Sort of.
As I mentioned in a recent post about my ode to the dark 'n stormy, there has been a wave of establishments that have eschewed the kind of tropical drinks that Tom Cruise's Brian Flanagan was mixing up on the Jamaican beaches in Cocktail. Bartend--err, mixologists--are instead serving cocktails that are refined, methodically prepared, and delicious. The past few years have witnessed a massive birth of nightlife establishments that are more interested in providing the customer with a drink that is sophisticated, full bodied, subtle, and dignified. Focusing more on depth of flavor and new tastes made from different combinations, these places make house made ingredients, like bitters and infusions (flowers, ginger, bacon, buttered popcorn), have drink menus as long as novels, and look back at history for liquid inspiration (Raines Law Room and Pegu Club come to mind). Some of them make fancy variants of common classics (the Beer and a Smoke at PDT is a sophisticated update of a michelada). I love and appreciate all these places, and will continue to frequent them, but I want to talk about an ingredient that I find simple, obvious, not too fancy, but still very cool: the cucumber.
Playing more a supporting role in drinks, I've recently found myself ordering cocktails that have cucumbers as the accompanying ingredient. Two of the notables include the Ellison Cocktail at Blue Owl (196 2nd Ave. between 12th and 13th Streets) and the Girl Friday at Back Room (102 Norfolk St. between Rivington and Delancey). It's no surprise that these libations merit kudos: imagine how refreshing a cucumber is in a salad. Vegetables can transcend a food menu--as it has so successfully with these two cucumber cross over cocktails. (I'm sorry I don't have pictures for either of these. My interest in them took me by surprise; it creeped up on me without my realizing it so I didn't have a camera nearby.)
The Ellison Cocktail, named after Ralph Ellison-whatever that means, consists of Hendrick's Cucumber and Rose Petal-infused gin, mint, cucumber, fresh lime juice, and a dash of angostura bitters. I ordered this because it seemed like it would be subtly refreshing, not too strong in taste, and not too sweet. Turns out, it was everything I thought it would be and more. It was a very relaxed, almost quenching drink, the kind you want to sip slowly in order to fully absorb the different flavors moving and working together and awakening your senses in your mouth as they're going down. The relaxed lounge atmosphere of Blue Owl calls for the Ellison Cocktail, which reminds me of a drink enjoyed in the summer in the South. I'm struggling to think of why they would name this cocktail the Ellison Cocktail--I don't sense any underlying themes of racism, invisibility, or identity in the ingredients (main themes of Invisible Man). I find this drink to be a very visible (visibly tasty) one!
The Girl Friday at the Back Room (a fun place in itself; you have to descend a flight of steps, walk through a dark and dingy breezeway, and then ascend back up another flight of stairs into the bar. But be warned: most people don't actually get into the eponymous back room--literally; the back room that's found behind a seemingly immobile wall on the far right side of the back of the bar. That space is apparently reserved for a precious few) is also a luxurious treat. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact ingredients, but it was similar to the Ellison Cocktail. The base was gin and muddled cucumbers, but there's something else in it that gives it a pink color and a hint of sweet. The Girl Friday is actually tasty--it's hard to say that about a gin and tonic or cranberry vodka, but it was cool and deserving of a sitting to relax, take your time with it, and indulge in conversation. As with all of their liquor-based drinks, they serve the Girl Friday in a tea cup and saucer, making you feel even more dignified (beers are served in brown paper bags; some say it's overkill, I say it's character).
Two topics that are tangential to cucumber creations but noteworthy nonetheless: First, I absolutely love the name of the drink because it reminds me of Howard Hawks's hi-LARIOUS, mile-a-minute 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday (Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy) A Girl Friday is essentially an office worker hired as a faithful aide or secretary; it is a variant of a Man Friday, from Robinson Crusoe. I'm not entirely sure what the connection is with a loyal aide and a gin and cucumber-based cocktail? Maybe it's that the simple yet refreshing bite is a default, an unwavering good choice, a tried and true go to? It is in my book. Either way, the flick is so much fun--most of the movie is fast paced, back and forth dialogue/banter between Grant and Russell, ex-spouses and colleagues at a newspaper, yelling over one another. It's a RIOT! Second, I'm so excited to have discovered this drink; I've been to Back Room so many times, but I'm always there later in the night when it's crowded and people are out in full force so I just order a run of the mill, off-the-menu (not off-the-menu in a cool we-only-serve-to-people-who-ask off-the-menu sort of way, but literally off the menu) drink. But this time, the place was sparse on a Wednesday night so I discovered they actually have a menu! Next time I go I am going to order this again, and try the Bee's Knees (it has something with ginger in it, my favorite, and honey: a winning combination to me).
While some look to these drinks merely as a gateway to a raucous night, I think they are best enjoyed simply and on their own. I find just as much pleasure in having one or two of these as I do in ordering a delicious appetizer (I wouldn't go so far as saying a delicious full meal, because that's on a whole other strata!).
Just like the Greeks offering libations as a sign of devotion to earn respect from the Gods, these cocktails require devotion to every layer of taste in every sip in order to evoke the full pleasures that these ingredients were combined specifically to provide.
Be happy and Carpe Diem!
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