What’s Tony Drinking? Nov 24: Drinks with Cocktail Royalty, Distillers & More
I awoke to a hangover a decade in the making. That’s how long it took for The Oxford Companion To Spirits & Cocktails (the new and indispensable book edited by David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum) to go from concept to work-in-progress to an actual published tome (available in bookstores and online now!). I’m honored and proud as f*!$ to have contributed to it, in a very minor way, but hey, my name’s in there forevermore. And it got me in the door to the social event of the season, at least my season. The publishing party, at the gorgeous Times Square bar Dear Irving On Hudson (home to NYC’s best Gibson), was a gathering of dozens of the most glittering stars in the drinks world, from writers to bartenders to publicists. It was also a happy reunion for a lot of folks who hadn’t seen each other since the bygone mask-free days of early 2020. The drinks were flowing freely, and we happily lapped them up.
Where there’s David Wondrich, there’s sure to be punch, and the Garrick Club Punch (Hendrick’s gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon peel, simple syrup, and sparkling water) was my favorite drink of the night. A close second was the Bijou (gin, Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, orange bitters) I had at the suggestion of writer/raconteur/all-around swell guy Lincoln Chinnery. It probably wasn’t a good idea to get a second one and then follow that up with a Negroni, but Lincoln and I hadn’t seen each other in forever and we were making up for lost time. He wisely advised, “You don’t have to finish them!” and I did the old take-a-couple-of-sips-and-put-it-down-somewhere gambit.served me in good stead, because the night was far from over.
As the party proper came to a close, various groups scattered to other watering holes downtown, like the Swift Hibernian Lounge on 4th St. I wound up steps from the Hotel Aziz, home of Dear Irving On Hudson, at Beer Authority, one of the fancier and larger beer-and-a-shot bars situated around Port Authority. My drinking buddies were three superstars of the spirits world, of such renown to give just about anyone hanging out with them — me definitely included — a major case of impostor syndrome.
Frank Caiafa, Franky Marshall, Dale DeGroff, your humble narrator, at Beer Authority
We’re talking Frank Caiafa, barman extraordinaire and author of The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book; legendary bartender and spirits educator/consultant Franky Marshall; and the George Washington/Frank Sinatra of the modern cocktail scene (and author of the seminal and newly-revised The Craft Of The Cocktail), Dale DeGroff. I’d already had plenty to drink before Dale bought me a shot (or was it two?) of Powers Irish Whiskey. But turning down a whiskey from Dale DeGroff is like turning down a blessing from the Pope — you just don’t do it. Anyway, the night was a blast… and that hangover the next morning was exquisite.
Whiskey To The Left Of Me, Whiskey To The Right….
After a day of recovery, I was back on the job. My day was looking pretty light. A morning tasting with distiller Dave Smith of St. George Spirits (more on them later) got nixed at the last minute due to hotel logistics, but I did wind up hanging out and interviewing/chatting with Dave for an informative, fun, and booze-free hour and change. I hadn’t been invited to WhiskyFest, the boozy extravaganza sponsored by Whisky Advocate magazine, so the plan was to have a “who needs WhiskyFest anyway” dinner with a publicist friend and take it easy on my body. But when Mr. Alcohol Professor, Adam Levy, came to the, er, rescue with a spare ticket, it was time to punch the clock and get back to work.
Not that it felt like work. WhiskyFest takes place in a large hotel ballroom. There is a lot of whiskey in this ballroom. And where there isn’t whiskey, there’s surprisingly good food. And where there isn’t whiskey or food, there are people. Lots and lots of people, all of whom, thankfully, were checked for proof of vaccination at the door. Every year, I vow to myself not to drink anything I’ve already tasted or have at home. And every year, I break that promise pretty quickly. This year I think I set the record by breaking it within about five minutes of walking in the door, by sampling Heaven Hill’s latest Parker’s Heritage Collection bottling — a beautiful 11 year old wheat whiskey, aged in heavily charred barrels. Yes, I’d already tasted it, but it’s stunning, with the spice from the char harmonizing beautifully with the soft, sweet and buttery notes from the wheat. Sheer genius. And while I was there, I figured I’d re-sample the Fall 2021 Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, an 11-year-old dazzler which is my favorite bourbon of the year so far. It’s sweet and chewy and rich and sumptuous and everything that made me fall in love with bourbon a zillion years ago. And it comes in the most awesome looking bottle in the whiskey biz. If either of these cross your paths… you know what to do.
Yours truly, Nicole Austin and Todd Leopold
After that, it was over to the George Dickel table to meet two people who are putting out some of the best American whiskey you can buy right now, namely Dickel/Cascade Hollow general manager/distiller Nicole Austin and Leopold Bros.’ mad scientist/distiller Todd Leopold. They’ve got a new collaboration out, a blend of Leopold’s groundbreaking Three Chamber Rye and Austin’s previously-unreleased column still rye, which they say replicates the kind of rye sold before and shortly after Prohibition. No more need for a time machine! But you definitely need a taste of this rye, which was almost as much of a thrill to drink as it was to meet Nicole and Todd in person for the first time. It’s called George Dickel X Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend, by the way.
After that, the evening gets blurrier. So much booze, so little time…. but I can vouch for the excellence of the 30-Year-Old single grain whiskey I tried from Fuji (a Japanese brand founded in the early ‘70s but new to the U.S.); Writer’s Tears' cognac cask-finished Irish whiskey; Glenmorangie’s new “A Tale Of Winter” expression; The Representative, a 4-year-old barrel-proof bourbon from Dave Schmier’s Proof & Wood; and pretty much everything from the aforementioned St. George Spirits. They’re the first of the modern “craft distilleries,” with a history that goes back almost 40 years. They make gin, they make whiskey, they make liqueurs, they make absinthe, and a whole lot more besides. And if there’s something they haven’t made, they’re probably gonna make it at some point.
One thing I do NOT recommend: Cincoro Tequila. Overly sweet and highly artificial tasting (the extra añejo, at least), it won’t settle the debate over who’s basketball’s GOAT, but co-owner Michael Jordan’s tequila is definitely inferior to LeBron James’ Lobos 1707.
Amaro & Antipasto, Bourbon & (Veggie) Burgers
I was in no shape to drink anything for the next few days, and when I did, I eased back in gently with an Averna amaro, on the rocks with a twist of lemon, paired with a basket of antipasti they’d thoughtfully sent over. Averna is quite sweet and mellow, inviting rather than challenging like a fernet, and it laid a nice base for stuff like tuna-stuffed hot cherry peppers on fresh sourdough bread.
Another day off and I was ready for a proper full-proof spirit-forward cocktail. The drinks at Hillstone (known as Houston’s in the rest of the country) are well made, extremely well made for a national chain restaurant, and my favorite thing about ordering a martini or a Manhattan there is that, about halfway through the drink, a waitperson comes by with a fresh glass, straight from the freezer, into which the remainder is poured. Genius move, and my Bulleit bourbon Manhattan was all the better for it. Also — they make the best veggie burger in New York, bar none. Try it for yourself, and tell them I sent you.