It's World Cocktail Day! What better day to get this blog on NYC cocktails and culture up and running? Today is the 203rd Anniversary of the Great American Cocktail. On this day in 1806, the cocktail was defined in a Hudson, N.Y., newspaper as a "stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters it is vulgarly called a bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said also, to be of great use to a democratic candidate: because, a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else." Fuddle away!
Tonight I will be attending the World Cocktail Day Fundraiser at Pranna, and I'll get you all of the dizzying post-event details. Nineteen of the top mixologists (in the country, let alone NYC) will be slinging all sorts of libations to help raise money for the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. I'm expecting to see Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, Gary Regan, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, Allen Katz, Charlotte Voisey, and Aisha Sharpe, among others (including my very own roommate, Gardner Dunn!) This event wraps up World Cocktail Week, although for many in the cocktail world, that doesn't mean much--this is one of the busiest months as bars and brands get ready for a spirited summer.
This is just the beginning for The Dizzy Fizz (call it the beta stage, if you will). Be sure to check back often as I add more features, bells, and whistles. For now, click on my page listing the best NYC Cocktail Bars and let me know if there are any bars missing that you think deserve to be there. Although there are plenty of establishments in this city serving tantalizing drinks, I wanted to recommend those with serious cocktail programs. At the bottom of the page you'll see my email address; feel free to say hello.