NY Barfly

Jack Daniels Launching Frank Sinatra Special-Label Whiskey

It’s no secret that legendary crooner Frank Sinatra liked to hit the sauce, and we’re thinking that modern-day cool cats that are seeking to channel Old Blue Eyes could do a lot worse than sipping the new Sinatra-branded hooch that’s hitting stores from Jack Daniels. During this day, the singer called Jack the “nectar of the gods” and would frequently have a glass of it in hand when he took to the stage. Classy. The new “Sinatra select” label was created in conjunction with Sinatra’s relatives, who heartily endorsed the partnership, claiming that he would have loved it.

The sad thing is that it’s only available in duty-free type travel shops, but the happy thing is that it will give us something to look forward to when we travel.

Wild Turkey Gets Into Beer With Bourbon Barrel Stout

We’ve always loved drinking our bourbon with a chaser of beer, and that’s why we’re totally stoked about the new label from Anderson Valley Brewing Company. The California-based brewer’s Bourbon Barrel Stout is made with repurposed American oak barrels from the Wild Turkey distillery. Yes. Please. The wood imparts some of that bourbon-spiked goodness when the craft brewer’s Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout is aged in the barrels. Expect notes of espresso and vanilla in the resulting brew, which is only the first in a series of what should be interesting collaborations (this one is aged for three months).

The new label will be available at NYC bars like Midtown’s Beer Authority. If you want to try it at home, you can expect bottles to come in early 2013. Oh, and if you still want your side of bourbon with the label, we think that’s an awesome idea.

Last Chance to Vote for the Paper Nightlife Awards

The annual Paper Magazine Nightlife Awards are coming up this week, and today is your last chance to vote on a few People’s Choice categories. The poll only takes a few minutes, and you’ll be able to weigh in on all important categories like the best night to go out (hmm – really torn between Thursday and Sunday on that one) and the Best Club Song of the moment (hint: this kiki is marvelous). The organizers will also give out awards for best bars and clubs this week. If the presidential race isn’t your thing, well, it’s still voting season so get going here. You can also see the full list of nominees here.

Check Out Dipsology, Hit Up a Launch Party

We love other websites about booze, if only because they know how to throw a mean launch party. Witness Dipsology, new Internet destination for all things liquor related. The website covers cocktail bars in New York, in fact the name is a newly formed science, which investigates “the study of quality drink experiences as they relate to cocktails.” Damn, we wish they had that as a major when we went to school.

You can check out the website here. If you want to tipple with the founders in person (aka “get dipsy”), the launch party is on Wednesday, September 26 at 7 PM. The lushes will be live, in the flesh, at Real Proof Labs, and they’ve enlisted bartenders from Lantern’s Keep, The Beagle and Raines Law Room to mix up signature drinks. Salume will be on hand with their alcoholic paninis, and Prohibition Bakery will dish out liquor-infused cupcakes. Tickets are $65 and you can get them here.

But wait – there’s more! (Our favorite phrase ever, BTW). Fans of NYBarfly can get $15 off the regular ticket price if they use the code ‘nybarfly’ when ordering. Sweet, you can use that extra cash to take your drunken ass home.

 

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Ale To the Chief: White House Releases Beer Recipe

When it comes to the presidential race, Obama's our guy - not because of any specific policy, but because the dude likes his beer. In fact, the President is such a beer geek that the White House brews its own label. This fact started circulating a few weeks ago, and there was a lot of interest when someone filed a Freedom of Information Act for the recipe, and the White House said that they would provide the special blend if enough people signed a petition.

Well, looks like there are plenty of beer geeks in the good old U.S. of A, because the petition passed its goal and the White House took to its blog to release the recipe. There are actually two labels being poured in DC, a Honey Ale and a Honey Porter. Both of them have a secret ingredient - turns out the honey is made on site with bees kept at the White House. You can't get more made in America than that. If you want to check out the recipe, hit up the White House Blog here.

Opening Alert! Middle Branch Brings Serious Cocktails to Midtown East

A quick note for you serious lushes out there- Sasha Petraske has opened his Middle Branch on east 33rd Street. We haven’t been able to stop by for a visit, but we hear it’s going to be his base of operations now that Milk and Honey is closing downtown (that joint will be replaced by Attaboy, which we’re also looking forward to). The bi-level haunt is a spinoff of Little Branch, which has been dishing out quality cocktails for years down in the West Village. If you want to drop by and check it out, the bar is currently open at 154 E 33rd Street.

Fictional Beverages to Try At Home

Ever wanted to take a sip of some Butterbeer after reading some Harry Potter? Or, maybe you want to sip some True Blood along with your favorite vampires while watching a certain HBO show. Well, just because those beverages exist in an alternate reality doesn’t mean you can’t try them at home. For this week’s Tablespoon article, we provide some suggestions on how to mix up some beverages that your favorite fictional characters enjoy everyday. Check out the full article here. 

Post Office in Williamsburg Expands Weekend Hours

How is it that we’ve only just discovered Post Office, a gorgeous bar pouring brown spirits, underneath the Williamsburg Bridge? There are a lot of things to like about this watering hole – including the fact that it’s in a genuinely sketchy area. While walking over last Friday night, we witnessed a perturbed woman lobbing empty beer bottles into the street (and she had quite the cache of ammo).

The diamond in the rough pours an inventive list of brown drinks (Wild Turkey Manhattan, yes please) and serves a small selection of sandwiches. Well, if you want to get your daytime drinking on, the bar just expanded its weekend hours, starting to pour at noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

If you want to stop by and try some beverages, Post Office is located at 188 Havemeyer St. Just watch out for flying bottles!

Behold: The $3,000 Olympic Cocktail (Free For Gold Medalists)

We're sad that the Olympics are winding down - but we bet the Olympic Village is a major par-tay during these last few days of the competition. One club in London has pulled out all the stops in the attempt to lure athletes in. Chinawhite will let any Olympic contender past the velvet rope as long as they show their credentials, but they really want to lure gold medalists into the joint. If you have a bit of medal bling, they'll hook you up with a bottle of champagne, complete with sparkler - pretty sweet. But wait, there's more - and we aren't talking about a silly crown made of olive branches. The club is dishing out a Gold Medal cocktail for the champions. Yeah, you can order it if you aren't a gold medalist - if you're prepared to shell out over $3,000. The drink contains champagne, Hennessy and (the kicker) a set of solid gold rings at the bottom of the glass. Ryan Lochte was seen sipping one of these things - we hope the metal didn't get all stuck in his grill.