The Manhattan Cocktail Classic

New York City-  to some of us it’s the Mecca of the cocktail craft, a hub of excitement, where there’s a place to be every night of the week. After 24 hours of flying (16001 kilometres to be precise) to get to Manhattan, I can honestly say this metropolis lives up to its reputation of being the city that never sleeps.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic, an annual five-day celebration of cocktails and culture, was held in and around Manhattan during May in honour of the birthday of the cocktail.  A twist on your usual trade- only event, the Classic catered for a mix of trade and consumers, and served up the world of cocktails through a mix of seminars, workshops, awards and, best of all, some crazy parties.

Day 1

ABSOLUT decided to unofficially kick things off - Simon Ford, Director of Trade Outreach and Brand Education and the team from Pernod Ricard USA held an invite only, day- long event called the “What the Bartender Saw”; an ode to the role ABSOLUT VODKA has played in developing bar culture and the bartending community from it’s beginnings in 1979. Guests included top bartenders from across the country, notably Dushan Zaric from Employee’s Only, as well as the teams from the Clover Club, Death and Co, PDT and our own ex pat Naren Young from uber-hot The Dutch.  A few familiar faces including the likes of Phillip Duff ensured it was an international and that the jokes were free flowing.

Our hosts for the day were the impressive line up of Dale DeGroff, Nick Strangeway and Toby Cechinni.

We began our journey at the Grand Central Oyster Bar for a tribute to the Bloody Mary, greeted with a line up of ingredients that would leave most Bloody lovers with their mouths hanging open - your choice of ABSOLUT PEPPAR, CITRON, 100 or ABSOLUT Classic, to mix with five types of hot sauce, pickled onion, beef stock, clamato juice, soy sauce, fresh horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, pepper, sea salt, capers, anchovies, paprika and more. Your Bloody Mary could be paired, naturally, with your choice of incredible oysters.

DeGroff began the formalities with his story of the history of the Bloody Mary – arguably the most popular cocktail in the world. Like most great cocktails, there is no lack of theories about its origins. One claim is that the cocktail was the signature drink of a bar called the Bucket of Blood in Chicago in the 1920s, others claim that it took its name from Mary, Queen of Scots and her renowned violent temper.

On to our next stop – The Four Seasons Restaurant, for an introduction to the new ABSOLUT flavour to hit the US, ABSOLUT Wild Tea- an infusion of black tea and elderflower served up as an ABSOLUT Wild Tea Gimlet.
The Four Seasons Restaurant, located in the bottom floor of the Seagrams building on 99 East 52nd street is a New York institution. Since it’s inception in 1959, the restaurant’s reputation for five star service has been legendary and it has numerous awards under its belt.

After a four course meal paired with ABSOLUT cocktails inspired by our three hosts, it’s time for a catch up with ‘Mother hen of all Bartenders’, Audrey Saunders, for a toast to the Flaming Love Martini, created for Dean Martin by Pepe Ruiz in the 60’s.

Flaming Love Martini

2 oz ABSOLUT
2-3 drops Sherry (La Ina)
Stir till cold and strain into a martini glass

Garnish with an orange peel

We are then off on a whirlwind tour across Manhattan including the site where Toby Cechinni created his version of the Cosmopolitan, and eventually we end up at Pravda. The subterranean space is reminiscent of a Russian bistro, with red  banquettes, comfy worn in club chairs and vaulted ceilings. Its here that the night begins- our celebrity hosts take to the stage and begin to create their original ABSOLUT cocktails, beginning in the 80’s and spanning the globe.
Jamie Gordon represented LAB, Nick Van Tiel represented Trailer Happiness and Michael Waterhouse representing Dylan Prime, Toby Cechinni representing The Passerby and Dale DeGroff representing Blackbird.

Day 2

Celebrations officially kicked off in fine style on Friday May 13 with an extravagant opening night gala at The New York Public Library.   An estimated 3,000 cocktail connoisseurs and stylish party-goers celebrated at the cocktail party held over the sprawling main branch of The New York Public Library, filling the mammoth hallways and cavernous arches with music, dancing, merriment, mischief, wild performances, scandalous art, nibbles, noshes, chaos, curiosities, and infinite twists and turns of sensory delights.

Over 40,000 handcrafted cocktails were served by more than 100 members of mixology royalty including Nick Van Tiel (now gin ambassador for Pernod Ricard for the East Coast of USA), Phillip Duff general know it all of all things gin, Jamie Gordon ambassador for ABSOLUT VODKA, Jacob Briars Ambassador for Leblon Cachaça, John Gakuru Global Brand Ambassador Sagatiba, Dan Warner Ambassador for Beefeater and Daniel Undahammar Ambassador for Zubrowka.

Lets just say it wasn’t an early night…

Day 3

It’s only fitting the next day to partake in a workshop called “Beyond the Hangover Cure: What to Eat, Drink, and Do To Combat Your Boozy Lifestyle” presented by Kendra Strasburg, a holistic health coach, and Kitty Amann a previous gin brand ambassador and now yoga guru. Lets be honest, with a boozy lifestyle, early morning yoga and intake of herbal drops is not really on the cards, but the girls did highlight some interesting points about certain basic techniques to help with our ever indulgent industry. Healthy choice cocktails including the use of natural sweeteners , such as

Ginger Apple Blossom
15ml Fresh Apple Juice
15ml Fresh Ginger Juice
30ml Honey Syrup
45ml Lemon Juice
60ml Gin

Foods such as beets lemons and parsley can help your liver, and coconut water is an elixir we all should all be taking at least once a day.

Who am I kidding we headed out straight after and hit the town again…  J

Day 4

We begin with an afternoon of Hendricks at the Elevated Acre located just off Wall Street – the area is a full acre of grass in the middle of the Financial District. In true Hendricks style it is a day of croquet and, of course, cucumbers.
We drink the Red Cracker (Hendricks Gin, secret spices & tomato juice) and of course Hendricks & Tonic with cucumber.

Keeping within the theme of gin it’s time for the ‘British Invasion’ party put on by Plymouth and Beefeater. Moving uptown to the salubrious Eleven Madison Park, winner of the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant 2011, where it would be normal to have a silver service dining experience- instead we attend a more relaxed party in the foyer. We drink Negronis, Tom Collins, Pimms Cup, and eat more hand- crafted fish and chips than you can poke a stick at.  The entertainment for the afternoon?  A Beatles covers band of course, brining down the house to finish with one hell of a rendition of Hey Jude.

The final event for the day is at LTO – a venue on the Lower East Side recently taken over by Tobin Ellis and the Social Mixology Party. The password to get in “bar kebob”. The industry’s finest take to the bar again, mixing and stirring cocktail late into the night including Ezra Pattek (known as the big garnish), director at Bar Lab Cocktail Catering in Miami and his outstanding drink – The Mexican Hot Dog

Mexican Hot Dog
1 1/2 ounces of Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounce of fresh pressed lemon juice
3/4 ounces of sage infused honey
1/2 ounce of Amaro CioCiaro
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
3 dashes of memphis bbq bitters
garnish with a sprig of rosemary, sage and thyme

Day 5.  

While I’m nursing a bit of a hangover from too many cocktails at LTO, many others are deep in the world of Cognac at the Astor Centre for ‘Discovering Le Cognac’ - presented by the Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) team – Dale DeGroff, Andy Seymour, Doug Frost, Steve Olson, Paul Pacult & Dave Wondrich.   

Colleague and Pernod Ricard Australia Spirits Ambassador Ben Davidson was my eyes, ears and taste buds for this session.

The members of the BAR team need no introduction and are a tour de force on all things spirits and education. Cognac is one of their collective passions and for the uninitiated it certainly was a journey of discovery. It was amazing to see them flow off one another like the first pressings of some Ugni Blanc grapes from Grand Champagne. They have been working closely with the Cognac Trade Board in France to bring accurate and credible information about one of the most beautiful and historically steeped spirits in the world.

Key to understanding Cognac is that each producer has their own house style that has been formed over the centuries that most of the big producers have been distilling this noble spirit. Each house style is influenced by subtle differences in the production process as well as the growing areas within the region of Cognac (called sub-regions) that they source their wines. Each sub-region has a slightly differentiated soil structure and pH, which influences the wines produced on the those soils, which also influences the qualities and flavours of the eau de vie distilled from those wines.
Six Cognacs from different producers and of different ages are presented and it’s amazing to see their different expressions when lined up together. Dave Wondrich, as one of the world’s punch authorities, created an amazing punch for the session and cocktail-kings Andy Seymour and Dale DeGroff tailor made some cocktails.
 
Cognac Cluster
30ml Cognac VSOP
20ml Contreau
20ml Grand Marnier
Drop of Gomme
4 drops of Marashino
15ml lemon juice

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Back to the world of gin, this time with the Tanqueray team. The afternoon’s session is with Angus Winchester, Global Brand Ambassador and Tom Nichol, Master Distiller.
The session was spent with discussion about the history of gin and more importantly the differences between Tanqueray and Tanqueray 10. Nichol’s passion for distilling is made extremely clear during the afternoon, he has over 30 years of experience under his hat with Tanqueray his favourite and most proud spirit to date.

Tom Nichol Cocktail
Tanqueray 10
Citrus (mix of orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime)
Camomile Syrup

Bronx Cocktail
Tanqueray 10
Antiqua Formula
Tangerine Juice
Angustura Bitters


We of course need our own awards night, so off to the ‘Gazzer’s 2011’. The inaugural event was held at the infamous Box Nightclub and paid tribute to those in the industry at the forefront of innovation in the industry by awarding them with a Gazzer (named after Gary Regan).  The below list were determined by Gary Regan and are definitely the ones to be watching in the years to come.

The ‘Fabulous’ Bartenders

Andy Wells – Atlantic City

Anthony SeSerio, CT

Chad Doll, Milwaukee

Duggan McDonnell, San Francisco

Jackson Cannon, Boston

Jason Littrell, NYC

Jessica Gonzalez, NYC

Lynnette Marrero, NYC

Lynn House, Chicago

Neyah White, San Francesco

Salvatore Calabrese, London

Stan Vadrna, Bratislava

The ‘Fabulous’ Innovators

Eben Freeman, NYC

Francesco Turrini, London

Jamie Boudreau, Seattle

Ross Simon, Arizona

Tony Conigliaro, London, UK

Jeffrey Morgenthaller, Portland

The night continues and our next stop is 1534.  The likes of Angus Winchester (UK), John LerMayer (Miami) & Naren Young compete against each other in a competition reminiscent of it’s a Rematch Beeyatch!

First Round, ding ding- 90 seconds to make a perfect Hendricks Martini. Second round, ding ding - 35 seconds to make a Tommy’s Margarita, open three bottles of beer and pour three shots of Appleton Estate rum. And yes, somehow it went to five rounds.

Day 6.

It’s the end of our NYC journey and my body is on the verge of breakdown. But there’s just one more challenge to get through- the scavengers hunt. Teams are armed with a camera and begin to run riot across the streets of Manhattan. Tasks include forming the YMCA in front of Milk & Honey (which didn’t impress the M&H crew too much) and bartering for an I LOVE NYC T-Shirt at a local souvenir shop.

We finally end up at One Hanson Place, Brooklyn – a beautiful old converted bank building. In true bartender style the only drinks available are beers & shots.

Sponsors products from the last four days are lined up ready for consumption in half shot measures with all the beer necessary to wash them down.

What a way to finish a week of incredible cocktail culture with some of the best in the industry – because god knows at the end of a shift all we really want is a shot and a beer.

Day 7.

Sleep... Well deserved sleep.  After pouring my heart and soul into the strenuous task of drinking my way through the MCC , I realised even more-so how Bartending/hospitality is one of the most tightly networked industries in the world. Over the last 5 days I’ve been lucky enough to spend hours listening to bartenders tackling new ideas, long chats about innovation and intense discussion (usually at 4 in the morning over a pastrami Sandwich at Katz Deli) on how we can change the world one cocktail at a time.  I’ve experienced Posh - Mac & Cheese at Death & Co, the best late night cheesy Tater Tots at Daddy O’s (served with Guinness of course), an incredible Pina-Cola (see pic) at Pain Killer (recently re-named PKNY due to litigation) and all while in the surrounds of some of the best in our industry.  What have I learnt? New York itself, seems to be pulling back on the resplendence of intense cocktail bars and giving way to a more relaxed environment, where conversation and service are at the top of the list, customer experience is god and it shows.

I can’t wait to go back…