NY Barfly

Greenwich Project is Easily the Best of the Bunch

Last night we made our way over to The Greenwich Project, a recently-launched cocktail bar and restaurant from the team behind two other NYC haunts. We're not gonna lie: we took our sweet time scheduling a visit because we weren't in love with The Mulberry Project and The Vinatta Project, the owner's other NYC venues. Mulberry was fun when it first opened and we love the backyard garden, but the space is a squeeze, plain and simple. Vinatta is fine for a quick nip, but its heart-of-the-Meatpacking-District is less than ideal and we haven't been back for a while.

Well, we wish we hit up the latest venture earlier because folk's, it's a winner. It takes the exciting elements of the other two venues - a chic crowd, a solid lineup of custom-made cocktails, and a stylish space and gets rid of the badness: there is plenty of elbow room and nary a douchebag in sight this far East. The white space is clean and inviting without being clinical and the bartenders know their stuff. We asked for a "Negroni-ish thing" and were given a delicious concoction of Lillet, campari, gin and champagne. Also, any bar that offers a Last Word as part of their cocktail selection is A-OK in our book.

We'll be back to try the food. In the meantime, if you want a new place to get your drink on, The Greenwich Project is open at 47 West 8th Street.

The One Movie You Have to See This Summer

If you read this blog, there is only one flick you have to see during summer movie season. Forget all of the blockbusters, sequels, prequels and rom com trash, we’re talking about Hey, Bartender, a documentary that follows two top-notch, modern day bar men through the ups and downs of their careers. The filmmakers follow Steve Schneider of Employees Only (if you’ve been on the scene at all, you’ve probably clinked glasses with him) and Steve “Carpi” Carpentieri as they try to make it in the biz.

There are plenty of big names that will provide insight and commentary throughout the flick, ranging from Dale DeGrof, Julie Reiner and Sasha Petraske. If there every was a movie that calls for smuggling a flask in, it’s this one. The flick hits theaters on June 7, follow along on its Facebook page for more info.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gala This Friday! (and Yes There Are Tickets)

News flash: tickets are still available for the most epic event of the year. The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is set to take over the New York Public Library this Friday evening, in all of its jazz-age, boozy glory. If you don't have anything to do, we'll put it bluntly: DO THIS. Sure, the tickets that are leftover are $295 VIP entrance, but we be you've spent $300 on less epic adventures. It's your last chance to live it up until 2014, so get those tickets here.

Five Things We Learned About Drinking in Texas

Hey kids – sorry for the peace out last week, we were in sunny Texas doing what we do best: drinking too much. We spent a week riding the state and came back with some key bites of wisdom that we thought we’d share with y’all (that’s Texas slang for “our gentle readers”). Here are the top five things we learned in the Lone Star State, and we look forward to forgetting them soon now that we’re back to the grind of drinking and blogging in NYC. We wouldn’t have it any other way:

1. Shiner Bock is like Budweiser but better. Well, it doesn’t taste better, but you can pretend that it’s classier because it’s local, cheap, everyone drinks it and it gives you a chance to identify yourself as a northerner (“Wow- I like this –why don’t they serve it at more places in New York City?”).

2. It is perfectly acceptable to drink a pint glass full of ice and whiskey at noon on a weekday. This sort of thing happens in NYC, but it’s usually served in a coupe.
3. If you’re gonna wait in line for three hours for some kick-ass barbecue, there is nothing wrong with bringing a cooler full of beer to pass the time (and if you forget yours, it’s way easy to make friends with your neighbors and share).

4. Sure, there are things other than whiskey to drink. If you order them you best be about to cross the state line.

5. Last call in Austin is at 2:00 AM. We thought it was lame – but apparently everyone else does. Make friends with the random people outside, and you’re likely to get a quick invite to a house party. Just avoid the girls who are hobbling around the street with only one shoe. They are trouble.

 

Red Bull Cocktail Challenge

Can you make a series drink with Red Bull? Actually, it turns out you can. Zagat (along with your's truly) tasked three bartenders at Sable in Chicago to come up with a classic cocktail that incorporates the energy drink, and the results may surprise you (well, not all of them, but anything is better than nothing here). check out the challenge in the video above or click here to see it on Youtube.

Boozy Bubble Tea and Other Spring Drinks

Witness the best parts of spring: garden parties, cocktail picnics and alfresco drinking galore. Just like you need some new threads for your spring wardrobe, you should be ready with some new cocktail recipes to make those soirees seems fresh. For this week’s article on Tablespoon, we gathered a series of recipes that are as bright and sunny as the season, including one take on bubble tea that adds a boozy kick. Check out the suggestions here.

Jefferson’s Is Making Barrel-Aged Cocktails Easy

Barrel-aged cocktails are popular in high-end cocktail bars, but now there’s no reason that lower-key haunts can’t get in on the boozy game. Jefferson’s Bourbon just announced a 5 liter barrel-aged cocktail program. Bars can order their very own custom wooden barrel along with a six bottle case of the hooch. Then, it’s time to mix up your cocktail of choice and set it and forget it. At least for a few weeks, after which the 167 ounces of liquid inside that puppy will help you really forget.

Burger and Beer Bash at Hudson Common Tonight

The early portion of the week is just better with burgers and beer. Our friends over at BoozeMenus.com are promoting a little shindig tonight at Hudson Common where you can get hooked up with Burger and Beer pairing deals. The event starts at 7 PM and features options like a Frito Burger with Righteous Ale and a California Burger with Bengali Tiger. Tunes will be provided courtesy of Lily Vanilli – you can get more deets about the bash here. 

Party at Maison Premiere for Derby Day

This Saturday, it’s off to the races with the Kentucky Derby, and you know what that means: mint julep time. And what better place to knock a few back than at Maison Premiere in Williamsburg, which will be hosting its annual Derby Day bash. The bar opens at noon for oysters, and at 2 PM the bash proper kicks off. Expect live music, specials on grub and plenty of juleps from a just-launched lineup of new Spring beverages (though bourbon is popular, there are plenty of other hooches you can use to mix these up).

Maison is located at 298 Bedford Ave.

Lillet Introduces Limited Edition Label This Week

Cocktail addicts are in love with French aperitif Lillet, so spirit fans should take note that a new special label from the company is set to hit liquor stores this week. Reserve Jean de Lillet 2009 is a wine mix that was aged for a year in French oak barrels. It’s a complex blend of ingredients, check out the description:

"This premium reserve of Lillet is a unique creation blended with the 2009 vintage wine from the Sauternes region of Bordeaux. Similar to its other varieties, the Jean de Lillet then carefully adds an artisanal orange liqueur crafted from sweet orange peels from Spain and bitter oranges from Haiti, a small amount of quinine from Peru is also added to the blend."

The drink is meant to be enjoyed neat or on the rocks, and you’ll get hints of honey, dried fruit and spice. It’s available at Astor Wines for $39.99 a bottle starting on Thursday.

Welcome Back, Nevada Smiths

Some good news for those of you who like to slam pint beers and watch sports in an East Village shithole: Nevada Smiths is back, albeit at a new location. The divey haunt was a neighborhood favorite for years before they had to close up shop and move a few blocks to a new location. Well, the wait was worth it, as the new digs are much larger – there’s a few floors at the new address (100 Third Avenue, in case you were wondering) and plenty of draft beers.

You’ll still recognize the core of this place: the sports, and in particular the soccer and rugby that draw rowdy crowd whenever there’s a game. During a time when a lot of old time, low key places are losing their leases and shutting up shop, it’s nice to see one bounce back so successfully. Check out the game schedule on their Facebook page.

This Week’s Wacky Vodka Flavor: Breakfast

We’ve spent a good deal of time chronicling weird vodka flavors these days, from cupcake to maple syrup to bubble gum. Well, this week, it’s time for breakfast at the liquor store, ‘cause Mama Walkers is gearing up to launch three new flavors. Two we’ve heard of before: bacon vodka is a thing these days, and glazed donut is available from other companies. But, blueberry pancake is a new one. Why would anyone actually want it? News flash: that’s beside the point. The rule these days with the hooch flavors goes if you can imagine it, it will exist. Hey – we’re always down for a little breakfast drinking, so we’ll give it a swing.