Back in September, we highlighted one of our favorite drinks of the moment: the pisco sour at Yerba Buena. The classic frothy beverage combines pisco (Peru’s national grape brandy) with lime juice, egg white and bitters. The brand used at Yerba Buena is called Macchu Pisco, and it’s been popping up on cocktail menus throughout the city, along with its two sister labels—La Diablada and Ñusta—from the same family-owned company. To get a better sense of just how bartenders are using the spirit right now, TONY tagged along with Macchu Pisco owners (and sisters) Lizzie and Melanie Asher on a high-octane bar crawl covering Death & Company, PDT, The Crosby Bar, Summit Bar, Yerba Buena, wd~50 and Apothéke. Take a look at the slide show for highlights of the tour, and read after the jump to sharpen your pisco knowledge. Read more »

As soon as we walked into the Second Annual Taste of Greenmarket benefit last night, one thing was immediately clear: It’s no accident that New York’s most lauded chefs are also those most dedicated to the farmers’ market. Read more »

Jim Meehan didn't become the world's best hot-dog server—but the snacks help.

Yes, we know we said we were done with TOTC coverage, but we neglected one very important item: a big fat congratulations to barkeep Jim Meehan, who was named Best American Bartender at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Awards on Saturday night. His bar, PDT, scored special honors, earning the title of World’s Best Cocktail Bar.

Meehan beat out some serious competition, including his own mentor Audrey Saunders (of Pegu Club, which was knighted Best American Bar). Other NYC notables included Clover Club (World’s Best New Cocktail Bar). Handshakes all around.

If the duties of a brand ambassador seem a bit vague, consider the task appointed to Hendrick’s Gin delegate Charlotte Voisey. At last night’s Hendrick’s burlesque party, held at the New Orleans Roosevelt Hotel (N.B. This is the birthplace of the Sazerac cocktail), we found her dressed in a winged fairy-princess costume, which she wore for the duration of the event. TONY would never do that to us. Oh wait. Read more »

Feed favorite David Wondrich (Photo: Daniel Krieger)

Wondering where your favorite NYC barkeeps are this week? They’re staggering about the French Quarter sporting Panamanian straw hats. Annual New Orleans booze congress Tales of the Cocktail is fully underway, with seminars, parties and dinners happening all over the city. After battling Internet outages and a steady stream of intoxicants, we finally have a chance to bring you up to speed. Find some highlights (Trends! Geeks! David Wondrich!) after the jump. Read more »

It’s safe to say any Catholics in the crowd at last night’s Bénédictine party were sufficiently offended. The fete’s faux-monastic theme felt rather Eyes Wide Shut to the casual observer: Sexy monks in clingy robes (is that an incense burner in your pocket?) roamed about a cavernous room at Latrobes in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Barely dressed human statues dangled bottles of B&B (Benedictine and brandy) and two plastic replicas of wax seals acted as tokens, redeemable for an übersweet punch and a fortune-telling (ours: we’re a peasant who will live long and work hard. Prescient indeed). Read more »

The Roseland Ballroom was host to a parade of avid eaters (and nearly 50 top restos) last night at epic taste-around Taste of the Nation. This sort of thing is rarely revelatory, but we were impressed by last night’s showing, which benefited Share our Strength. Jean Georges pulled off a stellar egg yolk sandwiched within tiny toasts and topped with Petrossian caviar.  Matsugen presented some miniature homemade tofu and uni in an exquisite yuzu gelée—the ocean in a swallow. Other notable bites included Rouge Tomate’s spectacular duck breast, cooked sous vide and finished à la plancha to crisp the skin. Porter House aced its brisket, and Dirt Candy’s Portobello mousse with peach fennel compote was rich and earthy. Brawny cocktails by bars like Dutch Kills and Mayahuel kept the crowd properly anaesthetized, which, given the swarm induced by no less than 1,200 attendees, was wholly necessary. We’ll let the slide show say the rest.—Michael Anstendig

The Feed paid a visit to Momofuku Ssäm Bar last night to case this cocktail situation. The essentials: This isn’t a Tailor setup. Ssäm isn’t any more of a bar than it was before this tipular chatter first hit the blogs. It’s a restaurant with a cocktail list designed to dovetail with the food (and how—whiskey does wonders with pork sausage and rice cakes). According to GM Cory Lane, Wednesday was night two of a soft launch for the new program, overseen by PDT’s Don Lee. Tonight the list goes full gallop.

On to the drinks… Read more »

Kiss me, I'm Irish.

As a gin blossomed, green-top-hat-clad miscreant sloppily reminded us on the train this morning, “iiiit’s efffffing PADDDDDDY’S DAYY” today. Whether this means you’ll be hiding under a blanket until the green tide resides or unearthing last year’s shamrock-patterned skank tank, we have a few suggestions. Read more »

It’s not just the Mason Dog that has recently landed on the PDT menu. Barkeep extraordinaire Jim Meehan sent us these recent drink additions, complete with lore:

KING BEE
Barsol Quebranta Pisco, Lemon Juice,
Benedictine, Barenjager, Lustau Palo Cortado Sherry

When I asked Nate Dumas why he wanted to call his latest addition to the menu the King Bee, he sent me the lyrics to Muddy Waters’s song “I’m a King Bee.” Coming from a man that rocks as hard as he shakes and stirs, maybe he “can buzz better baby
/When your man is gone.” Read more »