This hybrid of pot and column stills is used to make all of the Tuthilltown Spirits' Hudson whiskeys. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

While New Yorkers slept off their July 4th revelries, a cadre of ardent bartenders— and some writers, too—braved the light of day (a rare occasion for this vampire-esque lot) to travel up to the Tuthilltown Distillery near New Paltz, New York, to observe distillation firsthand and drink deeply of its handcrafted Hudson whiskeys. Read more »

From beer towers to stripper poles, the Bar Show had every gimmick imaginable, even this shameless tequila-shot ice slide. Open wide! (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

While we at the Feed generally promote spirituous discernment, the annual Bar Show reminds us what most watering holes are really all about: getting drunk, playing silly games, ogling hotties and maybe even getting laid. This unabashedly politically incorrect trade event at the Javits Center on June 14 and 15 was packed with often questionable booze, promo models in Daisy Duke shorts and “entertainment,” from flashy beer-pong sets to mechanical bulls. For anyone seeking to open a bar—speakeasy, biker bar, cowboy bar or strip club—this is your one-stop shop. For everyone else, it’s a spring-break regression in a professional disguise. Click through for the slide show and more depraved diversions. Read more »

First-place winner Jonathan Pogash embraces third-placer Erin Williams, left, and second-placer Lisa Victoria Hare, right. (Photo: Michael Anstendig)

The sports world has the Olympics, elite bartenders have the World Cocktail Competition. This week, six of New York’s most ambitious mixologists competed for the honor of representing the Big Apple. The contenders were formidable: Marshall Altier (Insieme), Elba Giron (Bar Milano alumna), Lisa Victoria Hare (Von and Bobo), Jonathan Pogash (the World Bar) and Erin Williams (Remy Cointreau USA). Read more »