Beginning a month of brunches and hanging out with Jay Hepburn

or My plans to drink more Bloody Marys this month than I probably have my entire life

March 1

My grand plan to make March a month of brunches got off to a sad start. My faithful camera finally gave up the ghost so I couldn't grab any photos. I also attempted to catch the brunch over at Macao, but ended up crossing the threshold just minutes after brunch time ended and the magical limited brunch hours of 3pm-5pm began.

Thankfully, it wasn't all a wash, since Jovi behind the bar still served me a Bloody Marta. You can still get drinks of the brunch menu during limited brunch, but for food you have a choice between a small handful of items like chicken dumpling, congee two ways or the mushroom croquettes that I had. If your looking for heartier fare, though, be sure to stop by during brunch hours so you can have some of the grill herb-marinated steak or the linguica with piquillo and potato hash and poached eggs.

The Bloody Marta's made with Luksusowa vodka and a home-made spicy sangrita with ingredients like tomato juice, lemon juice and even orange juice. It even had toothsome bits of real cracked black peppercorns. Very food friendly. I kind of wanted to dip my croquettes into it.

The brunch cocktail menu also features other cocktails like the Portonic and Blood Peach Bellini, which are both available on the regular menu. However, rather than paying $11 or $14, respectively, for the two drinks like you would during regular hours, all drinks on the brunch menu cost $9.

I told Jovi that I'd stop by again next time to make it in for real brunch, but it was probably a good thing that I didn't arrive early enough to get a good running start on the day's drinking.

The thing is I'd spent Friday with friends at Pegu Club, bothering Kenta Goto with questions about this and that since I'd been out of it lately. I downed a Red Pepper, Red Pepper, then an Earl Grey Marteani (always good), a small Good Night Irene that Kenta rustled up for me, and ended everything with an Applejack Cobbler.

So I was trying to pace myself on Sunday because I was meeting with Jay Hepburn of Oh Gosh! at Tailor. Jay's been in New York before, but he hadn't visited Tailor, so we figured we'd start our evening out there. I put my life in bartender Ludo's hands and told him that I'd already started off my day with a Bloody Mary type drink, so if he'd be so kind as to suggest what else I should be drinking so that I won't be hurting, I'd be much obliged.

The first drink I got was a Pine Needle Margarita. Ludo explained that the pine needles and tequila were vacuum sealed then tossed in boiling water to speed up the process. And since I'd had a Bloody Mary, he then suggested that I try out the Agua Verde. A Kermit-hued take on the Bloody Mary thanks to green ingredients like tomatillo, habanero and cilantro.

Ludo also served me and Jay two different "shots". I particularly liked the Cucumber Collins shot with a little cucumber sliver in it.

Jay and I decided to move venues at that point. A light sprinkling of snow fell on us as we twined our way through Soho, Chinatown and the Lower East Side trying to figure out where to go next. We joked about the Snow That Ate London, and ran into a speedbump or two. Neither of us had been to Apotheke before, so we figured why not go try and check it out. Only we discovered that...Apotheke's closed on Sundays? Really? I mean, maybe it was just pretending to be closed and as soon as we rounded a corner it'd jump out yelling, "Boogedy boogedy boo!!!" then say, "Nah, I'm just messin', come right this way." It easily could've been a case of me missing out on the joke, but I'm going to put on my best Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford and say, it ain't my first time at the rodeo. I've seen plenty of interesting ways to enter a bar, but crawling under a shutter at half-mast doesn't seem all that appealing, so I'm going to go ahead and believe the closed on Sundays theory. If that's true, anybody out there got details on how recent this development is? Because that's interesting...

Either way, we ended up at Clover Club, talking about our favorite shows like The Mighty Boosh, Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge ("Ah-HAAAA") and how incestuous British comedy world seems to be. The conversation grew exceedingly difficult, because for some unfathomable reason, we were both having a hard time remembering names and had to resort to clever descriptors like, "You know, Noel Fielding's brother? He played the shaman in The Mighty Boosh...argh, why can't I remember his name??" I really can't imagine what could've affected our memories.

Brad, our bartender at Clover Club, made us drinks and saved puppies at the same time. OK, well, maybe not the latter, but I told him I'd write that he saved puppies or something like that because of the great service and good drinks.

I had a Rope and Rose (strawberry and pineapple infused Peruvian pisco, lime and elderflower liqueur), which tasted and smelled absolutely lovely, and a Sour Cherry Fizz (Speyside scotch, housemade sour cherry preserve, lemon, soda).

Tales is still months away, but I celebrated it with Saveur

Jan. 2

Interesting facts gleaned from the evening.

1) Punch is delicious. (more of a restatement rather than a discovery)
2) Eben Freeman listens to T.I.

I usually sneak into Tailor right when it opens and run out way before the night really begins for people with real lives, so I'd never really been in the place when there's lots of people in it.

The event was in anticipation of Tales of the Cocktail (coming to a New Orleans near you, June 2009), and to say, "Hey, we're partnered with Saveur now." So it wasn't all bartenders, but a mix of bar folks, brand folks and media types. Don Lee and John Deragon were there, but bailed out early to my indignant cries of "Weeeeeeeeeeak saaaaaaaauuuce." As I squeezed my way to and fro in the crowd I spotted other familiar faces. I was pleased to see that Allen Katz was still sporting his a la souvarov and there was also Tony Conigliaro, whom I hadn't seen since Tales. Even Camper English from the West Coast was in attendance.



I'd brought my friend Marc Almendarez along to take photos for me. Longtime readers may recognize his work from our previous collaboration at a Rhum Clement contest a little while back. The lighting in Tailor is very tricky and I've always had terrible luck taking photographs there and on a more personal level Eben Freeman has been poking fun at my not so stellar photo work. So I decided to prove him wrong...by having a friend take photos for me. Hey, it's a solution of sorts. That place is like expert level, and I am not an expert, so why not borrow the expertise of a friend. And for the record, I am totally capable of taking decent photos. Sometimes.



There were two punches being served for the first part of the evening. The first was Captain Radcliffe's Punch. The recipe comes from a 17th century poem written by and English army captain and as Dave Wondrich called him, a "rake," Alexander Radcliffe. It's made with Ansac VSOP Cognac, Sauternes, freshly grated nutmeg and lemon. The second was the Regent's Punch. Dave explained the punch's origin to the crowd. It was named for George the IV, the 19th century prince regent. While George III was busy being mad, George IV was busy running the country, and this particular punch was his favorite tipple. I don't blame the guy. First, because ruling a country instead of your nutty dad is a tough job that could drive anyone to drink and second, this stuff was delicious.



The plan for the latter half of the evening was a time for folks to talk to Ann Tuennerman about Tales and what to look forward to. Since this portion of the event was to be sponsored by Hendrick's Gin, a gin drink would be necessary. As people were still dipping into the punchbowls I watched Eben at the other end of the bar vigorously shake a small container. I was curious but went back to busily filling my glass with what punch was left before they swapped out drinks. I chatted a bit with Jordana Rothman from Time Out New York who was telling me how she read my blog. I know, I was surprised too. Apparently, people actually read this thing.

I turned around to the bar again after talking with Jordana to see if there was any more of that punch. Troy, who was working behind the bar with Ashley that evening, pushed a small beaker-type vessel in front of me with liquid that looked kind of like beer.

"What's this?" I asked.

Troy said it was the Pimm's Pony. A drink of Eben's from back in the WD-50 days. It was Pimm's, gin, Sprite and a bit of cucumber foam made by shaking some cucumber juice. Cucumber juice? Well, I don't know if extract is the word. That makes it sound like it's from concentrate or something. Juice works, right? I mean, it's just liquid from cucumber. Cucumber water? Anyhow, I then figured out that that's what I saw Eben shaking a couple of minutes before. I also realized that this was supposed to be the gin drink for the "after" party and I'd unofficially started the after party 10 minutes before everyone else. Not that I'm complaining.

I offered Simon Ford a sip from my scientific chalice as I talked to him about his vacation in South America. He couldn't be at the Beard Off because of the trip, but his beard was able to make an appearance sans him, thanks to modern container technology. Just then Eben passed by and overheard Simon ask what was in the Pimm's Pony and Eben gave the list of ingredients and said that the cucumber foam was there to fool you into think it'd be a smooth, soothing drink, only to have it punch you in the gut.

I joked to our food editor Mr. Bret Thorn and his friend Blain Howard that at some point in my life getting handed strange drinks that a lot of times just sort of magically appear at the ready became part of my job. As if to drive this point home, as soon as I finished what was left in the beaker-glass I was nursing, Ashley set down a full-on wine goblet of more Pimm's Pony in front of me.

"Oh, dear," I thought. I was hoping to make an early escape, but as Tony Abou-Ganim once told me, wasting alcohol is a terrible thing. I tried to soldier on through a couple of sips. I ultimately gave up the fight and walked away. If I continued, I would've risked stumbling into work in a disreputable state the next day because the Pimm's Pony definitely had a healthy kick to it not unlike an irate, er, pony.

Absinthe gummy bears and Negroni caviar

Taken at Tailor, Jan. 3


Absinthe gummy bears, cousin to the Sambuca gummy bears, gather to pay homage at the foot of the Great Negroni Caviar Bowl

I will say though, the absinthe variety of the gummy bear is sweeter than the sambuca version, and and tastes more like candy than the latter.

Solids are back at Tailor

"Wait, are you guys not serving solids anymore?" I asked Troy as I looked over the cocktail menu at Tailor and noticed that the edible potables were missing from the line up. I hadn't been there in a criminally long time so when I found myself conveniently available at 6 p.m. after an an all-day coffee seminar, I thought I should pop in. I frowned at the fact that I'd been away so long that a pretty major change like this had gone unnoticed.

"No, we're serving them," he answered.

"Was it on hiatus or something?" I asked with a laugh.

"Actually, yea. Tonight's the first night we had them back."

"Oh."

So, yea, for all you people wondering where the solid cocktails went, they're back...for now.

Eben let me try a work in progress cocktail for the fall.

"It's like a cinnamon raisin bun," I declared.

"That's the idea," he said. "But the original idea was more like a cinnamon raisin toast."

Toasting the masters of French cuisine

June 16
The honest-to-goodness truth is I did not have even an inkling that Crème de la Crème was taking place until Don Lee called me at 10:48 am. Sleep-deprived, in the throes of wrestling with HTML coding and just not being much of a morning person in general, it took me a while to process what was going on.

Don said he was calling because he misplaced my email address. I thought for a second through the fog and asked, "Oh, so, like...do you want me to give it to you?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you about the cocktail that we're making for the Citymeals-on-Wheels charity event."

"...Oh, when is that?" I asked groggily.

"Tonight."

"..."

So I got myself on the list at the last minute to attend the event. I was also feeling mighty self-conscious about how I was dressed since I wasn't expecting to go to some fancy event up until a mere six hours ago.

The event was held to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels, an organization that provides meals for homebound elderly New Yorkers on the weekend since government programs cover meals on weekdays. And they also provide meals for holidays.

It was fitting that an organization that provides meals with such deep ties to the restaurant community (Gael Greene and James Beard co-founded the organization) would raise funds through an event that honors culinary legends.

The forecast threatened rain and the organizers of Crème de la Crème were giving attendees warnings about said storm. I thought it was supposed to be one of those "We forecast rain later in the day, but we totally mean, like 9 or 10 pm" type of forecasts, but dark clouds rolled over the sky ominously as I entered 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Heading down to the garden area (the part that you skate in when it's winter), I was assaulted by the smell of food. Everywhere. I was bewildered and not sure where to go and what to do until I bumped into the Plymouth Gin booth that was located conveniently in my meandering path. I was offered a gin and tonic made with Plymouth gin and Q Tonic Water. I took one and downed it quickly to help me get my wits about me.

While I was there I asked Jamie Gordon with the Absolut Spirits Company (Plymouth is owned by Swedish company V&S Group that also makes Absolut) how things were going with the sloe gin. "Oh, dear," he answered.

Unfortunately, there seems to be some hiccups with distribution, but response and demand have been great stateside. All 2000 cases allocated for the United States have been spoken for and Plymouth is gearing up to try and brew up some more for the U.S. for next year.

I wove my way between people to the bar station where I grabbed the Le Croissmo from Don and John who were representing PDT. It tasted exactly like I thought it would. The fruity berry center of a berry-filled croissant...with alcohol.

I did a double-take because I was pretty sure Kathleen Turner brushed past me to grab a Sidecar from Chad Solomon and Christy Pope from Cuffs and Buttons, a cocktail catering outfit.

Pegu Club showcased the French Pearl, which is also on their menu. Eben Klemm of B.R. Guest served up a TGV, a super light floral cocktail made with Plymouth gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Sauternes and some lavender foam. Little Branch served up Fine and Dandies (Plymouth Gin, Cointreau, angostura bitters). And Mr. Eben Freeman from Tailor came up with a Cointreau Creme Orange for the occasion.

Right after trying out the Le Croissmo, I wandered over to the other end of the bar to say hi to Mr. Eben Freeman. Just then the skies decided to open up and the rain began to pelt the plastic and tarp protecting us.

Over the sound of rain violently hitting protective covers and the house band, Eben said that he at first wanted to serve the Creme Orange out of a keg, but that idea didn't work out too well and he instead was pouring topping the drink off with soda.

I asked what a cubeb was and Eben said it was type of pepper. You learn something new everyday. He had steeped the cubeb in hot water with vanilla and licorice and the result was a spicy, bite-y cream soda cocktail. It was like a very adult soda shop drink.

But then Eben asked me with great concern if I had had any of the food. I admitted I went straight to the drinks. He pressed upon me that I really, REALLY needed to eat the food at this event.

This was serious business. I gave my liver a breather and dove back into the crowds to sample some of the cuisine. From now on its stream-of-consciousnesses and what stood out from the things I sampled. At the Charleston Grill station I grabbed a "Crepinette de Pigeon, Sauce au Truffe de Bourgogne" (squab sausage with truffle sauce) that melted in my mouth. Bob Waggoner also served seared veal sweetbreads over Granny Smith Vidalia Compote in Xeres Reduction. I won't lie. I love sweetbreads.

City Hall had Alsatian onion tart, which I thought was intriguing. I haven't really eaten a lot of vegetable tarts and I found myself enjoying it. They also had a brandade made of salted cod served with 24-hour tomato. I kind of thought the "24-hour" bit was just a name for some fancy-pants technique, but I was assured the tomato was really simmered for 24 hours to create a paste.

The seared American Piedmontese beef loin with wild leek potatoes and morels served by chef Larry Forgione of An American Place made me with I could have like a big old plate of the stuff.

I didn't even get to try whatever it was that Jean-Georges Vongerichten had going on because his table was mobbed and by the time I came back to see if the crowd had dissipated a bit, it was all gone.

I chowed down with gusto at Tom Colicchio's Craft Restaurant station on duck pastrami with pickled red cabbage and sweet mustard and braised pork butt with smoked onions and tomato molasses.

As I stuffed my face with pork butt two or three feet away from the station I overheard to young ladies debating whether or not to get an autograph. I turned back to the station and noticed Tom Colicchio had materialized while my back was turned and was doing an interview (he wasn't there when I was there). I'm going to admit in this space that whenever I see Tom Colicchio in person, I always find him intimidating. And again I found myself washed over with nervousness. He just has this really intense aura, man. Also, I've only talked to him once, very briefly in an introductory sense a long time ago, and a small part of me swears up and down that he found me annoying at that encounter and to this day my neurotic brain thinks that somehow he still remembers me and remembers me as annoying.

Other famous faces I recognized all on my own were Gael Green, Todd English, Charlie Palmer and Drew Nieporent. I felt proud of myself. I was getting better at this.

Both Don Lee and Eben Freeman told me to stop by Rogue Ale and Spirits' table to try the Spruce Gin and Hazelnut Spice Rum when I had a chance. Chris from Rogue informed me that the two spirits were released in the New York market just three weeks ago.

The spruce gin had cucumber in it too. It had that slow gin burn as it rolled down my neck, but was intensely floral even with the Christmas tree-esque spruce scent, which I wasn't expecting. The hazelnut rum almost tasted like chocolate.

Chris then poured me a mixture of Rogue's Chipotle Ale and Chocolate Stout.

"It's like some kind of Mayan/Mexican chocolate beer!" I exclaimed.

I went back to the bar station to hang out a bit. Finished drinking some more of the cocktails, and stuck around when the chefs and everyone were called up to the stage.

I asked NRN's national reports editor Milford Prewitt, who I bumped into through out the evening along with our executive food editor Pam Parseghian, how long the event was going. When he answered that the dancing probably would be until midnight, I thought now would be a good time to throw in my hat.

Working for the weekend: Dropping in on Eben Freeman

It wasn't too long ago when I used to joke about occupational vs. recreational drinking with friends. Lately, even that line is starting to blur a bit.

After trying the garam masala rum and hearing about the Masala Mai Tai and alcoholic gummy bears from Eben Freeman my curiosity had been piqued and I decided to stop by Tailor on the 17th, with fingers crossed, to see if I could get a sneak preview of some sorts. It was a Saturday, but I was already out and it was way too early to head back home.

I watched Eben scoop some ice into the metal half of a Boston shaker and then almost jumped back as he proceeded to pound the everliving life out of it with a muddler to make crushed ice for the Mai Tai.

I knew the answer, but had to ask if this was going to be standard procedure once this drink was on the menu. Eben said that the ice would definitely not be hand-crushed like that. In fact, don't even expect the finalized version to come with crushed ice. Eben explained that he was using crushed ice now because he thought the current Super Cinnamon strain of the garam masala rum would benefit from it. The recipe isn't different from a regular Mai Tai besides the use of the garam masala rum.

After chatting a bit about what else might be coming up on the new menu (wrestling with trying to create a pancake cream of sorts. It's for a breakfast-themed drink), I left promising to stop by when the new menu was in place.

I stopped by again on Friday though, because yet again I found myself to be in the area and had a good chunk of time to kill. I wasn't sure what the place would be like considering it was the start of the long weekend. It could've gone either way, but luckily it was quiet when I winded my way down to the bar. One of the bartenders, Troy, recognized me from Saturday and asked, "Does Eben know you're here?"

"No, no!" I said quickly, "I'm just here to hang out today."

But then curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't help but ask if there was anything new. This sent Troy upstairs to ask Eben before I could reach out and stop him to say, "Nnnnnooooo, I don't want to be a bother! I'm just here for a drink or two!"

While a bother I might have inadvertently made myself, I was glad I asked because soon I was given a three-piece serving of Sambuca Gummy Bears. So cute! So soft! These were test gummy bears in anticipation for the absinthe gummy bears that would go on the menu as part of the updated Solids beginning in June.

When Eben came downstairs he explained the bears were soft because they came from a batch made that day needed to sit for a day to firm up a bit.

"That's the basic idea for the absinthe gummy bears," he told me as I thoughtfully squished one of the sambuca bears between my thumb and forefinger. "Except, it'll be green."

I dutifully chomped off the head like I do whenever I encounter bear-shaped confections, whether they be of the gummy or graham cracker variety. As I contemplated the aniseed flavor, I realized I'd fallen for another one of Eben's puns again. It had its own logic. Absinthe and sambuca have that licorice-like flavor. Licorice=candy.

"My God, it comes full circle," I thought, as I nibbled the arms and legs off the gummy bear torso.

When Sam Mason came downstairs to snag some of Eben's house-made cocktail onions for something he was working on in the kitchen, Eben speared one for me out of the jar so that I could have a taste. It was more briny than vinegary, and on top of that, super crunchy. It made me think I should order a Gibson the next time I was in.

There was nothing else new to report on. The pancake cream was still a headache, but Eben made me a Kaffir Lime Collins he used to make at WD-50. A Tom Collins amplified with some muddled kaffir lime leaves, it was simple, but full of flavor and refreshing.

2008 Taste of the Nation New York

May 14

2008 celebrates the 20th anniversary of Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, where more events take place around the United States and Canada to raise funds to help battle childhood hunger. It's a great opportunity to have your money go to a good cause while being able to sample the works of chefs and restaurants in a participating city near you. At the New York event you got a wide range of tasting experiences from a wide range of restaurants in the city who volunteer their time and effort. You can go from trying a dumpling at Rickshaw Dumpling Bar's table, maybe some barbecue at Blue Smoke or Hill Country's table, then find yourself trying something from Morimoto.

I ate EVERYTHING.

Maybe not everything, but I feel like I got pretty close. It is a huge food fest. At first you think you're in control of the situation. You think, "No, I won't have that cake thing because I'm gonna try all the savory stuff then come back around to that." But around the time you've shoved the fifth food item all of that goes out of the window and you find yourself going from tuna tartare, to a cup of chocolate of some form with a little bit of gold leaf, then cured salmon and...oooh! Is that beef with foie gras?

The main reason why I was stuffing my face was because I'd just managed to go down a line of tables and drink several drinks created by New York's bartenders. As much as it is an event for restaurants to show their stuff for a good cause, the New York Taste of the Nation also gave a chance for drinks to have their moment as well. And besides cocktails there were also plenty of wine and beer and even coffee. There was no way I was going to be doing all the wine and beer without the very real possibility of not being able to make it into work the next day, so I stuck with the cocktails.

Once I got my wristband, I skipped up the steps to the VIP area to try some cocktails from Tabla. They had on hand their Tabla-tini and Tamarind Margarita. The Tabla-tini is made with citrus based vodka, gin, and a housemade blend of pineapple and lemon grass. The Tamarind Margarita is made with tequila triple sec, tamarind, orange juice and lime juice.

Tabla manger Tyler Vaughan said that they were currently working on a kumquat mojito that will probably turn into a watermelon mojito in the summer. Tyler also added that during the summer the restaurant plans on offering the margarita and Tabla-tini by the pitcher and is also planning to serve an India-inspired sangria.

I made my way back downstairs to the bar station and girded myself to start making my way down. The first table I stopped at was manned by Mr. Eben Klemm, director of cocktail development at B.R. Guest, who I hadn't seen since...well, last year's Taste of the Nation.

"Yes, the last time you saw me, I was standing here," Eben said, then after a pause added, "And I've been here since then. For the past 364 days I've been here mixing drinks hoping they'd let me go."

I like seeing Eben because he has the nattiest suits and natty suits bring a smile to my face.

Mr. Klemm was mixing a Tequila Sunbolt made with Herradura Silver tequila, limeade and red pepper water. Red pepper water? According to Eben Klemm it's just roasted peeled peppers pressed through a sieve.

At the next table, Michael and Vito from Little Branch were making the Cock and Bull Special. It was a stiff concoction made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, Benedictine, cointreau and Cognac Claude Chatelier VSOP.

Eben Freeman from Tailor was also in attendance, but he kept things simple by bringing some of his bubblegum vodka. Not any less different in level of oddness from the Cape Codder caviar he was making at the New York Taste of the Nation two years ago, but definitely not as complex. He was practically plating that caviar whereas this was just a pour. "For an event like this I've found that it's better to do something fun and easy," he said. Can't argue with that. Especially when it generates the responses I saw when people sidled up to Eben's table, to see him there with just rows of bottles filled with "Barbie's Cadillac"-pink vodka behind him.

"So, what's this?" they'd ask apprehensively.

"Bubblegum vodka," he'd answer.

They'd all give a look that can only be described in the following conjectured monologue: "Huh, ok...wait, did he just say 'bubblegum vodka'? WEIRD. Well, I like bubblegum. I think. Does he mean it's bubble-game flavored or is this one of his insane solids? No, it's in a bottle; he's pouring it. I wonder if I can still chew this."

I sipped on my own glass of the stuff and chuckled to myself at this thought when I saw Eben pull a brown bottle from out of nowhere, pour a bit of it in a glass. I thought it was his own secret stash for himself at first, but he pushed the glass towards me and said, "It's a garam masala rum."

"Ooooooooooh!" I pretty much squealed as I picked it up.

"I think the cinnamon's a bit to strong on this one, I might do less of it," he said then went on to say it was for a "Masala Mai Tai" he was working on. In dark rum he added the usual garam masala spices such as black pepper, coriander and cloves, but added his own touch with some green curry leaves. He wanted to a tiki drink, but didn't want something too sweet and thought spices would help lend a more savory aspect to it.

I asked Eben if he was changing up the solids menu anytime soon and he said probably in the foreseeable future. He said there were some absinthe gummy bears in the works (Sam Mason's idea). I asked if there were gummy bear molds or some kind of machine available for purchasing, because I don't believe ever having seen one of those. Eben said there were no molds, just gummy bears pressed into corn starch and the impression used as a mold.

Pegu Club was representing with their Grapefruit Cooler. Kenta Goto said that they wanted to make something refreshing for the guests who would be eating a lot of food. The cooler is made with grapefruit vodka, lemon juice, honey, Peychaud's bitters and a touch of Pegu with housemade grapefruit syrup. The pale pink drink is garnished with some organic flowers.

I then visited Don, John and Jim at their PDT table. They were also bringing the spirits strong with their Woodford Witch, made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Lustau Palo Cortado Sherry, Strega, simple syrup, a dash of Fee Brother's Orange Bitters and a dash of Regan's Orange Bitters.

"You guys get extra points for printing out the recipe," I said, giving my pen hand a rest. Jim explained that they'd learned that at events of this type it was easier to have the recipe to hand out since usually the first question people asked was "What's in this?"

I swung on back over to the Clover Club (technically for Flatiron Lounge as well, I suppose, since the Clover Club is not scheduled to open until June), and chatted a bit with Julie Reiner as well as head bartender apparent for the soon-to-be opened Clover Club Giuseppe Gonzalez.

Giuseppe mixed up a Diablo, made with Herradura Silver tequila, fresh lemon juice, housemade ginger beer and sweetened with creme de casses.

I took a sip, thought for a second, took another sip and said, "Is it just me, or is there a bit of spiciness in the back of the throat?"

"That's because of the housemade ginger beer," Giuseppe said. Rather than using ginger ale, the handmade version was opted for because it provided "a little more character than something out of a bottle."

Bubblegum Vodka and the hands of its creator; Tailor.


Grapefruit Cooler, Pegu Club


Woodford Witch, PDT


Woodford Witch, with a view of the ginormous strainer/pitcher combo in the back


Diablo, Clover Club

'These aren't the food items you're looking for...'

I went down to Tailor to give the "solids" cocktails a spin. I wasn't expecting to, but ended up running into Eben Freeman (previously) on my way downstairs to the bar. We exchanged greetings and he said he'd be down in a few.

Even though the bar is downstairs, it's not a dark tucked away affair, but is a whole other level of the restaurant that's pretty bustling.

As I looked over the menu, I realized that besides the solids I had no idea what else I was going to have. I needed a plan of attack. Since I was going for solid cocktails, I figured why not go for "drinks that taste like non-drinks"? Though quite honestly, when you look at Tailor's beverage menu, a lot straddles the line with food-based flavors. For example, the "Tailor Made" spirits include the Pumpernickel Raisin Scotch, as well as a Huitalacoche Mescal.

The Grape Nut Shochu used for the Asa Gohan (Grape Nut shochu, Crazy Milk Sake and raspberry)? Flavored with real cereal. Bartender Alex said that the infusion process required vacuum sealing the mixture to help draw out the flavor.

I had a Pumpernickel Flip while I waited for the solid cocktails to be prepared upstairs. Made with aforementioned pumpernickel raisin scotch, pomegranate, molasses, egg yolk and freshly grated nutmeg.

Eben got behind the bar to mix some drinks and was asked if he was doing a hard shake. Eben laughed and said that since he talked about it in a Food & Wine article, "I have to do it all the time now."

Eric, a fan of Eben's work who followed him to Tailor from WD-50 came in and Eben served him his usual, bourbon and elderflower syrup. Eric explained that it's not on the menu at Tailor, but he used to order it at WD-50.

The solids arrive plated like little appetizers. The order suggested by Eben is to eat the Cuba Libre jelly, then the Ramos Gin Fizz marshmallow, and finally the White Russian breakfast cereal.

The Cuba Libre jelly cube used to be a gin and tonic jelly cube, but Eben said he decided that he didn't want two gin drinks together. Also, since it was a cube of jelly, it sort of made a pun with "Cuba." One thing to know about Eben Freeman is that he likes puns. It's fitting that he's a fan of this particular device that uses confusion between similar things since what he does with cocktails is much the same. Food techniques and flavors somehow manage to find their way into beverage form around Mr. Freeman.

Eben explained that since a well-made Ramos Gin Fizz is almost meringue-like, it seemed like a natural conclusion to make a marshmallow with it.

As for the crispy cereal in the White Russian? It's real cereal tossed in Kahlua, then blasted in a dehydrator, then tossed in Kahlua and blasted once more. The "milk" is vodka, simple syrup and half-and-half. Drinking this one is a bit of a challenge since if you're not careful a bulk of the cereal stays in the bowl and all you get is milk. It's best to try and throw it back as vigorously as possible without hurting your neck.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it's definitely a weird Jedi mind trick to pop a bit of brown jelly sitting on a lime chip in your mouth only to get hit with an alcoholic tang. Or to look at what looks like a miniature bowl of Cocoa Krispies, only to empty the bowl into your mouth and think, "White Russian."

The Crumble I had afterwards provided a same sort of complex disconnect. Made with brown butter, a lime and clove cordial called Falernum and pear cider. The brown butter taste is there. Buttery and fruity. Simply put, it was crumble-esque.

Alex explained that the brown butter rum is made by fat washing, a process I talked about previously in regards to the foie gras bourbon created by Don Lee at PDT.

The Crumble comes with a square block of ice sitting in the middle of the cup. I asked Alex why that is and he said that smaller pieces of ice provide too much surface area which then makes the ice melt faster, diluting the drink. So to keep dilution at a minimum and the bubbles in the cider alive, a huge block of ice is used to cool it.

"Like those huge balls of ice Japanese bartenders use?" I asked.

"Yea." Alex answered. "You know they actually hand carve those? We haven't gotten that ridiculous yet."

I ended the evening with a Bazooka. And I really wish I had more occasions to use that line. It's exactly what you'd think it'd be. It's a cocktail with bubble gum flavor. Oddly enough I will say that vodka, bubble gum cordial and house sour does not taste odd at all.

Drinks at Tailor don't always tailor to the seasons

Last week I caught Tailor's Eben Freeman on the phone to talk a bit about the drink menu at Tailor. With the change of the weather, I'd been feeling out to see what kinds of changes were happening to beverage menus out there, so I asked Eben if the beverage menu at Tailor menu was doing anything seasonal.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it seasonal," Eben answered. "We change things up all time. We're constantly developing new ideas and the bartenders are playing with things. There are a few drinks that are not on the list yet that we're happy to make changes with."

At the same time, he added, "We can't ignore the season. There are certain ingredients that come into play and the seasonality of drinking in the winter is different from the summer. But it's not a case of 'It's spring. It's fall.' It's not how it really works."

Eben said that while he doesn't collaborate directly with Sam Mason to come up with the drinks menu at Tailor, he tries to make drinks that "express the vocabulary of the kitchen." And the main drive behind his creations are about "putting things in liquid form that haven't been in liquid form before."

A direct collaboration isn't necessary between him and Sam considering their long working relationship together, which includes WD-50 and time at Jean-Louis Palladin's restaurant.

"It's about working in a certain milieu and a certain mindset," Eben said, crediting also their mutual familiarity with vocabularies and techniques.

"When you're a bartender in a restaurant, your responsibility is to know food well. For me that extends to knowing how to work in the kitchen. To know what the rules of the kitchen are, how you clean up after yourself, how the kitchen works, how to use the equipment...also not to step on anyone's toes." For example, smoking the syrup for the smoked Coke would be difficult if the kitchen was not equipped for smoking or if the kitchen staff did now know how to smoke things already.

Word of mouth has been going around about Eben's creations and he's been what he called, "very fortunate coverage." Especially for the smoked Coke and bourbon, which was also featured by NRN's food writer Bret Thorn in a food trends piece on smoked items. It started out as a food idea since some barbecue recipes call for cola. Other drinks that are turning heads include the pear crumble, which is made with sparkling pear cider, cloves and brown butter rum.

Some new drinks are being/will be rolled out this week. One of those drinks uses a lovage-flavored ingredient first developed by Sam as an infusion with juniper, clove, dry vermouth and a little bit of sugar. Eben added mescal, lime, juice and sea salt to the mix and calls it Mi Amor.

The lovage has a celery-like flavor, and Eben said that the drink is seasonal in its on way because lovage is no longer available and it's not a fall or winter flavor. The flavor of lovage intrigues with something unfamiliar and people who tasted the beverage reacted very favorably.

Eben also mentioned his Pumpernickel Flip. A flip is a classic mixed drink made with an egg yolk that's served either hot or cold. Eben's touch on this particular drink is the use of a pumpernickel raisin bread infused Scotch. The drink is rounded out with cream, simple syrup and nutmeg.