STIFF ONES

We asked the diff inted reader a very simple question: What was your favorite drink of twenty-twelve? People tend to deviate from the subject in a complex manner. Here are [sic] replies from some of you freaks:

Patrick Pineyro is an insurance salesman and sex wizard based out of Miami.

            When I watch an ep. of Boardwalk Empire I'm left mostly with a strong desire to drink whiskey neat. I can't drink my whiskey without ice because it's too cheap. What kind of whiskey did they drink during Prohibition days? Even the richest of wets[1], such as Nucky and his cohorts, must have had some close to undrinkable bathtub liquor in their decanters: forget about the sludge your average joe was sluggin' in the speaks.

            My wish came true last year around Christmastime at a fortuitous event: I went to dinner at my parents': a friend of theirs showed up: a 1%'er: possibly a 1% of the 1%. He brought with him four bottles of whiskey, all single malt scotch: 1) Laphroaig, 18 Years Old 2) Dalwhinnie, 15 Years 3) Lagavulin, 16 Years 4) Macallan, 12 Years. We had a tasting, so we tasted. We insty'ed pix of the tasting (documented by the now defunct @bdbiz - #whiskeytasting, #blessed, #trulyblessed, if you can find the cache). We coughed. We swished. We laughed.

            I admit I am no connoisseur. One of the whiskeys tasted like old vegetables picked from a bed of garbage (Laphroaig 18, strong on peat flavors). But I drank the Dalwhinnie and I actually tasted something – I tasted honey. It went down smooth – smooth as in: no gag reflex, a heat in the gullet, but a minimal heat; and not an unpleasant one, as with every other whiskey-served-neat experience I’ve had before. It helped, too that we sipped the stuff from fine crystal: bar glasses, heavy, so they have a presence in your hand: the base alone measures 1 ½ inches. You could pour some Beam or some Jack in there, but you would look, and be, ridiculous. 

            Granted, winter is not winter in Miami, and this winter has been warmer than usual, but it helped that the temperature was in the mid to high 70’s: I felt warm rather than hot and rowdy like you do when you buy the usual liquor store stuff that you have to mix with ice and coke to get down. I felt classy. I felt like Johnny Walker Black on the rocks would never quite cut it again. I felt like a wealthy criminal from a period crime drama on premium cable television. I felt good. Best drink I’d had all year.

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[1] “Wets” = anti-prohibitionists




 Rene Rodon is a Cuban-American film director living in Los Angeles.

COCKTAILS / WINES BY THE GLASS

GIN & TONICS MENU
The Classic
Tanqueray Gin with tonic and a lime
The Tonic and Grapefruit
Beefeater 24 with grapefruit bitters, tonic and grapefruit zest
The Lavender Tonic
Beefeater Gin with lavender bitters, mint
and bitter lemon tonic
The Garden Tonic
Hendrick’s Gin with cucumber, celery bitters
and tonic
The Bitter Tonic
Beefeater Gin with aperol, tonic and a twist

COCKTAILS ALL $13
Cocktails are made with fresh juices squeezed daily to ensure the purest flavors.  Syrups are all house-made.
          
Harvest Moon
Pimms, Calvados, Hard Apple Cider, Aromatic Bitters
The Last Waltz
Prosecco, Pear Liqueur, Rosemary
Pablo Honey
Tequila, Spiced Agave, Lime
Trampin’
Pisco, Pear Nectar, Smoked Black Peppercorn Syrup
Vespertine
Gin, Manzanilla Sherry, Absinthe Rinse
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Scotch, Cinnamon, Lemon, Zinfandel
American Beauty
Vodka, Acai Liqueur, Rosemary, Prosecco
Check Your Head
Aged Jamaican Rum, Black Tea Syrup, Aromatic and Orange Bitters, Citrus Oils
This is Happening
Rye, Benedictine, Oloroso Sherry, Aromatic Bitters

BEER COCKTAILS ALL $13
Beggar’s Banquet
Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Aromatic Bitters, Lemon, Cream Ale
Bitches Brew
Mescal, Tomato Juice, Lime, Spices, Lager
Boatman’s Call

Drinks

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RUINART COCKTAILS 16

Classic Champagne Cocktail Ruinart, Comptoir and aromatic bitters

French 75 Ruinart, Spring 44 gin and lemon juice

BLOOM COCKTAILS  11

Tequila Beets Alacran Tequila, Lime, House-made Chamomile syrup, Roasted Beet Juice and Whiskey _Barrel Aged Bitters

Apple Mule Leblon Aged Cachaca infused with Washington Apple, Ginger Syrup and Lime Juice topped ith Soda Water

Bloomin' Paloma Cuervo Tradicional, Lime Juice, Agave Nectar, Topped with Jarritos Grapefruit Soda

Wynwood 75' Spring 44 Gin, Yuzu, Castor Syrup with Chandon

La Pacaya Ron Zacapa 23 Rum, Papaya, House-made Honey Syrup, Cilantro and Orange Bitters

Ring of Fire Kettle One, Lychees, House-made Honey Syrup and Fresno Chilli Pepper

Eastern Garden Tanqueray Gin, Lemon, Fennel Syrup, Arugula and Spanish Bitters

Reserva Spritz Santa Teresa Anejo Reserva, Lime Juice and Honey Syrup topped with Champagne

BLOOM SAKE

Tozai 'Snow Maiden' Junmai Negori 300ML   18

This is fairly think cloudy sake, but surprisingly dry with flavors of fresh fruit and creamy rice

Hiko's Dry 'Ka No Izumi' Junmai 300ML   21

This special dry sake made by  "Ohmi" rice is famous for serving royal family in Kyoto for 120 years. Polisshed up to 60% the "Ohmi rice" produces a pure clear dry "Junmai" sake with a fresh aroma and crisp taste.

Kitsui 'Funaguchi' Honjozo, Nama Genshu 200ML CAN  16

Thick and creamy with lactic aroma and flavor.  The cutest can of sake you'll see!

Vicari Valdes is a Brat enrolled in gender studies at NYU. She lives in Bushwick (duh).

My favorite drink of 2012 is soda. Specifically Coca Cola or Pepsi. Doesn’t make a difference to me. More than just great tasting it is a true symbol of freedom the world over. Its beauty as I perceive it was so eloquently described in the novel Generation “П”:

Once upon a time in Russia there really was a carefree, youthful generation that smiled in joy at the summer, the sea and the sun, and chose Pepsi.

It's hard at this stage to figure out exactly how this situation came about. Most likely it involved more than just the remarkable taste of the drink in question. More than just the caffeine that keeps young kids demanding another dose, steering them securely out of childhood into the clear waters of the channel of cocaine. More, even, than a banal bribe: it would be nice to think that the Party bureaucrat who took the crucial decision to sign the contract simply fell in love with this dark, fizzy liquid with every fiber of a soul no longer sustained by faith in communism…. children lounged on the seashore in the summer, gazing endlessly at a cloudless blue horizon, they drank warm Pepsi-Cola decanted into glass bottles in the city of Novorossiisk and dreamed that some day the distant forbidden world on the far side of the sea would be part of their own lives.