NY Barfly

And Now, A Fourth Of July Cocktail

What’s more ‘Merican than some good old fashioned Moonshine? Nothing! That’s why we’re leaving you off this weekend with the Red White and Blueberry Shine cocktail. Now don’t worry, this ain’t the type of shine that was made in a backyard still. It’s actually a brand that’s served in some of NYC’s top spots. No, really....

 

We’ll be back next Tuesday with more boozy action. Until then, we hope a few of these will be enough to light your fireworks. Recipe below:

Red, White and Blueberry Shine
1.5 oz The Original Moonshine
1.5 oz Strawberry Puree
3 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer
.25 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
5 Fresh Blueberries

Gently muddle Blueberries at bottom of Collins Glass. Pack glass with crushed ice. Make sure you pack throughly. Pour in Ginger Beer. Combine The Original Moonshine, Strawberry Puree and Lemon Juice over ice, shake well and layer on top of Ginger Beer. 

Alternative Cinco Cocktail: The Green Tea Margarita

Want to avoid the same old margaritas that you usually kick back on Cinco de Mayo? Well – Haru Sushi is putting a spin on the classic drink with a little bit of Zen Green Tea Liqueur. Other than the tea, the libation is the classic mix of tequila, sour, triple sec and lime – while it gets a little bit creative, it’s definitely appropriate to drink on the festive day (though, you’ll have to pair it with some sushi rolls instead of the standard chips and guac). The drink will be $7 during happy hour, and $12-13 during normal business hours. You can check out the locations of the restaurant here.

Mother's Day Cocktail at SushiSamba

Yep, it’s Mother’s Day this week. You know what your dear old Mom needs after all those years of putting up with you? A drink. SushiSamba will dish out a beverage they came up with just for the occasion, and it will be served at all NYC locations of the restaurant this coming Sunday. The Mother’s Day Maracuja is a mix of sake and rum that’s spiked with some Japanese citrus. Oh - just keep in mind this doesn’t take the place of the flowers that you should buy her, or that really nice card that you’re meaning to send. We’ve listed the recipe below – if you were really difficult as a child, you may want to make her a few of these when you get home.

Mother's Day Maracuja Cocktail Recipe

1 oz. Ginjo Sake

1 oz. Light Rum

.5 oz. Yuzu Juice

.5 oz Passion Fruit Juice

.25 oz Simple Syrup

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice, shake hard for 10 seconds. Rim your glass with sashimi sugar, and strain the cocktail in.

The Derby Approaches: Party at Mad46

What’s a sure sign of Spring? No – not flowers (lame). Mint Juleps! The Kentucky Derby is coming up on May 7, and midtown rooftop bar Mad46 is gearing up to host a party that will get you juleped and ready for action. Woodford Reserve will be used in the cocktails, which also includes a Sweet Bourbon Punch if mint isn’t your thing. There will be a best dressed contest as well – gentlemen will be judged on their polish, while ladies will be evaluated on their sense of “Derby chic”. The bash goes down from 4 to 10 PM – Mad 46 is located at 45 East 45^th St.

Drink of the Week: Guitar God Cocktails at Rockography

 

You may have heard about Rockography, a new restaurant on 13^th and 6^th that plays tribute to the classic rock era with a blaring soundtrack and old-time artwork bedecking the walls. Well, the tribute to great musicians of days past doesn’t stop with the décor – the spot uses its cocktail list as a shout out to the guitar gods. The drinks are named after classic tunes – in the picture above you’re looking at a Walk the Line (Jack Daniel's single-barrel, macerated cherries) and a Comfortably Numb (Bulldog Gin, St. Germaine, Meyer lemon and fresh sour). All of this rock-n-roll drinking gives rise to an important question: if you were going to name a drink after a classic rock standard, what would you call it and what ingredients would you use? Oh, and that's also a crystal skull in the picture, because why not?

If you need a little inspiration, you can drop by 504 Sixth Avenue to check out their offerings.

Drink of the Week: MPD's Courvoisiberry

Did you know that March 20^th is the official start of Spring? Boo-yah! To celebrate, we’re headed over to trendy Meatpacking District haunt MPD for one of their Courvoisiberry cocktails. It’s got everything we want to celebrate the approach of the warm weather – some ripe berries, a dash of rose wine, and a potent pour of cognac. Boy, we sure did miss Spring. MPD is located at 73 Gansevoort Street, and you can check out the recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 part Courvoisier VSOP

1 part rum

2 parts Rosé Wine

Exotic Berries

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, stir and serve in a wine glass over ice. Garnish with exotic berries.

Drink of the Week: A Charlie Sheen Cocktail. Winner.

Well, it didn’t take long for spots around New York to start rolling out the Charlie Sheen cocktails. We noticed one at newly opened hookah lounge Hash 55 that makes use of “Adonis DNA” – we’re not even going to begin to speculate on this ingredient, but the folks from the restaurant promise us that it’ a “complex mix of 16 amino acids.” Of course, this take on a Bloody Mary is potent – it’s got heat from ginger and chili peppers, two types of radish, Glenmorangie Sherry, beets – it actually sounds pretty tasty. If you want to stop by and try it, Hash 55 is located at 47 West 55^th Street. Just say you’d like a train wreck – they’ll know what you mean.

Drink of the Week: Dave Wondrich Does Bourbon Punch

Anyone who swims in cocktail circles (and pretty much anyone who just drinks a whole bunch) knows that writer and bartender Dave Wondrich is king of the punch bowl. In case you haven’t been able to catch him during his recent guest bartending stint at Fatty Johnson’s, or if you’ve been just dying to use that gigantic new garbage can you got to mix up two gallons of hooch, we’re passing on his yummy bourbon punch recipe from the folks at Basil Hayden’s.

The best thing about this mix is that it keeps things really simple – bourbon, citrus, Cherry Heering, sugar and nutmeg mix together for a potent libation that still goes down smooth. Hayden’s is one of our favorite bourbons for mixing, so your next party will be well served by a batch of this. If you don’t have a party planned, well, you can still fill up that garbage can and get the ladle out whenever you’re feeling wily.

Basil Hayden’s Punch (Makes 2 gallons) - Created by David Wondrich

3 1/2 Basil Hayden’s Bourbon Bottles (750 ml)
2 cups fresh-squeezed, strained lemon juice
1 cup fresh-squeezed, strained blood orange juice
3/4 cup Cherry Heering
1 pound superfine sugar
1 whole nutmeg

In a large batching container, stir sugar into citrus juice. Add Basil Hayden and Cherry Heering. Stir again and refrigerate. Before serving, add 1 gallon of cold water and stir again. Taste for sweetness and adjust if necessary.
To serve, pour into large punch bowl half-full of cubed ice (as big and cold as possible) and grate a quarter of the nutmeg on top. Ladle 2 ounce servings into small cups to serve.

Today is National Margarita Day!

If Tuesday isn’t enough of an excuse for you to go out and drown yourself in margaritas, you’ll be happy to know that today is officially National Margarita Day. We have no idea what lush thought that up, but we like his style. To celebrate, we’re giving you a simple recipe from the folks over at Avión Tequila. Their Blood Orange Marg sure looks tasty – to celebrate, you probably should make yourself one for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and to accompany at least a few snacks in between. Recipe below!

Oh, and if Tuesday isn’t enough of a reason for you to go out and have a few margaritas, we have a very important question: what is wrong with you?

Blood Orange Margarita

1.5 oz  Avión Añejo

3/4 oz Cointreau orange liqueur 

1 oz Blood orange Juice

1/2 oz Fresh sour Mix

In a cocktail shaker build over ice. Shake and strain.  Best served over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

Drink of the Week: Veritas' Valentine's Day Cocktail

It’s that time of year again – the time when we all want to shoot ourselves in the face because of Valentine’s Day! Well, if you must participate in the saccharine holiday, you might as well do so while boozed up. Plenty of restaurants around the city are rolling out the cupid-themed specialty cocktails, but it was the one at Veritas that caught our eye, mainly because it doesn’t involve raspberry vodka like 99% of the others.

The Chocolate and Spice is from Emily Wallendjack, the restaurant’s pastry chef. You can order it on site (which recently reopened after a spruce up and menu change) for $14 a pop. It’s supposed to taste like a boozy, chocolate bon-bon – which sounds right up our alley.

If you want to make it at home, we’ve included the recipe below. To check it out at Veritas, head over to 43 East 20^th Street. Either way – it will help you survive all those heart-shaped arrows.

1 oz Ruby Port

.75 oz Brandy

1 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

.25 oz AllSpice Dram Rum

Saigon Cinnamon or substitute with cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions: Place all liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled and pour into a chilled martini glass. Sprinkle with Saigon cinnamon and serve.