Key Cocktail Ingredients: Whiskey + Ginger

One of the best discoveries of my undergrad drinking career was the whiskey and ginger . I found it to be so much better than a Jack & Coke and so much easier to come by then a whiskey sour. The whiskey and ginger was often the perfect weekend drink. Since then I’ve dabbled and made other whiskey drinks my first choice (see pickleback entry) but recently I was again invited to downtown BK and had two of the best whiskey cocktails I’ve had in a while.

Spicy Buck at Char No. 4

What better place to have a whiskey cocktail then the whiskey wonderland that is Char No. 4 (196 Smith Street). My seat at the bar gave me prime viewing for the ceiling to floor whiskey selections that ranged from $4 a glass to $200 a glass. It’s a true whiskey lover’s paradise. When looking over the menu the Spicy Buck was one of the first things to catch my eye. It was a whiskey ginger ale made with Weller Antique Bourbon and (drumroll please) Blenheim’s Spicy Ginger ale. Now this is no ordinary ginger ale. For anyone who really likes ginger ale, this is the most legitimate ones I have ever had. It’s incredibly spicy, made from all natural ingredients and almost impossible to find above the Mason Dixon line. This Yankee was only lucky to have tried it because of a Southern friend with good connections. The Spicy Buck is a great fall cocktail. Although it doesn’t punch you in the face with spiciness upon the first sip, after awhile you need to take your time with it.

Matt’s Ginger Old-Fashioned

Brooklyn Social (335 Smith St) was the next stop on this very short bar crawl. There my friend and I decided to keep with a whiskey ginger theme and tried Matt’s Ginger Old-Fashioned. The cocktail is comprised of bourbon, ginger, sugar, cherries, bitters and soda. It’s very lovely and very strong, two qualities I admire in a drink. I also recommend eating the slice of ginger two-thirds of the way into this drink. The strong punch of the ginger makes the drink taste completely different afterwards in the best way possible.

Moral of the story: Venture out to the charming neighborhood of Carroll Gardens and get yourself a good whiskey ginger cocktail.




image: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/images/20091006-charno4-whiskeys.jpg

Two Fisted Drinking: A Guide to The Pickleback

Let’s talk about the pickleback.

It’s possible that you just read that first line and you’re already tired of hearing about this fad. I mean- the New York Times ruined it in March by writing about it in the magazine. But seriously. Hear us out. You should read this and go out and try one... if you haven’t yet.

I would like to start out with a warning. When trying the pickleback you have to be open to the idea of pickles and whiskey. I know it sounds like a weird and possibly disgusting combination- but open your mind. I’m lucky. I love pickles- I mean- real pickles- not the kind my mom used to put in my lunches or the kind that restaurants put on my veggie burgers. I also enjoy whiskey. I enjoy all kinds of whiskey. I love cheap whiskey- I love Jameson. I’m sure I’d love that $500 a shot bottle your grandfather has hidden in his closet, too. It’s my liquor of choice. But one doesn’t have to be obsessed with either of these components to like the pickleback. But it doesn’t hurt.

I’m trying to think back to my first pickleback (the fact that I can’t remember might hint at the number I’ve consumed in my time). I think it was in May- possibly early June at the Bushwick Country Club on Grand Street. I had just moved here and I was on a quest to find a “home bar”. I had read about the Bushwick Country Club on various blogs and decided to drag Jessica along to experience it. The legend is that BCC is where the pickleback may have originated... At the very least, it was popularized there. Obviously- it’s the perfect place to try one.

So Karl and I were at BCC and the owner, John Roberts, happened to be bartending that afternoon. We were making small talk about picklebacks and trying to summon the courage. He explained how and why it worked. Karl and I had just become members of the Country Club… so why not celebrate it with one of BCC’s signature drinks? So Mr. Roberts set two up for us and explained the steps:

1. Hold the pickle juice in whatever hand you favor. This is because you want to be able to move fast after you shoot the whiskey. The whiskey, obviously, goes in the other hand.
2. Shoot the whiskey.
3. Immediately (and I cannot stress this enough) after you swallow the whiskey shoot the pickle juice. There should be a two second gap- at most- between whiskey and pickle juice.
4. Place both glasses on the bar and verbalize the following: “What shot?”

If you do it right you get the warmth, not the burn, of the whiskey. If you have the right kind of whiskey/pickle juice combination the subtle tastes of the whiskey come out. There’s a rumor that the first pickleback was with Jameson- the NYT article kind of covers this. But my theory is that no one in his or her right mind should want to cover the taste of Jameson- so why not just drink well whiskey? My favorite is Old Crow, but I think it all works on some level. In my opinion, the pickleback works best with well whiskeys. Don’t waste your money on expensive, good whiskey- if you want a good whiskey, don’t insult it with pickle juice- drink it straight.

You can now find picklebacks in most bars around Brooklyn (more specifically Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick). We have a few tips and explanations for pickleback consumption after the jump.

In Honor Of the World Series…

Let’s talk Giants…and beer! Despite being born and raised in New York I never felt a close relationship to our resident major league baseball teams. Although my mother was in love with pinstripes, Jeter, and the YES channel, I could never really share her enthusiasm. I’ve searched and searched for a team I could get excited about and recently after stumbling upon a random baseball game on TV, I found my team. I have decided to switch coasts and am now a San Francisco Giants enthusiast. For last Saturday’s game against the Phillies, a close friend who is also a Giants fan brought me to a “California-themed” bar to watch the game. This bar was the Pacific Standard.

Despite having to push my way through the crowd of California transplants, Pacific Standard (82 Fourth Ave) is a great place to watch to the game and have a beer. The On-Tap selections are all microbrews, over half of which hail from the Golden State. I should admit that when I was there I wasn’t fully in the California spirit. I got a Founder’s Harvest Ale from MI but next time I’m planning on trying a new addition and rare find, the Bear Republic’s Ryevalry.

The two cozy rooms that make up the bar boast plenty of seating for those who want to stay awhile and indulge on a pint and an Its-Its. They also have something that I think all bars should take feature, a Frequent Drinker Program. For $10 dollars you become a full-fledged member with ID card and benefits. Benefits include Monday-Wednesday all night Happy Hour, book-lending privileges from the bar’s library and VIP status entrance on crowded nights when the bar has a line. You also have the opportunity to earn reward points. Rewards vary from a goldfish to a BAM membership…sign me up please and thank you.

Beers are $5 or $6. Tuesday night’s happy hour prices all pints at a cheerful $3. I’m excited about Pacific Standard. Not only because it satisfies my dreams of one day moving to California but it feels like a vacation from my usual Williamsburg bubble.


*They also currently feature two beers from Long Island REPRESENT.

Images (http://images1.citysearch.net/) (http://www.pacificstandardbrooklyn.com/)

Beer, Booze, Pool, & Dogs

  (image c/o theleveenyc.com)

When my good friend from Texas, Bob, visited me a few months ago, he had a few hours to kill while I was at work. He hadn’t spent much time in Brooklyn so he walked around Williamsburg and eventually was drawn to the familiar neon glow of a “Lone Star Beer” sign in the window of a bar. This bar was called The Levee.

The Levee is located at 212 Berry Street (at N. 3rd) near to where I work. I’d passed The Levee plenty of times and had seen seedy sipping somebodies surveying the street. It looked like a dive bar. Just a regular dive. And- no surprises here- that’s exactly what it is.

The Levee’s jukebox, barring a few albums, has the best selection of random rock,etc I’ve ever seen. The beers and shots are cheap. I finally sampled a Gatorita (brace yourself: tequila and lemon/lime Gatorade)- which is as fantastically bizarre and dangerous as it sounds*. They have a chalkboard whereon one can note that they have bought something in advance for a friend. Best of all, they have veggie hot dogs and free Twizzlers.

There are two rooms. The entrance room has the main part of the bar and some high tables- most importantly the jukebox and the bathrooms. The second room has more of a laid back hang out space with some arcade games (The obligatory Buck Hunter), board games, and a pool table. There’s also a patio with some great(?) graffiti and picnic tables.

The bartenders are apathetic to abrasive- but in the way that they just want to give you your drink and be done with the situation. They’re all business- they have to be, I assume, because I’ve seen some rough characters in the place. But don’t be put off by any of that. One doesn’t go to The Levee to flirt with the bartender (although I did see a “missed connection” on Craigslist about the bespectacled woman bartender). One goes there to drink, play Jenga or pool, eat a Frito pie, and possibly make out with a co-worker for an hour straight in a dark corner.

All in all, I would suggest The Levee as a great last stop on a crawl or a place to sit and misunderstand what your friends are yelling at you over the music and forty other people in the room. It’s a good place to have a secret beer and shot in the early afternoon (I suggest a Texas Two-Step: a bottle of Lonestar and a shot of Tequila OR a Frat Boy: a bottle of Budweiser and a shot of Jager… if you’re ready to go down that syrupy, slippery slope- both for $5). All kinds congregate there- it’s near enough to Bedford to have a hipster population- but far enough away to draw an older and/or more mature crowd.

My only caveat is that it’s not for the weak of constitution- those chili dogs will come back to bite you.

*Like the Pickleback, the Gatorita's odd ingredient (Gatorade, in this case) cancels out some of the effect of the liquor. This renders one sometimes forgetful of just how many one has consumed. Whoops.

Raise High the Jim Beam, Bartender and Excited by Drinking an Introduction

Hello. We are three ladies in the wilds of Brooklyn just lookin' for a good bar and a good drink; this is our blog.

Brooklynites are overwhelmed by the choices of bars around. So many dives! So many wine bars! Where's a good place to get a beer and watch a forgotten Spanish pornographic film from the 1960s on a Friday night? Where can I get a veggie hot dog and a shot of Jim Beam in a cream soda at noon or 3:30am? Where's a bar stool that has the imprint of the buttocks of hundreds of salty sailors? Where can I play indoor bocce ball? Where can I dance and not feel like a total ass or square? Where can I find a good mixologist quality drink and not feel break the bank?

Don't worry! We're going to solve those mysteries and more!

We're excited! We're excited by drinking! We're excited by Excited by Drinking! We want you to be excited by Excited by Drinking!

Drunkenly,

Jessica, Karl, and Shannon