[Cocktails $12 unless otherwise specified.]
Signature Cocktail
The Parasol
Aperol was created in Padua in 1919. Pisco hails from Latin America. Combining these two in a sour of sorts is proven alchemy. Our invention was recognized as one of the top cocktails in the country by Food and Wine Magazine in 2007.
The Jacqui Naylor
Named for one of the best Jazz singers around, her sound is smooth, sweet, and smoky, and she likes scotch!
The unlikely sounding combination of local goldenrod honey, smoky whiskey, orange juice and a little rare old vermouth done up as a classic sour on the rocks is just dreamy.
Jacqui will be in concert at The Crossroads Theater right next door on New Year's Eve!
Malaria Fighter
Q-Tonic and Gin
$12 w/ Tanqueray - Varies per Gin
Bitter Quinine was once used in a tonic to fight malaria among British colonialists. The resourceful occupiers made the best of a bad situation by cutting their bitter tonic with gin.
A new taste was born. Sadly true quinine fell out of commercial tonic when orange juice fell out of tang. The G&T you know is not the G&T of Gunga Din. Q-Tonic was created recently by Jordan Silbert to remedy the situation. He deserves a medal.
Icy
Mayfair Snowball
The cooling effects of cucumber and mint on gin are well known. When you introduce these effects into a cocktail that is poured like a frappe over freshly crushed ice, you have one of the coolest cocktails around. Unseasonable - maybe a little.
Warm and Spicy
Tom and Jerry
In the gay 90's (Not those 90's the ones before that, when gay just meant "happy") Tom and Jerry was offered at every bar in New York. Some say it was invented in the 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco by the famous bartender, Jerry Thomas. It's a brilliant heady warming drink made from a batter and rum doused with hot water, sweet spices and brandy.
Hot Cider-Jack
Another old tradition is to fortify warm apple cider with butter and spices. We start with a special pumpkin-seed butter and spike it with Bottled in Bond Applejack from right here in NJ.
Hot Buttered Rum
It's pretty simple: Butter compounded with sweet spices is melted into good rum and hot water. There's a reason it's been a tradition for so long.
Cold and Spicy
Darker and Stormier
We have always loved the idea of a Dark and Stormy but always found them to be not as spicy (stormy) as promised and always the ginger beer goes flat immediately. We've solved the problem. If you like the heat of ginger in your drink, and a bubbly stormy ride, batten down the hatches and come aboard.
Gin-Gin Mule
Stolen! This drink's been stolen. Actually, it's being used with permission from our friend Audrey Saunders, owner of The Pegu Club (center of gravity of the NYC cocktail universe). Gin and Ginger (home made ginger beer!) combine into the best new cocktail we've come across in years. Visit Pegu when you are in NY and tell Audrey we say hello.
Fizzy / Frothy / Fruity
Irish Twin
Irish whiskey is a perfect foil for the season's fresh pear. Sweetened with a touch of honey and seasoned with cinnamon. It's a toothsome fall cocktail.
Our Stoned Sour
Real men are not afraid to drink sours. A "stone sour" is any sour with Orange Juice added. Here we take Old Overholt Rye and add peach nectar (a stone fruit), and bitters to the classic stone sour, orange juice. Best over ice rather than straight-up.
The Flamingo
It's so simple really, pineapple, rum and grenadine. The key of course is our house-made grenadine.
The Bee's Knees
Some cocktails are perfect in their simplicity. The refreshing Bee's Knees is gin honey and lemon. No need to mess with this classic.
Singapore Sling
The real thing was invented in The Raffles Hotel in Singapore 1935. It bears no resemblance to the sickly-sweet, fakey-fake imposters. Our version is true to the original fruity and tropical, but also quite sophisticated and real.
Ladies' Man
Inspired by The Lady-killer, by our friend Leo DeGroff. The combination of Velvet Falernum, Elderflowers and Brazilian rum is irresistible.
Blood and Sand
This has long been a favorite cocktail. It was named for the bullfights. More specifically, it was named for the 1922 Rudolph Valentino film of the same name. Scotch usually does not play well with other ingredients in a cocktail. Here is a beautiful and extraordinary exception.
Seventh Heaven
Taken from Ted Haigh, Dr. Cocktail, this drink appears in his book of forgotten cocktails. Gin, mint, maraschino and grapefruit make a surprisingly fresh summer libation.
Jack Rose
This cocktail has been much maligned for a generation due to the extinction of one of its primary ingredients: Good and true grenadine. Our own home-made grenadine restores Jack to the spirit of the original drink, noted in A.C. Crockett's 1931 history of the Waldorf Astoria bar.
Aviation Cocktail
The Aviation Cocktail dates from the 1930s, when Lindberg was the world's hero and we named cocktails for our highest aspirations. It's gin, maraschino and lemon juice - dry, aromatic, sophisticated and refreshing.
Wild Irish Rose
Francis first came across the Wild Eyed Rose in Belfast at The Merchant Hotel. It's a nice fizz made with Irish whiskey, lime and grenadine topped off with soda. This is almost the same drink, minus the fizzy stuff and served straight-up.
Bellini
Invented at Harry's Bar in Venice in 1947, peach nectar and Prosecco is where any Italian restaurant starts is cocktail list.
Apple Lizzy (Our Answer to the Apple Martini)
Here is an unusual apple martini with its apple flavors coming from apples! Great local cider stiffened with Lairds Straight Apple Brandy "Bottled in Bond" (in NJ!) and some secret ingredients.
The Boroughs
Manhattan
Great vermouth is integral and so are great bitters stirred lovingly. No chopping. No shaking. Rye is used in the Northeast (including Manhattan) but Bourbon is a common substitute in the South. Minnesota & Wisconsin use brandy. Add a bit of orange curacao and it changes it to a smooth --Manhattan Cocktail.
Manhattan Cocktail
The Brooklyn
The Manhattan always gets the spotlight, but Brooklyn was Catherine Lombardi's home. The Brooklyn is based in rye; but with the little-used Amer Picon and Maraschino. It's perhaps a little more elegant. Best served on the rocks.
The Bronx Cocktail
Based in gin, vermouth and orange juice. The Bronx was invented at the Waldorf Hotel (when it stood where The Empire State Building stands today, and before "Astoria" was added to its name) by Johnny Salon, the top barman of his day. He is reputed to have deemed it impossible to distinguish between the atmosphere at his bar and that of the brand new Bronx Zoo.
Astoria Cocktail
There are no cocktails from Queens of which we know. This is as close as we can get. It's basically a gin Martini (Blue Gin, by Hans Reisetbauer) with Orange Bitters. That's a very old fashioned way of making a martini, with the best new gin in the world.
Another City
The Philadelphia Lawyer
Rittenhouse Rye is blended with Old Overholt Rye, some local cherries, bitters and green chartreuse make for a strong real drink and a real strong drink. It's a Manhattan for the summer time.
Italian Inspired
Italians appreciate the virtues of bitter. From Broccoli Rabe to Campari to Amaro, bitter has an honored place in the adult palate. These cocktails reflect that.
The Milano-Torino
This Negroni / Americano / Mimosa amalgam was invented at L'Impero Restaurant and reported in Anthony Giglio's excellent book: Cocktails in New York.
Cin-Cyn
Cynar is the Sicilian Artichoke Liquor. It's called a Cin-Cyn because it originally used Cinzano Sweet Vermouth (use a different brand) as well as gin and orange. It was invented by David Lynch or Babbo.
South Beach
Another contribution from our friend Dale DeGroff, he invented it in a search for a Campari-based cocktail that would be less bitter and appeal to the American Palate. A little orange juice, a little amaretto - mission accomplished.
Strong / Classic
Martini / Orange Martini
Just because it comes in that funny glass, does NOT make it a martini. A martini is GIN (we prefer Boodles) and Dry Vermouth. In this era we can stretch the definition to include Vodka (our choice is Ketel One) and Dry Vermouth. Historically, The Martini contained orange bitters (and that's a great option still). If it contains Apple Pucker or anything similar, it is NOT a martini.
Manhattan
Bobby Burns
Named for Robert Burns, we're obviously talking about a Scotch drink. It first appeared in Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book 1930, London; but was also claimed by Albert Crocket of the Waldorf (published 1931). It's a Rob Roy splashed with Benedictine. It's strong and round and warming.
Old Fashioned
This classic incarnation of the ancient "whiskey cocktail" was named at The Pendennis club in Louisville, KY. It was originally made with Bourbon but we prefer it with a blend of our two favorite rye whiskies. It takes a sugar cube soaked in bitters, some orange and our house made maraschino cherries.
Joints of Another Era
Stork Club
At Sherman Billingsley's Stork Club, Jack wooed Jackie, Prince Rainer wooed Grace Kelly and Hemingway knocked down the warden of Sing Sing. That behavior is frowned upon here but the classic is in this gin based champagne topped cocktail.
Algonquin
You can still visit the Algonquin for an extraordinary and civilized evening, but we're closer and a lot less stuffy. You would be surprised how light and refreshing a rye based drink can be with pineapple juice as a foil
The Ritz
The space now occupied by Stage Left Restaurant just downstairs was originally The Ritz Restaurant, New Brunswick. This drink was invented by our good friend Dale DeGroff in 1985 and named for more venerable establishments in far-away cities. We use it with his permission and remain in his debt for bringing us to the religion of the cocktail and remaining our pastor.
Clover Club
This pre-prohibition cocktail hails from the old Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The Clover Club (est. 1881) was a male-only club that met just once a year at that hotel to eat drink and roast local politicians. Their roasts were accompanied by this signature frothy libation of gin, lemon and real grenadine.
The Seelbach
From The Seelbach Hotel, Louisville KY, Circa 1917, the recipe was lost during Prohibition, re-discovered by restaurant director Adam Seger in 1995 and later published in books by Gary and Mardee Regan and Ted Haigh. The sugar cube is our twist, reminiscent of a Champagne Cocktail.
The Real Pink Lady (has no cream)
Never has a drink been made so wrong by so many. A real pink lady has no cream. It's a sister cocktail to the Clover Club, with applejack added. A real man is not afraid to drink a pink lady!
After Dinner
Espresso Martini
This veritable roller-coaster goes up with the caffeine, down with the vodka and back up again with the demerara sugared rim: A delicious ride.
Coffee Cocktail
As Jerry Thomas, noted when he first published the recipe in 1887, it's a curious drink that has no coffee and is technically not a cocktail. Port, egg, brandy and sugar however, attain remarkably coffee-like attributes.
Brandy Alexander
A favorite of Francis' grandmother back in the first part of the last century. It's brandy, cocoa and cream, shaken till the cows come home.
Valrhona Chocolate Martini
This surprisingly rich chocolate martini has no cream but gets its body and its strong clean chocolate flavor from the finest cocoa: Decadent!
Francis Irish Cream
There'll be no need for the Bailey's here.
Baltimore Eggnog
I've found references to this particular incarnation of egg nog in a 1957 Esquire and in a MD Cookbook from 1937. A modern mutation swaps Peach Schnapps for the classic Madeira: An abomination we won't mention further.