NY Barfly

Field Trip to a Hudson Valley Winery!

The annoying thing about taking a jaunt outside of NYC? The driving. Yeah, you can get a Zipcar, but if you’re angling to take a trip to a Hudson Valley winery, that won’t work at all with all those samples you’re sure to consume. Well, we’re pleased to hear that Millbrook Winery just announced a Vineyard Express, an all-inclusive daytrip that includes shuttle service to the winery from the train station. So – no driving (woot) which is especially exciting because you’re also allowed to drink on the train as well (double woot). The ticket costs $75 – while it doesn’t include your train fare (take the choo-choo to Poughkeepsie) it does include lunch, a gift bag, a tour and a wine tasting. Learn more about it and book tickets here.

Weekend Getaway Alert: Long Island Wine Tours

Hotel Indigo, which just opened out on Long Island’s East End, is offering a primo package on wine tours – sounds like a great excuse to take a break from drinking in the city to do some drinking on the North Fork. The package features round trip transportation on Hampton Luxury Liners, tours of the region's distilleries and (bonus!) a drop by Long Island’s only vodka distillery. Needless to say, there will be plenty of tasting along the way.

Once you’re done tasting (and assuming you’re still standing up straight), the tour ends with an after-party at the hotel’s restaurant, Bistro 72. You’ll get to check out some farm-to-table options that use the area’s produce. $125/person from Manhattan on the Hampton Luxury Liner includes stops at four wineries and an after-party at Hotel Indigo.  If you want to stay overnight, the price is $450/person plus hotel taxes. Winos looking to book an excursion can call the hotel at 631-369-2200.

Tales of the Cocktail: Tiki Cocktail Competition

We can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about this year’s Tales of The Cocktail. This annual multi day bash, held in New Orleans, is the must-attend event for bartenders, liquor industry peeps, cocktail mavens, general lushes, and, well, pretty much anyone worth knowing.

If you want to take part in their annual cocktail competition, it’s time to get your butt in gear. First round entries are due on February 22^nd, so that doesn’t leave you much time to come up with an awesome tiki concoction. This year’s challenge must build a drink off of the original Planter’s Punch recipe (rum, lime, and sweetener). You can get a peek at the official rules here, but you’re basically dressing a tiki cocktail to impress. Visual appeal as well as taste is part of the judging, so get those hula skirts and little umbrellas ready.

For those who don’t want to brave the tiki competition, the tickets to tales go on sale in March. Get your hula skirts ready, as you’re sure to need them too.

Have Your Bourbon Passports Ready.

Our friends over in Louisville sent us some good news. They’ve added a few new spots to their Urban Bourbon Trail. As if you could go to this surprisingly chic city and not get enough bourbon.

You might remember that we took our summer Libation Vacation in this city. While we had no problem finding some stellar sauce at the town’s restaurants and the nearby distilleries, we certainly would have welcomed two more options. The new restaurants, which have to sport at least 50 bourbons to be included on the trail, are Baxter Station and Z’s Fusion.

The town has come up with a creative way to encourage bar hopping. When you arrive, you can pick up a Bourbon Passport at one of the participating restaurants. As you head from bar to bar, get your passport stamped to prove that you’ve sipped on their bourbon selections. If you make it to four of the stops along the trail, you can get a T-shirt deeming you a “Trail Blazer”. Don’t stop there, go for the glory. Nine stamps will get you the T-shirt, a premium prize, and the designation of “Trail Master”.

Trail masters also get the esteem and envy of their peers. Think of it as the more fun version of an Olympic medal. If you win, bask in the glow of your accomplishment. Never take that T-shirt off.

Libation Vacation: ACES Pour Tour

Mass transit operators take note: you should be following the liquefied example of ACES. We were already huge fans of the Atlantic City Express Service train, which is the only way to get to A.C. unless you enjoy being trapped on a bus full of compulsive gamblers. The train service, which already serves alcohol in its bar areas, just added a new Pour Tour to the schedule.

From Halloween to Thanksgiving, riders on the ACES Pour Tour (or the #7165 train departing New York City’s Penn Station at 8:21 PM) can purchase signature cocktails developed just for ACES at a 25-40% savings and recreate the drinks at home with a demonstration of how the cocktail was made in the bar area and receive unique recipe cards as a souvenir. Um, MTA, isn’t it time you considered something so fun for the subway?

Check out the schedule, because we all need another excuse to go to Atlantic City and gamble our rent money!

· October 30 – OktoberFast

Pour Tour kicks off with a tribute to Oktoberfest: beer enthusiasts will love sampling autumn’s best ales such as Stoudts Oktoberfest and Victory Festbier!

· November 6 – Autumn on the Rocks

ACES proves “on the rocks” can be a good thing with signature drinks made using Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and Parrot Bay liquors.

· November 13 – One Sweet Ride

With drinks shaken and stirred with Ciroc, Crown Royal, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, and more, ACES offers riders a sweet reprieve from a long week.

· November 20 – Good Libations

Riders can treat themselves to drinks such as an ACES Bloody Mary or Arnold Palmer as they unwind on the way to Atlantic City.

You can get more information at the ACES Website: www.acestrain.com.

Where We're Headed: Outta Here!

We’re off for the Labor Day weekend. There’s one last chance to drown ourselves in Prosecco, Gazpacho, and mini golf so we figured we’d head out a little early (we have to get our putt putt betting strategy down).

How fast the seasons are changing. We’ll be back next week to celebrate fall, with all the restaurant openings, new spirits and delicious drinks it has to offer.

See you soon kiddies. Here’s a woman dressed as a tiki drink to keep you company while we’re away. Bless her heart.

Louisville Libation Vacation: Bourbon Distillery Visit

Going to Bourbon Country without a visit to the nearby distilleries would be like going to Disney without smuggling booze onto the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. If you’re not going to do the fun stuff, there’s really no reason to be there (if you think those animatronic pirates are entertaining without the hooch, there’s something seriously wrong with you). Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam both have operations within easy driving distance of Louisville, and both are worth the trip out of town. If you still need incentive, two words: free samples.

The drive will take you through some beautiful Kentucky vistas. We saw plenty of horses, but the grass was sadly green (maybe it turns blue a different time of year). The Maker’s Distillery was our first stop, and boy is it secluded. A bunch of twisty roads lead you to their visitor’s outpost. Step out of the car, and you’re greeted with a whiff of their famous Bourbon. Some people say that the smell of the ocean relaxes them. We finally understand what they mean.

The site offers tours throughout the day and there’s plenty of interesting intel along the way. You’ll find out that the entire production run of Maker’s Mark goes through this location, you’ll get the opportunity to dip your own bottle in the infamous wax, and at the end of the tour you’ll get the chance to sip some of the precious juice. How the spirit company manages such consistency of flavor when dealing with thousands of barrels is beyond us. They have a small café on site where you can ponder questions like this (and subversively open your commemorative bottle).

If Maker’s is a quaint taste of Kentucky, Beam is the behemoth of the Bourbon Trail. The distillery is only 20 minutes outside of Louisville, and they bottle all sorts of spirits on site. We had to wear safety goggles on the tour, and we don’t think it was just for effect. The bottling machines speedily pour, label, and cap the product. Shrink wrap machines get everything in order to go out. We weren’t able to taste anything on the line, but no matter. This place is the Wonka’s factory of the liquor-verse.

Beam has a visitor's center where you can taste some of their small batch labels (Bakers = yum) and watch a video detailing the history of their bourbon production. The spot’s visitor experience isn’t as Disney-fied as the Maker’s Distillery. The business at this location is producing a lot of product, visitors come second. It’s still worth a drop-in, and the team in charge promises some upgraded goodies for tourists, coming soon.

After a long day of distillery tours, some Bourbon on the rocks is just what you need. The drive back to the city is short, and there are plenty of places to check out. Bar suggestions coming soon, we have to jog our memory by sniffing some Knob Creek.

Libation Vacation: Louisville, Bringin' It in Bourbon Country

Every once in a while, Barfly steps out of our beloved city to see what is going on in the greater world of boozing. We’ve been to Philadelphia and Atlantic City, but neither reached the boozy heights of our most recent trip. Ladies and Gentlemen, we just got back from glorious Bourbon Country. We camped out in Louisville, Kentucky for a few days. Horse Racing, Bourbon Bars, Trendy Dining – this surprisingly cosmopolitan city had everything we yearn for while on a libation vacation.

With the economy improving slightly, it’s about time to reach beyond your normal stay-cation destinations and travel a little farther. Louisville isn’t so close that you feel like you aren’t really getting away, but it isn’t so far that you need to worry about heading to the poor house on your return. In Goldilocks parlance, this town is just right. Give Goldilocks some of that bourbon, and she’ll tweak her tempered judgment so it’s more in line with ours. This town is frickin’ awesome.

Over the next week or two, we’re going to chronicle our trip. Fall is coming up, so it's time to plan your September / October getaways. It’s still too expensive to head to Bavaria for October Fest, so head to this area for your very own Bourbon Fest.

Since we love surprises, we’ll start with a few of those. On many levels, Louisville wasn’t quite what we thought it would be. Check it out:

1. Before visiting, we lumped this part of the country as “the South”, but that’s decidedly not the case. Nashville is only three hours south of Louisville, but the two areas can’t be more different. Nashville folks love their country music and speak with a southern twang. We didn’t notice that many heavy accents in Louisville, nor did we notice an abundance of wife beaters, beat up pick up trucks, or tears in beers (the stuff of country music, as far as we understand). Kentucky wasn’t part of the Confederacy, which may have tilted the town more toward chic than country. Both cities have plenty of half finished bottles of whiskey though. New England this ain’t.

2. Like New York has Bleecker Street and Times Square, Louisville has its share of tourist traps. We thought we’d have to look much harder for the genuine bar experience, but there were plenty of posh options (and the folks at those spots were more than happy to point us toward the town’s many genuine dives). If the people in this town know anything, it’s how to drink.

3. We still tear up when we think of this: the town is cheap. Sources tell us that a nice apartment in the center of the city cost less than $600 a month. That’s how much we spent on taxis in July. Perhaps it’s time for a move. One bar had a $5 bottle of wine night. That justifies transplanting one’s life, doesn’t it?

First up, it's on to the Bourbon Distilleries (aka Drinker’s Heaven). Stay tuned.

Summer Gets Funner at The Chelsea

Our favorite Atlantic City spot (check out our review here) is tweaking their nightlife options to cater to the crowds that head down to AC during the summer. On our visit, their Fifth Floor lounges were some of the most posh spots in the city. When the place heats up and fills with sun drenched young revelers, we’re sure it’s the best party in town.

They plan to start the summer with poolside parties at their Cabana Club. Have a drink at the bar under the oversized umbrella, listen to the DJ, and jump in the pool to cool off when it gets too steamy. If you really want to live it up, you can get one of the private cabanas that come complete with plasma screens, play stations and (most importantly) mini bars. They’ve also got plans for masseuses and palm readers, two of our most cherished summer activities.

The Chelsea doesn’t have a casino, but it’s still a destination. In a recession, should you really be dropping money on roulette? With the beach, the drinks, and the pools, you can have all the fun you need without spending your savings at the tables. We’re looking forward to heading down and catching some sun this summer. We’ll probably only catch 4-7 minutes of it, as we’ll be at the bar for the rest of the time.

Libation Vacation: The Chelsea, Atlantic City's Newest Hotel Hot Spot

Barfly recently trekked down to Atlantic City to gather intel regarding mini-getaways that New Yorker’s can take in these tough economic times. We scored big with our transit choice, the new ACES direct train link from Penn Station. Would the city offer such sleek options, or would we find ourselves pitifully huddled over the $5 blackjack table at Merv Griffin’s Resorts? We dropped into AC’s newest hotel: The Chelsea. It’s the first non-casino lodging to open on the   boardwalk since the early 1960’s. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the new Atlantic City. The posh hotel is all the things you desire when headed for a quick weekend out of town: cheap, laden with alcohol, impeccably designed, and filled with pretty people.

What’s that? You’re asking why you would want to go to Dirty Jersey’s mecca of gambling and stay in a hotel without a casino? It’s a recession, do you really want to blow your rent money in a thirty minute game of roulette? That’s right, we didn’t think so. That rent should be spent on fancy drinks and savory cuisine. The Chelsea offers plenty of options for both. Stephen Starr’s Chelsea Prime is a stylish upscale choice; begin the night by rat-packing it up in one of its snazzy banquettes. Their 5^th Floor is a nightlife paradise, offering everything from a quiet lounge to a game room to a dance floor to get your groove on (all of which are impeccably well lit – a Barfly must).

With two levels of accommodation, the hotel lets all levels of partier drop in. The hip Chelsea Lite options let you enjoy the party on the cheap without sacrificing the cool-kid vibe. If you do end up doing very well on the neighboring Tropicana’s black jacktables, upgrade to the posher Chelsea Luxe. These larger rooms (many of which offer an ocean view) are more expensive, but you get what you pay for: class all the way.

It was winter when we stopped by, but we will be back during the warm months. The hotel has yet to be open for a full summer. Even with the windows closed and the umbrellas tied down, we could tell that this is the place to stay during beach weather. The hotel plays host to private cabanas on its beachfront, with a seaside dining menu brought out by genuine cabana boys (sure to be the best job in town). There are two pools in the hotel, both of which come equipped with drink-possibilities galore. Chelsea Prime has an outdoor deck for dining, and the Chelsea-Lite side offers adjoining rooms with balconies that overlook the pool.

When all the windows are thrown open and the summer sun glares down, this place has everything to transform it into Atlantic City’s best scene. Find a girl named Gidget, and this will be a beach party to remember. Don’t know anyone named Gidget? Just start calling strangers by the name, it’ll be just as fun (especially if you introduce yourself as Starcat).

Review: The Chelsea Hotel, Atlantic City

Brunch at Teplitzky’s, the Hotel’s Retro Diner – 4 olives – Their grilled cheese and tomato soup might as well be called Teplitzky’s Secret Hangover Cure. If you’re feeling really bad from the previous night, try their version of a hair of the dog: a classic chocolate milkshake.

Blackjack Tables at Resorts – 2 olives – Although they served us well on other trips, we’ll steer clear of them from now on. We think our landlord is more likely to take “we spent it on drinks” than “we gambled it away” as an excuse for late rent payments.

Nightlife Options – 5 olives – A proper hotel gives rise to one of our favorite activities: bar hopping without leaving the property. The Chelsea does not disappoint. You can spend an entire weekend drinking it up without setting foot on the boardwalk.

The New Atlantic City – 5 olives – Stay at The Chelsea, gamble at The Borgata, dine at The Pier at Caesars. With all of these options, the city has become the prime destination for NYC’s swingin’ young set. Don’t worry, you can still get a taste of the old town’s charm. Grab a pedicab, and have them push you to the miniature golf course.