NY Barfly

A Non-Hick Buyer's Guide to Box Wine

We want to say something to Food & Wine magazine: thank you for going there. The publication, which usually covers upscale trends, has waded into what most people think is Hicksville, USA – the world of box wine. Turns out that this area of the vino market is much higher-class than you’d think, provided that you don’t drink the wine directly out of the box. The magazine has taken to Huffington Post to detail a few of their top boxed options. These are a great value, as you typically get more liquid than you would via the bottle. With the end-of-the-year holidays coming up, maybe it’s time to mix it up and go with some cardboard? If that sounds up your alley, you can see the list of suggestions here.

Is This Vodka Ad Anti-Semitic?

Wodka Vodka got into a shitstorm last week when they put up this ad on the Westside Highway, which advertises "Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing." Ummm... After an outcry claiming the vodka ad was anti-Semitic, the sprit company quickly ripped it down and issued an apology on Twitter. Those who follow Wodka know that the brand isn't one to shirk from controversy, but did they go too far this time? Let us know if you think this is an overblown non-scandal or is something to be taken seriously by leaving a comment!

SLA Approves Online Liquor Training for Servers in NYC

New York’s State Liquor Authority continues to show signs that it’s coming into the digital age with the approval of eTIPS, a program that servers, bartenders and owners can use to prevent alcohol-related problems at their establishments. It used to be that employees had to trek to a location and attend training in person which, needless to say, left plenty of restaurant industry employees without this non-mandatory but useful certification. Now servers can log on any time to get the training, which in turn should lead to less problems with the SLA (they’ve been cracking down on troublesome bars of late, and seem more likely to close spots with repeated problems).

So, this should be good news for everyone. Now, if the SLA could speed up the liquor-license approval process, we’d all be happy!

Holiday Stress Leads to 27% More Boozin'

Here’s a non-shocking statistic for you: holiday stresses lead to 27% more drinking. Yep, it’s not just all the parties that cause folks to tipple more this time of year. The study comes from Denver-based Alcohol Monitoring System – and they aren’t keeping track of Santa’s “nice” list. This Big-Brother-style company uses a device to monitor all the naughty little peeps out there, and found that violations from offenders jump 27% between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe the drinkers feel that the “holiday spirit” will be enough to mask the smell of booze in their perspiration, which is tested every 30 minutes by AMS. Nope. Moral of the story? Don’t get yourself clamped down with one of these devices – stay on Santa’s (aka the governments’) good side..

Father and Son Cocktail Books Launching this November

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a father and son are both coming out with cocktail-centric books this November. Wow – can you say family of lushes? Oh, no, we’re not judging – those family get-togethers must be pretty bitchin’. Jonathan Pogash (pictured) is the founder of The Cocktail Guru, a beverage consulting business that designs drinks at some of the top bars around the country. He is getting ready for the release of Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, which was co-edited by Rick Rodgers. Not to be outdone by his kin, Pogash’s father Jeffrey is also coming out with a tome dubbed Bloody Mary (we think you can figure out what that one is about).

Pop also cut his chops in the liquor industry, in addition to working at some top spirits companies, he’s also the author of How to Read a Wine Label. To celebrate this booze-tastic family, the two authors will be signing their respective books at Astor Wine and Spirits on December 12. You can check out their website at TheCocktailGuru.com.

Sleep No More Throws Epic New Year's Eve Party

The bar in the McKittrick Hotel is sexy, surreal and one of our favorite new nightlife venues in the city – never mind that it is all part of immersive theatrical experience Sleep No More. Coming off a successful Halloween-week run of parties in the space, Sleep is throwing what promises to be the most epic New Year’s Eve party in town. What better way to ring in the dawn of 2012 than by wearing a Venetian mask and drinking way too much Champagne. The entire hotel will be celebrating – which probably means those characters will be a little more wily (aka touchy) when you follow them around the corridors during the show. In addition to the full scale performance, guests can choose to join for a pre-show banquet (cocktails will be served!) and a post-show party that will rage until 4 AM.

The only catch? It’s pricey. Tickets to the banquet, show and after party are $600 per person, while tickets to just the show and party are $250. But, it should be well worth it – this may be the only New Year’s Eve party in NYC where it’s guaranteed you won’t be surrounded by douche bags. Get more info here.

Happy Thanksgiving from NYBarfly!

And, that’s a wrap! We’re off to pretend to like turkey, drink, and do all of those things that make Thanksgiving such a special holiday (actually, those are the only two things, but you know what we mean). With all of the martinis we’ve consumed this year, we have a lot to be thankful for: gin, olives, fancy ice popping up at bars everywhere. Oh, and our readers – yeah, we guess we’re pretty thankful for all of you as well. Catch you on the flip side next Monday – stay tuned for plenty of kick-ass coverage leading to the end of the year. Gobble gobble.

World's First Non-Alcoholic Whisky Debuts, The Apocalypse Inches Closer

End of the world alert: a company just released a non-alcoholic whisky, for, um, all of those people who really enjoy the flavor of whisky but don’t want to get drunk. Whaaa??? The beverage is known as ArKay, as in “It’s SO not ArKay to be drinking this stuff.” Here’s the description from the website:

ArKay, the world’s first alcohol free whisky flavored drink is designed for the socialite to the construction worker. The exceptional taste of whisky without the alcohol making a perfect beverage that anyone can consume. The design of ArKay was to allow anyone with medical conditions or with religious beliefs to drink without guilt.

We totally get the fact that sometimes you don’t want to or can’t drink. But, isn’t that why god invented soda? Or juice? We’ve racked our brains, and can only think of one market for this stuff: high school drama departments putting on productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? Kids, if you want to pour something convincing into your tumblers, you can get more info about the faux-spirit here.

Moscato Explained With a Handy-Dandy Chart

In case you haven’t heard, Moscato is pretty trendy right now. It’s typically poured as a dessert wine, but there are plenty of drier vinos that come from the Muscat grape, which is one of the world’s oldest fruits to go from vine to wine. Want some more info about this category of wine? Well, the folks over at Jacob’s Creek have provided this handy infographic. Read it before Thanksgiving, and you can seem all smart-like at the dinner table. Grandma will be so proud.

Film, Food and Beer at Nitehawk Cinema. Can it Get Any Better?

Newly opened in Williamsburg, Nitehawk Cinema is New York’s first movie theater to be legally allowed to sell booze. Events like the upcoming Brooklyn Brewery: The Director’s Cut is exactly why this is such a development. On Tuesday, December 6th at 7:30 PM, guests will be able to enjoy a series of films that will be complemented by five courses of beer and food. Turns out that the Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver went to film school before he got into beer. He’s joining forces with film buff John Woods and chef Saul Bolton to put together this epic tasting / movie going experience. Tickets are $90 in advance and $105 day of. You can get more information about the shindig here.