Cocktail Tour — NYC

Next week is my last in NYC, so it’s been a time for reflection and goodbyes. Fortunately many of those goodbyes are fun. My friend Dan Yoon is a regular at three cocktail bars across the city, so we made a point to visit all three in the same night. He set the ‘bartinerary’: 6:45-8pm at Da Capo, 8:30-10pm at Ragtrader, 10:30pm-12am at Dutch Kills. His favorite spirit is whiskey, and often will go on a specific progression of such drinks throughout the night: Penicillin → Whiskey Sour → Old Fashioned → Paper Plane. So I went into the night thinking of it as a Whiskey Tour, though for me at least it turned into more of a Cocktail Tour.

Shortly before 7pm I step off the train at Lincoln Center. I’d sat near the front of the train, and as it first arrived at the station and sped to a stop, a glint of gold caught my eye. After stepping off I walked back to inspect the wall art: a Roman figure, possibly a centurion. I’d also say it could be Athena, but there’s no imagery (such as an owl) to confirm. To the golden figure’s right is either a dancer or a runner, apparently nude, in mid stride. Probably a dancer, given the proximity to Lincoln Center, though I enjoy the image of the runner breaking the finish line.

Da Capo is about ten blocks north of Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side. It would’ve been quicker had I gotten off at 72nd, but speed isn’t always the name of the game. I’d only been to Da Capo once, the least of the three bars. We’d sat indoors that time and hence decided to give their outdoor seating a try.

I sat down to Dan’s already having a Penicillin in front of him. Said hi to Neil, our bartender from last time, and who’d made cool art for the menus. I took a look at their menu and the drink front & center caught my eye: Big in Japan. Partially it was the name, but add to that that it was one of just two in the ‘Da Capo Classic Cocktails’ category, implying that it’s specific to them. Ingredients sounded intriguing enough. So I got it, and the basil flavor came off really nicely. Garnish was a dried slice of fruit. But not two sips in, a woman from the restaurant comes over bearing margaritas. “I have some free drinks for you, but you have to pose for a picture!” We graciously accepted and sipped our margs. So good, only downside was it completely overwhelmed the gin as I double-fisted, so my last sip of the Big in Japan was just to finish it.

Meatballs aren’t typically Dan’s go-to, but he insisted we get their Veal Meatball. Melted in my mouth. We conversed much about stocks & grad school.

Next I had the The Night We Met and Dan had the Winter Sonata. Mine may have been the best drink I had all night. Or at least was on the shortlist. Rosemary flavor very strong, and it was the garnish to boot. Then had a sip of Dan’s Winter Sonata and that really took me aback. Could imagine it cheering me up on a cold day. (or a warm day — it was 70 degrees).

Our reservation at Ragtrader approaching, we paid the check, and Neil came over with two other bartenders bearing shots of whiskey. Jameson I think? Sad I won’t be able to go back anytime soon.

We walked to the B train. Sun was setting and I stopped a few times to take photos. Got a nice one of the San Remo, one of the most elegant-looking buildings in New York, a dream home of mine if I were to, you know, make it big. Prettiest view though was seeing the pink & purple of the sky next to the green of the park and the black of the pavement. It was that perfect time of drunk where you feel the whole world looks beautiful; I even photographed a hotel’s overhang.

Train pulled in as we reached the platform. Got off at Bryant Park. People were out: sitting on the lawn or at the outdoor bar. We walked to Ragtrader at 36th.

They also have a basement speakeasy called Bo Peep. None of their reservation times jibed with our bartinerary, but I’ve been there a number of times before, even with my dad. They have a piano bar and Dan’s even sung for them sometimes, accompanied by Skip, their pianist.

We sat at the bar and Dan didn’t even have to see the menu. He led out with a Three Piece Suit. I simply couldn’t resist and went solely by name: Tailor of Panama. It’s definitely not my traditional style, too fruity, but so what. Actually the flavors meshed together really well, rum-based, all held together by Campari.

To eat we had the Allium Pizza. As Dan said, “it’s not a ‘New York pizza’, but it’s one of the best pizzas in New York. It’s just good food!” Leeks, shallots, and chives, it’s all based on the… wait for it… allium family. Discussion-wise we did talk a lot about covid vaccines, not for the first nor presumably for the last time.

Next up I made another name call: Pompadour Sour. Plus it had some blood orange in it, which always makes me think of Dorne (q.v. Chapter 2 of A Feast for Crows). Dan snagged the Spirit of Dublin. The latter had stood out to me: irish whiskey, espresso, and house-spiced stout syrup. Like what must stout syrup taste like! Can confirm: it tastes really good. Probably needed a bit of that energy too.

By the time we finished that round, the bartinerary indicated we had 10 minutes left before setting out for our next and final destination, so we said sure why not, and made it 3 to go. I got Three Piece Suit this time, it is a Ragtrader (or Dan Yoon) classic after all, and he got a good old-fashioned Whiskey Sour. Took an obligatory bathroom selfie on the way out (in my defense, they have such a great mirror!) and hit the R train to Long Island City.

We arrived at Dutch Kills and Dan recognized a friend sitting outside with two others, so he went to talk to them. I’d intentionally reserved an indoor seat at Dutch Kills, since it has such a local vibe, so when he finished chatting they walked us back to sit at the bar.

Took a quick peek at the menu. If you can’t tell, I’m often swayed by the name, and got the Dueling Cavalier. I will say, this time I was also into the flavor combo: rye, scotch, banana liqueur, chocolate bitters. And indeed they were light enough on the banana & chocolate that it really came off nicely. Also considered the Mississippi Punch, given the combo of bourbon, cognac, and rum and the homage to my family origins, but decided against because I’d seen it brought out to an outdoors patron, and it’s over crushed ice, which is just not the vibe I was looking for. Dan opted for an NYC classic, the Paper Plane. And speaking of NYC classics, up next for both of us came the hometown special, the Bow & Arrow.

My first time at Dutch Kills I’d sat at the bar while waiting for Dan. The bartender asked me if I’d had anything while waiting, and I said “yeah, I do want something but not quite sure what, I generally like whiskey based, but also really like mezcal.” Bartender goes “we have just the thing for you.” And indeed, if I’d dreamed up the perfect cocktail for me at that moment, I couldn’t have made it better than that combination of bourbon, mezcal, pineapple juice, and lime juice. Funny thing about that though is the drink actually originated at Dutch Kills. Didn’t learn about it until Dan told me days or weeks or maybe even months later. So unbeknownst to me, I’d asked the perfect question to the perfect people prepared to answer it.

Sadly, due to New York’s extant covid restrictions, the bar closed at 11:30. In some ways that felt pretty late, given how long we’d dealt with 10pm shutdowns during the pandemic. Hard to feel that fortunate though, given we’re just days away from the restrictions’ being lifted in June. So we repaired to Dan’s to cap it off, enjoying some scotch on the rocks whilst watching music videos: Lucid Dreams a couple times, also some Right Where You Left Me. All-in-all a fun night and a successful tour. Will have to do some real work to replicate in LA!