What's Tony Drinking? Gin, Rye, Whiskey, Negronis and Piñacillin

Sweet Gwendoline (Bomp Bomp Bomp!)

My neighborhood, Murray Hill, has been so unhip for so long that a lot of folks have taken to calling it “Upper Gramercy” in an attempt to make it sound a little more swanky. But we have our share of cool places and cool people, not least of which is the fabulous Regarding Oysters bivalves-and-cocktails salon hosted by the also-fabulous Georgette Moger-Petraske. Regarding Oysters has gone, in the span of a couple of years, from being one of Murray Hill’s best kept secrets to a veritable institution of the ‘hood. On this evening, I found myself there for the launch of Sweet Gwendoline, a distilled-in-France, bottled-in-New Orleans gin infused with French figs and white wine. The white wine make it taste, to my palate, a little like a martini unto itself. Of course, we did try it in a proper ‘tini, as well as a French 75, a terrific punch, and even neat. It delivered on all counts. We also shucked some oysters, as one does when at Georgette’s salons, and used a few drops of the oyster liquor fresh from the shell in our martinis. All in all, an evening to remember. And the gorgeous Sweet Gwendoline bottle is just as memorable, with labels featuring art repurposed from the great fetish artist John Willie, as originally seen in Bizarre Magazine back in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Old School Old Overholt’s Whiskey Rye-vival

Old Overholt was the first rye whiskey I ever tasted, back in the late 20th century, when there weren’t many other ryes out there to choose from. Hard as it is to conceive today, back then almost nobody drank the stuff. And Old Overholt, by that time, was a completely different beast from what it had been in its heyday. Since 1810 it had been distilled in Pennsylvania, but in the late 1980s it was moved to Kentucky, with a new mashbill. Once a proudly bottled-in-bond rye, by the time I tried Overholt it had been lowered to 80 proof, and its age to a mere three years. That said, for me it was still love at first taste, and to this day it’s still one of my go-to ryes. Especially since my man Bradford Lawrence started his mission a few years ago to bring the brand back to its former glory. He hasn’t returned it to its Pennsylvanian roots (although a fella can dream, right?), but he’s reintroduced the first bonded Overholt in more than a half century, as well as a 114 proof edition and a very limited 11 year old bottling. And now he’s upgraded the flagship expression, raising the proof back to 86 and the age back to four years. I got to sit down and have a glass with him, and it tastes like the Old Overholt I’ve loved for decades… only more so, with the familiar flavors amplified and the mouthfeel a little more viscous. Equal parts sweet and spicy, with a nice, slightly peppery oaky finish, it makes a terrific cocktail (the Manhattan is my go-to) and tastes great neat as well. I can’t wait to find out what else Bradford has up his Old Overholt sleeve.

Poolhall Negronis

What do you drink when you play pool? It’s a tough question, especially when you’re playing with such boozy luminaries as Robin Robinson, Robert Simonson, and Lincoln Chinnery. Not that the venue, Amsterdam Billiards in the East Village, had the most sophisticated cocktail menu, but this being 2022, they did have Negronis, which is what Messrs. Robinson and Simonson opted for. Lincoln and went for old school booze — namely Seagram’s 7 Crown blended American whiskey on the rocks. A great, complex whisky it ain’t, but it goes down easy and painlessly, and it’s a perfect drink for when you’re paying attention to something else, like trying to make a damn shot. We played like a quartet of pigeons, but a good time was had by all, and thanks to Robin and Robert’s drink orders, we came up with a great band name — Poolhall Negronis. It’s much better than the one I came up with: Robinson, Simonson, Chinnery & Sachs. It sounds more like a law firm than a band, truth be told. Post-billiards, Robin, Lincoln and I (ended up at the venerable Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, a low-key hangout for locals as well as NYU students and their parents since 1977. Wild Turkey bourbon was on the agenda, along with hilarious stories from Robin that had Lincoln and me cackling so loudly that we were all asked to pipe down by the management. The Knickerbocker is a swell bar, but raucous it ain’t.

It's Always a Good Day for Canadian Whisky

I’ve developed a taste for — and a small collection of — vintage Canadian whiskies over the last few years. Part of the appeal is that, if you know where to look, you can find a bottle distilled 50 or 60 years ago for not that much more than a new one. And part of it is that they just plain taste good — light, a touch sweet, a bit oaky, with a hint of spice, they’re a window into what our parents and grandparents drank in the decades after Repeal, before the American whiskey revival of the 21st century. Proof And Wood, and its founder/head bloodhound Dave Schmier, have been sniffing out and sourcing terrific booze for several years now. His/their latest, Good Day, is a limited edition blend of Canadian whiskies — mostly corn, with a little rye and a tiny bit of malt — distilled in 2000 (and earlier!) aged at least 21 years, and bottled at 52% ABV. The age and the proof make it different from your standard 6 year old, 86-proof Canadian Club — it has a little more oomph, a little more zing, a little more pow! if you get my drift. The high corn content in the mashbill also makes it sweeter than Canadian ryes (which often contain very little rye themselves, TBH), with buttery vanilla notes dominating up front and peppery spice on the finish. And it is tasty. Hunt some down if you can.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make…Grain-based Spirit?

The Cascade Moon series from the Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is a fun excuse for George Dickel’s distiller/GM, Nicole Austin, to go trawling through the warehouses in search of interesting and noteworthy one-off whiskeys to bottle. Cascade Moon’s fourth release, provisionally titled Barrel Proof, isn’t technically a whiskey — during its 15 years of aging, enough alcohol evaporated for the proof to slide just below the minimum required 40% ABV. So at 39.9%, it’s weirdly great both for fans of cask strength whiskeys and of, um, low-proof spirits, sort of. In this case, the low proof actually works in the “grain-based spirits” favor. More alcohol would likely mean an overly hot and oaky finished product, but as-is, it’s a nifty melange of dark chocolate, caramel, and just enough oak, along with a hint of bananas. Pretty cool stuff, and yet another reason why I’m a big Nicole Austin fan.

Penicillin with a Twist

My go-to make-at-home cocktail the last couple of months has been the Piñacillin — basically the classic Penicillin (blended Scotch whisky, honey syrup, ginger syrup, and fresh lemon juice, topped with a smoky Islay whisky mist) with the addition of pineapple juice, to give it a bit of a tiki vibe. The variation was created by Adam Fournier, the USBG/Diageo Bartender of the Year in 2021. I’m usually too lazy to make Penicillins at home, which is a reflection of my lameness since it really isn’t hard to make the honey syrup or ginger syrup which are my sticking points. But Diageo recently sent me a cocktail making kit which included both the syrups and fresh pineapple juice, so I was sold. And now I’m hooked. It’s sweet and refreshing and easy to quaff, but the smoky whisky keeps it from feeling too frivolous. I used Johnnie Walker Black Label blend until I ran out; now I’m employing Mossburn’s Island blend, which has a similar spicy, smoky vibe. If you don’t know how to make a Piñacillin, here’s the recipe (for the standard Penicillin, just lose the pineapple juice, but I kind of love it, so…)

Piñacillin

1.5 oz. smoky blended Scotch whisky (Johnnie Walker Black or Mossburn Island are goodies)

.25 oz honey syrup (2:1)

.25 oz ginger syrup (1:1)

.5 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

.5 oz pineapple juice (you’re supposed to use fresh, but I use canned, and it turns out delicious all the same)

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously, strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Using a spray bottle, spray a fine mist of a smoky Islay single malt like Lagavulin 16 on top of the cocktail. Garnish with a couple of pineapple fronds, if for some reason you have them lying around. Otherwise, be creative.