NY Barfly

Drink of the Week: Hot Cocktails at 508 Restaurant

A recent night of wandering around in the blustery weather left us hankering for something, anything warm. At 508 Restaurant, that something is spiked with whiskey. Their cocktail list has a few hot-toddy style drinks that will warm you up from the inside. As dictated by our experience, the cocktails will also warm you from the outside if you press the glass up against your face.

Their Jalice cocktail is a simple mix of chai, Maker’s Mark, and lemon. It’s just like the tea your grandma used to make (assuming that your grandma was awesome enough to spike her tea). The Norwegian Wood blends orange pekoe tea with dark rum and vanilla vodka, it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a vibrant hot cocktail. They also have a Spiced Cider that will melt any frostiness that is leftover from the streets.

The drinks weren’t the only warming thing about this spot. The trendy décor, the excellent small plates, and the attractive staff all made for a winning experience. 508 is the type of spot that you want to clone and install next to your apartment. It’s friendly enough to make an excellent neighborhood spot, but fancy enough to make it feel like you’re out on the town.

The only problem with 508 was heading back out onto the streets. They should start doing their cocktails in to-go cups to make the cold spell bearable.

508 is located at 508 Greenwich Street near Spring.

Drink of the Week: Harlem

There’s a new shot in town, and it lives above 125^th Street. Harlem is the brain child of the folks behind Ketel One, so you know you’re in for something good.

The spirit actually isn’t named after the famous New York neighborhood. The moniker comes from the Dutch town of Haarlem. Turns out when the Dutch settled Manhattan, they dropped an A and named the area as we know it today. Impress your friends with this arcane knowledge as you order another round of shots!

Meant to be served ice cold, Harlem is clearly a competitor to Jager. The color is the same and Harlem is spiked with an equally proprietary blend of herbs and spices (known as Kruiden in Dutch). The difference? Harlem is better. Jager is more syrupy, and its signature flavor is a little heavy on the anise. Harlem is sprightly, with hints of citrus underneath those herbs. If Jager is eating raw meat, Harlem is having a thick juicy steak cooked medium rare.

What’s that? You’re a vegetarian? Ugh, we guess you can have wine coolers or something.

You can check out Harlem at these city bars. Drink up!

· Faces and Names -161 West 54th Street

· Latitude - 47th and 8th

· Social - 48th and 8th

· Smith's - 44th and 8th

· Side Bar -120 East 15th Street

· Bar None - 98 Third Ave

Drink of the Week: Spicy Cocoa Cider Punch

New Year’s Eve is coming up, which means it's time to break out the punch bowl. What better way to drown out your resolutions than with a ladle, some little punch glasses, and some awesome orange hooch.

This year, we plan to get punchy with this recipe for Spicy Cocoa Cider Punch. The weather has been so blustery lately that we thought a warm liquid would be appropriate. A little chocolate, some spice, a bottle of tequila – this elixir has it all.

If you don’t want to mix up a whole bowl (i.e. if you are spending New Year’s Eve alone hiding in your apartment) then head over to Ofrenda (113 7th Avenue South). This restaurant is pouring the heated sauce for the holidays. Be sure to have just enough to make it a holiday you can’t remember.

Spicy Cocoa Cider

-750ML bottle Tanteo Chocolate Tequila

-One Gallon Apple Cider

-5 Cinnamon Sticks

-1 TSP Cloves

-1/4 TSP Black Pepper Corns

-6 oz fresh orange juice

-8 oz water

Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

Add all ingredients except the orange juice and the nutmeg into a large crockpot. Turn on low heat and let sit for four hours. When ready to serve add OJ and garnish with nutmeg.

Drink of the Week: Cocktails at Bar Henry

We’re sure you’ve heard of newly opened Bar Henry on Houston Street. The spot has garnered a lot of attention for its innovative wine program (they’ll let you purchase half bottles off of their market list – sweet). Even though the fancy European vinos are hogging the spotlight, their cocktail list is also due some attention. We wouldn’t want those poor little drinks to feel neglected, now would we?

We dropped in to try some of bartender Patrick Costigan’s creations. The drinks are named after interesting friends of the owner, who is apparently quite the charming raconteur. The Tom Newbold Morgan is a refreshing gin and tonic with the juice from half a lime. The Jay Lung is described as a “collision between a mojito and the classic Hemingway Daiquiri” and was nicely cut with some grapefruit and maraschino liqueur.

After a few cocktails, the drinks list started begging the question: what would our eponymous cocktail be? The Tiger Tail was our favorite drink of the bunch, but we wouldn’t want to change the feisty name of this bourbon, Benedictine, and ginger ale blend. Their Thera Miranda – a calvados spiked hot toddy - was choice for a cold night, but certainly Thera would come after us for stealing the drink’s name.

Upon complaining that an Old Fashioned is just a glass full of Bourbon with some cherries in it, Costigan started muddling away and produced a libation that quickly shut us up. We’re pleased to announced that an Old Fashioned is now called NYBarfly Juice. Someone notify the producers of Mad Men.

Bar Henry is located at 90 West Houston Street. Stop by to figure out which cocktail you’d like to claim.

Drink of the Week: Straight from Drambuie's New Bottle

Is it possible to have a crush on a liquor bottle?

Drambuie has always been a Barfly favorite. This centuries old Scottish spirit is great for spiking tea or sipping straight on the rocks. For the past 100 years, it’s been bottled in a squat brown container, which easily gets lost on the bar.

The company just launched a much sleeker new bottle. It’s clear, which allows it to show off the golden hue of the spirit to shine through. Well, hello there bottle. Aren’t you looking lovely today?

To celebrate the launch of the new design, the spirits maker enlisted Jamie Stephenson to create some cocktails for the season. We’ve included a recipe below so you can mix it up at your holiday party.

Hmmm – do you think the bottle is seeing anyone?

The Clementina

½ part DRAMBUIE® Liqueur

1 part BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin

dash of honey syrup

dash of lemon syrup

splash of fresh grapefruit juice

dash of grapefruit bitters (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Drink of the Week: Cider Manhattan

The bash at the Esquire Penthouse last week was quite the time. Bartenders from across the country fought it out to be Master of the Manhattan. We were rooting for New York’s contestant, but Louisville’s Jeromy Edwards took the title.

Hmmm – a Louisville bartender wins an event sponsored by Kentucky’s Woodford Reserve. Do we smell a conspiracy? Actually, no. All we can smell is Jeromy’s delicious cocktail.

We’ve included the recipe below. Mix this cocktail up when you’re in a Manhattan state of mind, or serve some when you want to impress your guests with flambéing a cherry. Congrats Jeromy. You may have taken it this time, but us New Yorkers never rest. We’re determined to spend a lot of time drinking Bourbon so we can take the title next time around.

Cider Manhattan crafted by Jeromy Edwards

2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon

¾ oz. Cider Reduction

½ oz. Antica Vermouth

Dash Angostura bitters

Grand Marnier flambéed cherry (preferably Rainier)

Flambée cherry in the martini glass, allowing it to caramelize.

Place drink in shaker and turn, don’t shake.

Pour into glass after it has cooled.

Drink of the Week: The Cointreau Teese

Burlesque star Dita Von Teese is well known for her martini glass strip tease. We can imagine that delicious writhing in a giant cocktail glass would leave one with plenty of inspiration to make a delicious drink. Looks like that’s just what Von Teese has done.

On October 22^nd, Cointreau partnered up with Fashion Group International for Night of Stars. Von Teese was the special guest and Cointreau ambassador, celebrating the arrival of the Cointreau Teese cocktail in New York. The sexy concoction is available in NYC at Butter, Marquee and Bar & Books.

Always a fan of burlesque, we’ve included the recipe for the violet hued libation below. Now, we’re not sure exactly how to increase the recipe so it will fill a giant glass. You’ll have to figure that out yourself, as our oversized martini glass is at the cleaner.

Cointreau Teese

(Created by burlesque sensation Dita Von Teese)

1 ½ oz Cointreau

1 oz Crème de Violette

½ Apple Juice

¾ oz Fresh Lemon

Optional: Rim with Fresh Ginger

Killer Halloween Cocktails (cue evil laugh)

Something we like about Halloween? On this holiday, even the drinks get to dress up. Bartenders everywhere gussy up their cocktails by adding spooky sounding names. They’ll even throw in some little used bar ingredients to give their drinks a murderous hue. We all know what’s truly killer with drinks like these: the hangover.

The folks over at Sobieski Vodka came up with some creep-tastic libations for the holiday. These are the brainchild of Ray Foley, bestselling author of Bartending for Dummies (and friend of Barfly). Check it out:

SO-BOO-SKI

2 oz. Sobieski Vodka

1/2 oz. Marie Brizard Blackberry

Shake. Serve on the rocks or straight up in a sugar-rimmed glass.

SOBI SKELETON

2 oz. Sobieski Vanilla

1/2 oz. Marie Brizard White Cocoa Liqueur

3 oz. Club Soda

Shake Sobieski Vanilla and Marie Brizard White Cocoa Liqueur. Pour into tall glass. Top with club soda.

Nice to see that the inexpensive brand is branching out into flavored labels. Their quality sauce is the go to brand for vodka cocktails at our home bar. Come trick or treating, adult style, at our place. This year, we’ll be handing out these. Last year’s Three Musketeers / razors combo wasn’t quite the ironic hit we had hoped.

Drink of the Week: The Jane from Charles

West Village Restaurant Charles just updated their cocktail list, which features drinks cutely named after the area’s streets. That’s funny, because we were just trying to come up with a cocktail inspired by 7^th Avenue South the other night. We guess we’re not as innovative as the bar-folk at Charles, because our brain storming session left us with a bodega-purchased 40-ouncer poured into a margarita glass.

The Jane seems to be more appropriate. Please note: it is named after the street, and not the club. We don’t want you to be disappointed if you were expecting a fine white powder garnish.

The libation goes with a green theme. It uses an organic vodka and a mint garnish. This is a really easy one to make at home, and you can use regular vodka if you don’t want to be so eco-conscious. The muddled grapefruit provides a fun little kick, perhaps enough to get you over to the aforementioned club after dinner. Nothing is better than getting turned away by a bouncer after enjoying some cool cocktails. 

Check out the recipe:

Ingredients:  

1 1/2 oz Crop Organic Vodka
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Muddled grapefruit and mint
Sprite float garnished with mint

Muddle grapefruit segment and 3 mint leaves in shaker. Add ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into martini glass. Add Sprite float. Garnish with mint.

Drink of the Week: A Proper Flu Shot

And to think, we almost went to the doctor to get our flu shot. London Lennies, a restaurant in Queens, is offering their version of a vaccine starting this week. This spots been around since 1959, so we think they’ve seen their share of epidemics.

You have to admit, their version of the shot sounds a lot more enticing than getting pricked in the arm. For $6.00, the restaurant is serving a Flu Shot Oyster Shooter. It’s an ounce of Jose Cuervo Especial tequila mixed with a gazpacho medley of fresh herbs, vegetables and lime juice, topped with an oyster.

Sounds pretty healthy to us, especially since oysters are high in a number of immune boosting vitamins and minerals, including zinc, calcium, and iron. Plus, there's tequila involved. The elixir of the gods.

If you can’t make it out to Queens (London Lennies is located at 63 Woodhaven Boulevard), we’ve listed the recipe so you can do some good old-fashioned self medication. We wonder if they will start serving these at those little clinics in the Duane Reade.

London Lennies’ Flu Shot Oyster Shooter Recipe

Makes 6

1/2 dozen oysters, shucked
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced red bell pepper
1/2 tablespoon minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
6 ounces Jose Cuervo Especial tequila
Kosher salt, for rims
Ice

Coat rims of 6 shot glasses with kosher salt.  Place one oyster in each glass. Combine lime juice, red bell paper, shallots, cilantro, parsley and chives in medium sized bowl.Pour 1 tablespoon of lime juice mixture in each glass, over oyster. Pour tequila into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until tequila is chilled.Add two tablespoons of tequila to each glass.

Serve immediately.