It is a question that has been asked before: Whatever happened to Chumley’s?
It has been five years and three weeks since a wall collapsed and the famous bar in a 19th-century building in Greenwich Village closed for repairs.
A Dash of Bitters
A weblog detailing cocktails, spirits, liqueurs, barware, bars, and bitters. Maintained by Michael Dietsch, a writer and hobbyist mixer in Brooklyn.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Ad of the week: Glenmore’s Kentucky Tavern
From the December 28, 1936, issue of Life.
The Kentucky Tavern brand still exists, owned now by the Sazerac Company, and produced at the Barton Distillery in Bardstown. Apparently there are both 80- and 100-proof bottlings. Sazerac’s site has a brief history of the Glenmore brand.
Cocktail 101: How to Make a Perfect Mint Julep
Hey, did you know the Derby falls on Cinco de Mayo this year? Gird your livers! Here are my tips for making a stunning mint julep.
Double Indemnity
Walter: I’m crazy about you, baby.
Phyllis: I’m crazy about you, Walter.
Walter: The perfume on your hair. What’s the name of it?
Phyllis: I don’t know. I bought it in Ensenada.
Walter: You ought to have some of that pink wine to go with it. The kind that bubbles. All I got is bourbon.
Phyllis: Bourbon is fine, Walter.
L.I.R.R. to Ban Alcohol on Late-Night Weekend Trains
The notion of enjoying a cold one aboard a rush-hour commuter train leaving Manhattan may seem like a time-honored tradition, evoking visions of communal bar cars or perhaps a cocktail hour spent in solitude at one’s seat. But after midnight on weekends, the specter of alcohol aboard Long Island Rail Road trains carries a far more malevolent overtone; passengers described them as the “drunk trains,” characterized by fights and boisterous behavior. In March, passengers were accused of attacking two conductors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/nyregion/lirr-to-ban-alcohol-on-late-night-weekend-trains.html
In My Experience …
Writing over at ShakeStir, Paul Clarke has launched a new column called In My Experience. ShakeStir is a relatively new platform for bartenders, meant to provide information and advice about managing their professional interests. Clarke’s column provides a good look at what ShakeStir is all about. He interviews veteran bartenders about work/home balance, managing money, drinking, staying healthy, and generally keeping your sanity while working long shifts in the service industry.
His first two interviews feature a couple of guys who know a thing or two about working behind the stick: Dale DeGroff and Gaz Regan. The questions are smart and the answers incisive and wise. I’m looking forward to future installments.
Incidentally, I have a profile there, if that really matters to anyone.
The New Beer Frontier
BBC Radio 4′s The Food Programme this week did a report on the American craft-beer scene and how it’s starting to influence brewmasters in England. Among the brewers interviewed are guys from Harpoon, the Cambridge Brewing Company, and Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver. Makes me want to pop the cap off one right now.
Heineken Offers to Replace Chopped Trees in Front of SoHo Billboard
MANHATTAN — Just hours after the news broke that someone had illegally lopped off the tops of a pair of trees that obscured a giant Tribeca Film Festival and Heineken billboard, the beer company offered to replace the mutilated trees.
SoHo Trees Hacked in Front of Heineken Billboard
SOHO — The Parks Department is hunting for the mystery hatchet man who illegally cut off the tops of a pair of trees that obscured a Tribeca Film Festival and Heineken billboard in SoHo, officials said.
Ads of the Week: Teacher’s Highland Cream
Hey, it’s the creepy old guy again.
First up, an ad from December 7, 1936.
Next, January 18, 1937:
Finally, March 15, 1937:
Teacher’s, by the way, still exists. Owned today by Beam Inc., the brand dates to 1830, making it one of the oldest blended scotches still around. Reportedly, the main malt in the blend is Ardmore. A liter will run you about 20 bucks.
