NY Barfly

Barenjager Honey Liqueur Cocktail Contest!

Want to get flown to Oktoberfest this year on a liquor company’s dime (don’t we all). Barenjager Honey Liqueur is sponsoring its second-annual bartender competition – the booze company is looking for bartenders across the United States to come up with a drink using the product. On September 19, finalists will gather in New York to vie for an all-expense-paid trip to Germany for Oktoberfest along with $1,000 in cash. Pretty sweet, right (as sweet as honey – natch)? To enter, you have to get your recipe in by August 22 – check out the details and get the registration form here. Note to the winner: if you’re looking for a plus one, we are free!

Checking in Gramercy Hotel's Rose Bar

The entrance is at the far side of the hotel’s Jade Bar, which seemed to mostly full of the jaded barflys who had attempted entrance into the Rose Bar. Those red curtains are guarded by the most nattily dressed “bouncers” in existence, so do not even attempt entrance if you don’t look better than them (warning: this could be a difficult task). The fabled room itself? At the risk of sounding redundant, it really is a rose room. Andy Warhol is all over the walls, except for the wall that is a massive stone fireplace, which looks like it was purloined from a Gothic castle in the wilds of Romania. There is one very classy, polished pool table. Do not attempt to put your drink on it. The bar is familiar: dark wood; DJ; countless bottles of alcohol. In the Rose Bar, though, the bottles are artfully arranged and lit, the better to seduce you, my dear, into a $19 martini or $27 cocktail. Apparently, its exclusivity extends to economic status as well.

Remember how in the old days “good breeding” guaranteed or determined acceptable social behaviors? Well if you possess the elite status required for entrance, anything you do seems acceptable in the Rose Bar, if you pay enough. Yes, young socialites, stand on our couches! Sing karaoke while standing on an armchair! It is really fine! The people-watching is quite the entertainment.

It just so happens that we were reading Mark Twain the next day and came across this: “He (Tom) had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it-namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.” We’re not in any way comparing the Rose Bar to whitewashing a fence, but generally Tom, we concur.

The Rose Bar is located at 2 Lexington Avenue. They take pride in their exclusivity and you should be prepared for the price that comes with it.

-Katie Carroll

Pre-Made Jello Shots Now On the Market

Well – here’s one product that we never thought would actually exist. Party Star has launched a line of pre-made “Spiked Jel Shots” – basically a ready to slurp version of a Jell-o shot, booze and all. They give you all of the d-bag fun without any of the hassle – these puppies require no refrigeration, no preparation and they are vegan – which means no melted down animal bones (hooray on that one!!). They’re also not that boozy – at only 24 proof you can have a few of these without falling over. They come in flavors like grape, cherry, lemon-lime and strawberry. For when vodka Red Bull just isn’t enough….More info here.

Five Killed in Illegal Vodka Factory Explosion

And why are there laws against distilling your own spirits? Because of things like what happened in Boston last week (that’s Boston England, not Mass). Five immigrant workers were killed when an explosion ripped through a building which supposedly housed an illegal distilling operation. What is this – the prohibition era with exploding bathtub stills? We think not. After a massive explosion – rumors flew that the industrial shop was being used to cook up illegal vodka - the bottles are clearly visible in that photo. There has been a rash of black market liquor appearing in Boston stores – some of which have lost their license to sell hooch when inspectors found the illicit liquor being sold on the shelves. According to authorities – the stuff can barely even be considered vodka – they warn against consuming it, as a bad batch can make you go blind. Check out the full story here.

Unlimited Wine (And Food!) Deal at Wall & Water

Wall and Water just launched a pretty sweet after-work deal if you’re looking to fill up on grub and vino for a mere $40. The restaurant, located on the second floor of the Andaz Wall Street Hotel, has laid out an antipasto bar – the selection of food items are rotated daily to reflect the freshest, locally sourced items that are available at the market. At the self-service counter, you can expect foodstuffs like marinated veggies, cheeses, charcuterie and olives. To go with said snacks, the restaurant is offering unlimited house red and white wines. The price tag for this veritable feast? $40, or $25 if you want to do food only (and why would you want to do that?). It’s available from 5:30 to 8 PM on Monday through Friday – which from this moment on will officially be known as “stuffing your face time.”

The Andaz is located at 75 Wall Street.

Get Grilled on Sundays at Rare View

Sundays in summer are for one thing: getting drunk during the day. We’re happy to see that one rooftop bar in Manhattan is obliging with a Sunday summer party known as “Get Grilled.” Rare View in Chelsea is firing up the grills starting at 2 PM every Sunday for the rest of the season. They’ll be dishing out rib-eye burgers, grilled sausage dogs and serving them along with lobster rolls and Boston baked beans. Of course, booze will be plentiful – as we would never recommend a dry event for “Sunday Funday”.

Rare View is located at 152 West 26^th Street.

Lame of the Week: Pet Store Bans Drunks From Buying Puppies

For denying puppies the right to a little R&R, a life outside of the big house and sometimes even a chance at fame and fortune, this week’s Lame of the Week goes to a PBUI-instituting West Village puppy purveyor, Le Petite Puppy. That’s right Puppy Buying Under the Influence, as reported by the Huffington Post, has been banned by this New York City pet store.

It seems that this neighborhood rife with bars and happy hours just begging for unseemly behavior, pet store owners are hell bent on taking away one thing that all puppies love – temporary, drunk foster parents and the opportunity to escape their barky quarters and the requisite fawning and adoration that booze can bring by flat out refusing to let those who have been imbibing to buy a puppy, and sometimes even denying them the right to hold a puppy.

Denying a drunk to hold a puppy?!

We can’t think of anything worse – except maybe a bottom shelf vodka martini.

Aside from the fascist practices of Le Petite Pups, another nearby pet store named Citipups, which claims not related to Citibank (we have our doubts), has instituted a 24-hour wait period when someone interested in a puppy purchase seems to have had one too many – a practice that could result in irreparable and disastrous results as NY Barfly learned when we spoke to one of these supposedly mistreated canines and found quite a different story.

We spoke to one four-month old Siberian Husky, who asked to be called “Whisky” in order to maintain his anonymity, who told this tale: “Two gay dudes who were so obviously on, like their second date, came in and fell in love with me. They took me to Pianos where I had the time of my life – I met an agent guy who said he’d get me auditions, said I had a future on Broadway but when one of them realized (in the morning) that the other didn’t look anything like his Grinder photo, I got taken back and they got a full refund. Moritz should have made them keep me. Now how am I gonna discover my Great White Way dreams? Had they been forced to keep me, I’d be walking the streets with the possibility of meeting that agent again. Here in this pet store, I’m just another aging puppy waiting for a sober, straight couple to adopt me and I think we know how that’ll end – they’ll break up and I’ll end up at Bide-a-Wee….I seen it a million times.”

There are a million stories in the city and this is only one – puppies are people too (well, not really) and they deserve the opportunity to take part in all of the adventures liquor has to offer. Nothing is forever, dear readers, and while it may sometimes be a harsh lesson to learn, sometimes the places a little tipsiness can take you, can affect you and the world around you in ways you’d never know otherwise. Isn't it worth the risk?

Wine Specials and Free Champagne for Bastille Day!

Just dying to whip that old Marie Antoinette costume out of storage, but waiting for the perfect excuse? Well – today is Bastille Day – and Artisanal is going to give away bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne to every Marie Antoinette impersonator that shows up from noon – 6 PM. There are also half priced appetizers – so get those “off with your head” and “let them eat cake” jokes ready and head over (2 Park Avenue).

If your powdered wig is at the cleaners, check out the specials at the three locations of Pierre Loti Wine Bar which serves over 200 French selections by the bottle and 40 by the glass. Throughout the day, they will pour the vino for 25% off. Getting drunk on red wine sounds like a Thursday night plan to us. Locations here.

A Guac-Tastic Booze Cruise

When you think of booze cruise, you probably think “um, no.” Well, one nautical shindig is trying to spice things up in the events department – literally. The Guac Rock Boat Cruise along the East River promises to replace the watered down vodka tonics found on the typical expedition with something much more exciting – lots and lots of guacamole. The winners of this year’s Guactacular, a guacamole making contest – will be on hand to serve avocado lovers their wares. Better yet – all of that green stuff will be paired with booze – Espolon Tequila no less – not too shabby. The label will be mixed into specialty cocktails that were specially prepared for the event that will be poured for free from 8 to 9 PM. If you’re interested in shoving off to shove Mexican dip into your face – you can get more info on tickets at NachosNy.com. The cruise goes down on July 18. Think you can control your cravings until then?

Home Brewers Get a Place to Call, Er, Home in Brooklyn

Home brewers have a lot to look forward to, as one bar that’s opening soon in Park Slope will provide a great reason to get out of the house. Bitter & Esters will be the city’s first “do-it-yourself” brewery, according to an item posted on Thrillist recently. You’ll be able to mix up your brew (with their help, natch) at which point you can let it ferment for two weeks and return to cap it off and bring it home. Or, better yet, you can head out to the spot’s beer garden, where you can share tips with similarly hop-headed geeks. The brewery will also double as a bar, selling their own suds in an outdoor space that will double as a farming ground for barley (albeit a very small one, we have to imagine. The brewery opens in July with the bar to follow in August. Get more information here.