By Marke B.
The view from 83 Proof
I highly recommend you fly by the snazzy 83 Proof downtown for some classic cocktails soon — yes, even in these recession-minded times. Hunky Beau and I popped in to check it out last Saturday, and it was quite fab and reasonable.
Both the economy and the inauguration hangover seemed to be taking their toll: 83 Proof is pretty big, with an upstairs lounge area and plenty of airy space around the downstairs table and massive bar stocked with an amazing amount of liquor I’d never seen before. There were maybe 10 others cozied up — and this was just before primetime on a Saturday! But we all got to talking and ordering, and it was an evening well-spent.
I went for the Proof’s storied basil gimlet (which the friendly, craft-minded bartender mixed with a little ginger Cello for spark) after diving into a cucumber gimlet. What can I say? I’m a total girl drink drunk.
Hunky Beau, however, likes the harder, classier stuff. The gimlets were a tad too sweet for his macho, macho buds. He started out with a Manhattan on the rocks and then moved smothly on to a sazerac, one of the oldest cocktails (it’s debated whether it was indeed the very first) — and this proved the highlight of the night.
A typical sazerac, although ours was on the rocks and much heftier – and our lemon twist twistier.