with some interesting spices and flavors and loved it, the next round I was just as happy to go back to the good old gin and tonic.

I agree that cocktails in NYC are an art form, though.

@Uraniumfish They are kind of like champagne cocktails, but with more bite! There has to be a good place to get a beer cocktail around here....

@ajadedidealist Right? Isn't Don Draper an Old Fashioned man?

@NeverSleeps A beer cocktails sounds just the thing for a hot sultry Sunday afternoon after which you take a nap!

@BroadwayBK I wouldn't say that cocktails ever really went under. Don't all the young college ladies these days love themselves a good vodka cranberry?

I have a lot of friends who are mixologists and I don't think the cocktail went anywhere. We're not talking standard g and t's here. These people actually create new, seasonal menus. They're like chefs of liquid and it's pretty cool. The Standard, Ryehouse, Employees Only, Goldbar, and Hotel Delmano all have mixologists for bartenders and they have all been packed from Day 1 to now.

@Everybody Yeah, I'm not worried about the demise of cocktail culture in this city, though I do have a lot of friends who don't go out as much any more (read: they don't delve into the cocktails all that often) because of economics. Times are tough, freelancers aren't making as much as they used to, and nobody has all that much money to spend on fancy cocktail evenings.

@JenMac Agreed. I'd much rather spend my hard earned money in a bar where the bartenders know how to make a drink and can see why those places stay packed!

@DBlack One of my friends is having a cocktail party at her apartment next weekend - it's good stuff for those of us suffering from the economic downturn.

@JenMac Ha, I know someone who works at one of those bars and he is SERIOUS about making drinks. He brings a sort of bartending tool kit to everyone's dinner parties. Can't complain about having him around, that's for sure.

@Everyone another great spot in the city for cocktails is the Macao Trading Company in Tribeca, the food is so-so but the cocktails are fantastic.

@NeverSleeps that's great..hardly anyone entertains at home in NYC everybody tends to go out all the time. I actually do like having people over and works out cheaper even if you order in from a restaurant.

@BraodwayBK Hah, I need one of those kinds of friends. We'd have many more dinner parties with someone like that in the friend circle.

@uptowngirl I like having people over too, though it seems a rare practice in NY.

Well, the cocktail party was cancelled. But one of my roommates had a huge backyard BBQ for her bday yesterday, which was cool.

Has anyone ever had an Elderflower Collins? They seem to be served all over in England (although I think it's originally a drink from the southern USA) - but I never get them in America. I love them, though....

@Everyone when I am back in NYC on holiday next year maybe I will have a party and invite you all over so we can all actually meet!!! :)

@ajadedidealist Is it just a Tom Collins with elderflower?

@uptowngirl Sounds great, we'll take off our shoes when we come visit.

:)

@Uraniumfish LOL

@uptowngirl We wouldn't lack for long, rambling conversations, would we?

@BroadwayBK LOL. Seriously.

@BroadwayBK Not a chance.. we have too many opinions and thoughts to share ..seriously I think I know you guys already even though we haven't met. We've been chatting daily for 8 months or so.. that's quite incredible.. dont even talk to my real life pals everyday :)

@uptowngirl I was about to say something to that effect too: we already know everyone's opinion on most of the major issues...

What is everyone's spirit of choice? Lately I've been going through a whiskey phase.

@uraniumfish - I'm not sure. It can be made with stolichnaya vodka or with gin and elderflower presse, some mint, and I believe lemon, although some use St. Germain elderflower liquer. Haha - indeed @uptowngirl. I think we've been on these boards daily for nearly a year! That's certainly more than I talk to plenty of rel-life friends

@NeverSleeps I dont seem to like spirits my poison of choice is wine though I do enjoy a good Manhattan once in a while and I actually even like Campari and soda or even an Americano

@JenMac Man...we are 'N SYNC. I'll look into this Powers thing.

I had a gin and tonic spell a while back but I'm tending toward whiskey these days. Must be the change of season.

Whiskey seems to be enjoying a certain popularity in hipster circles, that's for sure. I almost died when I discovered a bottle of bourbon in our freezer the other day....I guess not all hipsters know what they're doing with the stuff. Apparently September is national bourbon month, btw.

@BroadwayBK my brother, sis in law, husband all enjoy single malts ,I for one can't get into that stuff at all.

Had a cognac last night with chocolate cake! Yum!

@Uraniumfish sure sounds delish

I had a really amazing cocktail the other night - I forget what they called it, but it tasted like apple pie. Wish I knew what was even in it! It was sooo good.

@BroadwayBK that sounds yummy as well.. anyone tried cocktails made with absinthe? the bartender at the Macao Trading Company serves up some wicked ones.

Haaa. The last party I went to that served absinthe put me out of commission the entire next day. Never again.

@uptowngirl Well the historical absinthe was supposed to have wormwood in it and be hallucinogenic. Obviously that's not true of modern absinthes: it's just a strong, anis-flavored alcohol these days. However the last afternoon that I was in Prague, I had some farewell shots of absinthe with a bunch of friends and I do remember how the cobblestones seemed to sway and blur as I was trying to get to the airport afterward...

What was most fun about drinking absinthe: the ritual they have in Prague of taking some sugar in a teaspoon, pouring absinthe on top, and then lighting it on fire. Good fun, very dramatic. And then you mix that into your shot glass and down it. Let's say it added a certain allure to a night out with friends.

@Uraniumfish that's truly wow! I actually quite like anis flavored liquors like Pernod.

@Uraniumfish Since winter is round the corner and you are tilting towards Whiskey you might want to check out these whiskey bars of NYC.
http://www.directoryofnewyorkcity.com/blog/2010/03/winter-is-for-whisky-seven-scotch-bars-in-nyc/

I've tried some absinthe. Such a poetic drink (I went through a phase of being OBSESSED with it when I was thirteen - didn't drink it then though....) but tastes like gasoline! And doesn't go down too well. (And let's just say - never, EVER try to be an idiot and use Sweet N' Low in lieu of sugar when you set it on fire. Bad plan). But I still love the idea of absinthe.

@Uraniumfish I have had such a problem explaining to people that NO ONE makes absinthe with wormwood anymore - people still believe you can get it in European stores. Which, you can't.

@ajadedidealist Is Sweet N' Low very flammable? What happened!

@ajadeidealist Aha! Must have been ghastly.

@BroadwayBK There was a shop in my trendy neighborhood in Berlin that sold only absinthe. People would visit from all over the world. Blame it on the wormwood legend. Strangely, I never when in there even once, since the idea of absinthe is so tied to Prague for me, and I just couldn't imagine consuming it in my more banal life in Berlin.

Thanks uptowngirl!

@ajadedidealist do let us know what happened..btw isn't sweet n low quite ghastly? though a caipirinha made with splenda actually tastes quite good.

@NeverSleeps I seem to consume cider only when I am in England..havent really had it in NYC and since I always seem to consume sparkling wine in the summers , maybe I should try cider as a winter alternative though I think this year winter is going to be mild..seems it follows cycles..since we had a rough one last year this year it should be balmy..hope it works out the way I think...

@uptowngirl - there was definitely an uncomfortable flame that came too near the alcohol for my liking! But I was thirteen and obsessed with Baudelaire and thus thought that absinthe made me cool. Oh, those salad days...

@NeverSleeps That's exactly what I am talking about,cider seems much more visible in England havent really looked for it in NYC.

It's a lot like beer, but tastier.

@NeverSleeps Wow, I'm in. Why hasn't it occurred to me to drink cider sooner. I really don't enjoy the taste of beer.

@Everyone I am currently in Thailand where I am really enjoying the local beer- Chang light, a perfect accompaniment to that spicy but delicious Thai food and i am not even a beer drinker.

@uptowngirl That sounds amazing.

@NeverSleeps I was at a bar in Clinton Hill that promised me they are going to have cider on tap...eventually. I've never really seen it anywhere but in grocery stores around here.