- Aisha Sharpe of Contemporary Cocktails unleashes a new cocktail menu at The Breslin at the Ace Hotel tonight. See the full menu below.
- My prediction of "all-tiki-everything" is already coming true--NYC is finally getting a tiki cocktail bar! Food & Wine reports that Painkiller (from Dutch Kills' Richard Boccato and Giuseppe Gonzales!) will open at the former site of the East Side Company Bar on Essex Street in March. The bar will combine the vibe of 1970s New York with 1940s tiki culture. Stay tuned!
- If you haven't seen it yet, PDT's Jim Meehan was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night, mixing gin tonics and tequila highballs.
- On Wednesday Jan. 13, Benedictine is hosting the finals for it's "Alchemist of Our Age" cocktail competition celebrating the liqueur's 500th anniversary. The throwdown takes place at the Hearst Tower in NYC, with Dave Wondrich selecting the winner. First place prize is a stand-alone profile in Esquire's March issue. Finalists are: Jackson Cannon (Boston), Damon Dyer (NYC), Brandon Clements (San Francisco), Lynn House (Chicago), and Daniel Victory (New Orleans).
- The cocktail industry was in a tizzy this week over the sudden shortage of Angostura Bitters, a staple product at most bars. Reportedly the plant that makes the secret-formula bitters in Trinidad and Tobago had a brief shutdown. Many bar managers are either paying exorbitant prices (such as $65 for a 20-oz. bottle) for the bitters, or they have been told it will be weeks before their orders arrive. Expect to see different brands of bitters dashed in your next Manhattan.
- One more reason for cocktail bars to use bottled soda: an International Journal of Microbiology study found half of soda fountains analyzed contained fecal bacteria. Now you know.
The Breslin Cocktails, all $12:
Liquid Swords (rye whiskey, orange curacao, Aperol, Green Chartreuse, with an orange zest)
Lust for Life (gin with lavender syrup, mint, fresh lemon juice, topped with soda water)
Rush of Blood to the Head (prosecco with blood orange liqueur, hibiscus syrup, and lemon zest)
London Calling (vodka with Ribena-Blackcurrant Syrup, fresh lemon juice, topped with prosecco)
Kingdom Come (blended scotch whisky, orange essence, black tea syrup, fresh lemon juice, egg white)
Pablo Honey (blanco tequila with spiced agave nectar and fresh lime juice)
Beggar’s Banquet (bourbon whiskey with maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, aromatic bitters, topped with ale)
Rattle and Hum (rum with spices, brown sugar and butter and hot water)
The Breslin Gin & Tonics:
The Classic (Tanqueray Gin with tonic and a lime)
The Garden Tonic (Hendrick’s Gin with cucumber, celery bitters and tonic)
The Tonic and Grapefruit (Beefeater 24 with grapefruit bitters, tonic and grapefruit zest)