NY Barfly

Cocktail Trends for 2012

Yep, 2012 is already a few weeks in, but with February around the corner many of you are just finishing up your January detoxes and gearing up to hit the bar once again (note to those people: drink up!). Well, last week we took a stab at predicting some cocktail trends that you’re bound to see popping up at your favorite watering holes in the next 11 months - all for our latest on Tablespoon. From barrel-aged cocktails to sherry drinks to artisanal bitters, here are a few things that will make drinking more interesting (and justify more drinking) for the year to come.

New York Bar Bans Boston Brews for Super Bowl

It’s Super Bowl week, and this year the NY Giants are pitted against the New England Patriots – go Big Blue! NYC is abuzz with excitement about the big game, and naturally, most of the glee can be found in beer soaked bars. If you’re going to pre-game it at one local pub, may we suggest Foley’s in Midtown. This pub has demonstrated true team spirit – they’ve banned the sale of Boston-based Sam Adams beers during the game, as they don’t want to support a label that comes from enemy territory.

Foley’s also has a bet going with Boston – the bartenders rooting for the losing team will have to head to the opposing city and tend bar wearing the winners’ jersey. Ouch. Well, Boston bartenders, we look forward to seeing you down here.

New York Gets a New Distillery - Hooray!

Good news everyone – the stork has arrived and a baby distillery has been born in the Empire State. Rejoice! Dutch’s Spirits is a new craft distillery that’s located on the grounds of a former bootlegging operation – so they’ve got the history, and they’ve certainly got the booze. Apparently, the mobster Dutch Schultz used to run the old haunt, and we think he’d be proud of the Dutch’s Spirits Sugar Wash Moonshine – one of the distillers first products. They’ve also got some bitters – Dutch’s Colonial Cocktail Bitters and Dutch’s Spirits Peach Brandy to round out the inaugural line, sounds pretty swell to us.

We’re always excited to hear about a new hyper-local liquor maker that will make us hyper drunk. This one is located upstate in Pine Plains, NY, and you can check out their website here.

The Seven Best Celebrity Owned Liquor Brands

Celebrities. Are. Everywhere. But, do you really want to escape from pop culture? Nah, we didn’t think so. If celebrity-owned liquor brands are good for anything, it’s a laugh. And, this is one joke that will get you tipsy. For our latest on Tablespoon, we checked out seven brands owned by celebs ranging from a famous hockey player to a porn star to Bethenny Frankel (and no, we’re not talking about the same person for those last two). Check out the full list here – visiting the liquor store is just like walking on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (C-list edition).

Sam Adams Launches Alpine Spring Label

Samuel Adams Brewers are all about the special seasonal labels – and most of them are tasty stuff. That’s why we’re excited to hear about the debut of Sam Adams Alpine Spring. The brewmasters have come up with an unfiltered wheat lager that contains crisp, citrus flavor notes that make it perfect as the weather starts to get warm.

The brew is made from hops that come direct from the foothills of the Alps – if this label is anything, it’s legit. It’s 5.5 percent ABV, bright amber in color and has a medium body with a slight, unfiltered haze. It’s being released for the first time this month, and will be available in six packs for the reasonable price of $7.99.

Grey Goose Previews Cherry Noir at Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film festival is underway, and vodka maker Grey Goose is on site hosting a special lounge dubbed the Grey Goose Blue Door, where the spirit maker lets media and celebs hang out and try the new flavor that they are gearing up to debut: Grey Goose Cherry Noir. The Cherry Noir was mixed into a cocktail dubbed The Red Carpet, which sounds like a perfect mixer for upcoming Oscar parties. You can take a look at the recipe below, and keep an eye out for the Cherry Noir on shelves at a liquor store near you.

GREY GOOSE Vodka Cherry Noir Red Carpet

1.5 oz. Cherry Noir

.75 oz. Benedictine

1.5 oz. lemon juice

.75 oz. simple syrup

Dash of bitters

25-Year Old UES Eatery Petaluma Spices Up Drink List

What’s an easy way to bring some new life to your restaurant without doing a complete renovation or canning your chef? Get a new drinks list! That’s just what 25-year-old UES restaurant Petaluma did with the launch of a new selection of libations for 2012. The neighborhood joint dishes out a menu of classic Italian fare, and now they’ve got not-so-classic spirits on their list like Absolut Berri Acai and Jim Beam’s Red Stag liquor. Some of the drinks also incorporate custom blends of tea from the Teaologist, meaning you can definitely justify drinks before 5 PM. Cause it’s tea time, right? Check out a copy of the drink list below, and stop by the restaurant at 1356 First Ave near 73rd Street.

Absolut Rolls Out Miami Label, Snowbirds Rejoice

What does New York need in the dead of winter? A little sip of Miami, yo….Well, call the debut of Absolut’s latest city-inspired bottle perfect timing then. Absolut Miami joins other limited editions like Brooklyn and San Francisco on the shelves of the liquor store. If there is one thing that city knows well beyond its bikinis, it’s nightlife. The label received a SoBe-worthy launch party the other week – and plenty of revelers came out to celebrate the new spirit – which combines hints of orange blossom and passion fruit for a blend that’s sure to provide a little warmth this winter (not to mention get the party started). The bottle is bedecked with pink flamingoes and palm trees, natch, and you can keep an eye out for it at your local liquor store.

If you want a drink to mix up with the hooch, check out the cocktail recipe below:

ABSOLUT MIAMI South Beach Breeze

2 parts ABSOLUT MIAMI

1.5 Parts Fresh Orange Juice

1.5 Parts Fresh Pineapple Juice

Build over ice in a highball glass and stir. Garnish with a pineapple spear and lime wedge.

Woodford Reserve Expands Line with Double Oaked Label

There’s a new bourbon in town – yay! Woodford Reserve (one of our personal favorites) just announced that they are releasing the first permanent line extension in the brand’s 15-year history. Woodford Reserve Double Oak will hit shelves in March – this label is unique in that it’s barreled in white oak twice before it’s poured into the bottle. So, what difference does this make? Drinkers will be able to taste a little more char and a little more wood as they sip the spirit. The first barrel is seasoned outside for nine months and then roasted and charred on the interior. The second has been toasted twice as long as the first one and only lightly charred. When the sauce comes out of that one, you’ll be able to detect notes of honey, cream and vanilla on top of the wood and char.

Keep your eyes peeled for the new sauce – when it comes to liquor stores, it will run around $49.99 a bottle.

Ellabess in the Nolitan Hotel Announces Changes to the Beverage Offerings

While we were impressed on our visit to Ellabess in the Nolitan Hotel (it opened earlier in 2011), it seems that the spot has had a bit of trouble developing a following at its border-of-Chinatown location. Well, the management is instituting some small but important changes that should help breathe some life into the eatery. They spruced up the look, creating a warmer environment that features a communal table and (more importantly), they brought in Joe Campanale of Anfora and L’Artusi to redo the wine program and help mix up the cocktail list.

Campanale worked with the restaurant’s beverage director Tyler Drinkwater to shift the focus to American producers. They’ve brought in wine labels like Donkey & Goat Grenache Blanc from California and L’Ecole No. 41 Syrah from Washington. The new cocktails are made using small-batch, regional spirits. Drinks include the Modern Moxie, a fun mash up of spiced rum, house-infused ginger rum, Campari, and peach and sassafras bitters.

If you want to drop by and check out the new feel, the restaurant is located at 153 Elizabeth Street at Kenmare.

Growler Station Now Offering Craft Beer To Go In The West Village

You lush, you have all of those empty growlers around your apartment, but you’ve been too busy to go back to your favorite bars and get them refilled. Well, a new opening in the West Village takes away any excuse you have not to top those suckers off. Growler Station is just what it sounds like – a gas station for brew hounds. You can fill up 32 and 64 ounce growlers with a wide selection of craft beer at this haunt – or opt for reusable plastic bottles that are a little easier to tote around than the glass varieties. The lineup of labels is pretty stellar – the opening options include Captain Lawrence Freshchester, Ramstein Double Platinum and Wandering Aengus Anthem Cherry (24 draft lines are available at any given moment).

They also have a selection of grab-n-go artisanal goodies, meaning you can do all your grocery shopping here. We assume that if you’re a growler addict, you’re able to live mostly on beer with a few cheeses, crackers and meats thrown in.

Growler Station is located at 26 West 8^th Street and is currently open.

Shit Bartenders Say

Yeah, we had a few chuckles with the "Shit _____ Say" videos, but we were kind of getting over them. Over them, that is, until we saw this funny funny send up of "mixologists" dubbed Shit Bartenders Say. So. True.