Another one of our high-spirited nights took place in Battery Park last Thursday, March 2. Over 35 mixologists and chefs brought small plates and cocktails to a sold-out crowd for the eigth annual Good Spirits. Perched on the waterfront, guests were privy to expertly mixed drinks, great bites and a beautiful sunset behind a view of Lady Liberty.
Roaming the plush velvet-lined halls of the second and third floors of Pier A Harbor House felt like a trip to Wonderland: Eat this. Drink that. Follow the rabbit—the Dead Rabbit that is—to a “Bulletproof” cocktail with punchy Angostura bitters and Black Dirt Bonded Applejack.
As drinks disappeared like the Cheshire Cat, sounds of ice crackling in metal shakers and knives whacking cutting boards pierced through the jolly chatter of the crowd.
Punchy flavors were a major theme of the night, with The Bedford serving a ghost pepper cheese pizzette whose heat was quelled by Brooklyn Gin’s gin and tonic, featuring blood orange and a stocky stick of fragrant rosemary.
Stoking the fiery appetites of the crowd, Cholula Hot Sauce brought the heat with a Hangar 1 Vodka Bloody Mary, while L&W Oyster Co. shelled out fried oyster tacos with a smoky finish. Macchu Pisco coupled their lightly sweetened pisco sour with the tacos, deeming it “Unconventional Behavior.”
The wonderful rarities continued through the evening. The energetic crowd parted like the sea every several minutes or so, as a parade of sequin-adorned flappers toting drums, Herradura tequila and flashy lights led partakers through the maze of stations to a private backroom sprawling with a full-service bar shaking out tequila cocktails and lined with glow-stick bracelets up for grabs.
That was just the lower floor.
An industrial-style staircase, complete with caging and neon lights, led to an open-floor lounge. Upstairs, patrons were treated to handmade sidecars by the house bar staff at Pier A and could rest from their culinary adventure on plush chairs flooded with moody blue lights.
Across the dark, wood laden lounge, Maison Pickle, brunch-favorite Jacob’s Pickle’s sister bar, (spritzed) their Sazarac cocktail, “Forge et Fils” with a mind-bending absinthe. Paired with Molecular Mixology’s various sneaky takes on foods, like “Baked Beans” that featured a garbanzo dashi whipped into clouds with vibrant rainbow carrots, it was all enough to lose our heads.
Miss Good Spirits? Our next all-you-can-eat-and-drink tasting event Brooklyn Uncorked is right around the corner. Get your early bird tickets here.
