Pegu Club

[johnder]

Slkinsey, myself and Eric_Malson were at Pegu last night and -- wait for it...

wait for it... Audrey now serves Lairds bonded applejack.

Yes friends -- Audrey has convinced they distributor that there is indeed a market for the bonded stuff, and yes, people really, really want it.

If you haven't tried Lairds Bonded, you really are missing something. You should head down there and try a jack rose with the bonded and house made grenadine. Awesome beyond words.

So phase one of the master plan is complete -- on to phase 2. Getting the local liquor stores to carry it.

Congrats Audrey, and also thanks to slkinsey for being a huge applejack evangelist as well.

john

Admin: applejack-related discussion moved to the applejack thread in the Fine Spirits & Cocktails forum.

[slkinsey]

More info as it comes in:

The official opening date is Monday, August 29th,  2005.

Tomorrow marks one year since Pegu Club's official opening. Congratulations to Audrey and everyone else on the team.

[KatieLoeb]

Saw a nice photo of Audrey and the bar staff at Pegu in a recent publication. Not sure if it was Bon Appetit, Gourmet or some other magazine. Great photo and some well deserved glowing press. Congratulations to Audrey and the entire Pegu staff. You do us all proud.

edited to add:

Bon Appetit, September 2006 issue.

[H. du Bois]

Finally got to Pegu Club last night - my first time! Brought two visiting Australians (who loved the place), and a great time was had by all. I had the lemon thyme daiquiri and a gin gin mule; one friend had a French pearl and the Pegu club cocktail. I can't remember the name of my other friend's first drink (something long with cherries in it), but her second was the intro to Aperol. It was fun tasting them all. Can't wait to go back!

[jaypm51]

Great place for the exotic cocktail, wonderful atmosphere (very pukka-like) and often, at the bar, interesting and erudite conversation. Bartenders are without peer. The best of all, however, is the simple but elegant unadorned martini made with some of the world's best gin. Just plain hard to beat.

[slkinsey]

Here's an odd mention in Gawker with what purports to be a picture of a tray of wheatgrass in the Pegu Blub bathroom. I've never seen anything like that there. Anyone else?

[Sneakeater]

Each time I enter their bathroom, I'm so proud I managed to figure out how to open the door that I'd barely notice a wheatgrass planter.

[Megan Blocker]

Here's an odd mention in Gawker with what purports to be a picture of a tray of wheatgrass in the Pegu Blub bathroom.  I've never seen anything like that there.  Anyone else?

←

It looks a little too big to fit onto the counter in the ladies' room, that's for sure.

[johnder]

I am heading there tonight, so I will do a first hand inspection, ladies room included!

I never remember seeing any wheatgrass in the men's room.

[H. du Bois]

I remember noticing that the ladies' room was exceptionally beautiful, but I don't remember any flora or fauna.

[Megan Blocker]

I remember noticing that the ladies' room was exceptionally beautiful, but I don't remember any flora or fauna.

←

Weren't you the fauna?

[H. du Bois]

I remember noticing that the ladies' room was exceptionally beautiful, but I don't remember any flora or fauna.

Weren't you the fauna?

Given that I was: a) dreamily cocktailed; b) distracted by the beauty of the basins; and c) anthropocentrically inclined; the thought never occurred to me. But right you are!

[eje]

I don't know why I torture myself by following this thread.

Has anyone suggested to Ms. Sauders, and the other bartenders at Pegu, to collect some of their famous receipts for those of us who must live as voyeurs?

I live in hope that one day a Pegu Club Cocktail Book will clutter my bedside table alongside the tomes from Baker, Craddock, DeGroff, Duffy, Regan, Wondrich, et al.

[donbert]

I missed Johnder by an hour but I can say for sure that there was no wheatgrass in the bathroom. Jim said that he knew of a couple places in the city that had wheatgrass for putting out cigarettes outside but never saw or heard anything about wheatgrass in Pegu bathrooms.

(there was neither flora, fauna, nor H. du Bois in the ladies room when I checked it, for purely journalistic purposes to report back of course )

[Nishla]

We're in NY for the weekend, and stopped by Pegu Club for a drink before dinner last night. We brought a friend who lives in Manhattan but had never been there, and as soon as he walked in the room he said, "now THIS is what a bar is supposed to be like!" I think Pegu has a new regular

Since it was just after 5pm, we were one of two groups in the bar, and we had Audrey all to ourselves at the counter. She was an fabulous hostess, really fun to talk to, and made us some outstanding drinks. My favorite was the Li'l Jig--the thai basil is perfect with the tequila. I also tried a Jack Rose with the Lairds bonded after reading about it upthread. Yum.

We'll definitely be back this evening, and might try some of the food too.

[KatieLoeb]

We're in NY for the weekend, and stopped by Pegu Club for a drink before dinner last night. We brought a friend who lives in Manhattan but had never been there, and as soon as he walked in the room he said, "now THIS is what a bar is supposed to be like!" I think Pegu has a new regular 

Since it was just after 5pm, we were one of two groups in the bar, and we had Audrey all to ourselves at the counter. She was an fabulous hostess, really fun to talk to, and made us some outstanding drinks. My favorite was the Li'l Jig--the thai basil is perfect with the tequila. I also tried a Jack Rose with the Lairds bonded after reading about it upthread. Yum.

We'll definitely be back this evening, and might try some of the food too.

←

The smoked trout deviled eggs are perfect with a martini. One of the best bar snack-cocktail combos ever.

[David McDuff]

I visited Pegu Club for the first time last Sunday while in New York for the week transition (Sunday and Monday). It was an early visit so we had our pick of seats and chose one of the cozy two-top tables along the windows overlooking Houston Street. I started off with The Pegu Club Cocktail, my companion with a Pineapple Pisco Sour. The Pegu Club was, for me, a perfect slow-sipping cocktail; the only problem with that being that my partner polished off her equally delicous Pisco Sour in a flash and wasn't in the mood for waiting for me to catch up. So, on to seconds... for her the Jamaican Firefly and the Gin-Gin Mule for me. I'm a big ginger beer fan so a drink combining their own homemade version with my favorite white spirit was too much to pass up.

Overall, it was a great and amazingly relaxed experience. On future visits, I'll aim for the bar instead of the tables so as to converse more readily with the barstaff. I also took advantage of Audrey's generous offering of both Regan's Orange Bitters #6 and Peychaud's Bitters in hopes of being able to replicate some of Pegu's fine potions at home -- or at least enjoy trying.

[Marlene]

The shrimp! Try the shrimp! I'll be in NY in a couple of weeks and Pegu is definately on my list of places to visit again while I'm there. Besides, I need more of Gary's bitters.

[mkayahara]

I visited the Pegu Club on Monday after an amazing birthday dinner at wd-50. Y'know, just to round out the extravagance. We'd already had cocktails and wine with dinner, so my three companions and I restricted ourselves to one drink each. I had a Copperhead, made with bonded applejack, rye and yellow Chartreuse, if I recall correctly. It was a very tasty and very, very strong drink.

Can anyone share the proportions? Not that I can get a single one of those ingredients in Canada...

It was a perfect end to an exceptional evening, and I'll be sure to head back next time I'm in town.

[Sneakeater]

Not that anyone cares, but I think the Copperhead (Phil's variation on a Diamondback -- the Diamondback being a drink that the Porter House claims, under a slightly different name, to be a house invention, BTW) is one real good cocktail.

Edited December 20, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[finnfann]

Okay, this is really making me cranky. The Copperhead sounds amazing, and like it would be right up my street. I stopped into Pegu last night to treat myself to a drink after some Christmas shopping in SoHo. I could not believe how crowded it was at 8:45 on a Tuesday night. I told the host I would try to get a seat at the bar, and she suggested that if I couldn't, she would get me a table. The bar was packed, and the only empty bar stool appeared to belong to a woman who had stood up to suck face with her date. I returned to the front in hopes of getting that promised table, but the host was gone. I cased the place for a few more minutes, hoping that maybe that couple had decided to get a room, but alas. Back up to the front I went, but the host still had not returned (not that there were many tables available either). I walked out with my thirst unquenched.

Please someone share those proportions so I can make my husband make me a Copperhead.

[Sneakeater]

Can't tell you about the Copperhead, but here's a Diamondback recipe I pulled off the web somewhere that should tide you over (and keep your husband busy) for a while:

The Diamondback Cocktail

1-1/2 ounces rye whiskey.

3/4 ounce green Chartreuse.

3/4 ounce Applejack.

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

No garnish. From Bottoms Up, by Ted Saucier.

[jlo mein]

Thought I'd revive an old thread instead of making a new one. I returned from a seven day New York trip a few weeks ago and had a great time. I managed to find the tiny entrance to the Pegu Club on a dark night (ok I asked for directions after crossing the same intersection three times). Here is some eye candy.

Left: Pegu Club - London Dry Gin, Angostura Bitters, Regan's Orange Bitters, Orange Curacao, and Lime Juice.

Right: Ode To Ankarah - Gin, Elderflower Liqueur, Grapefruit Juice, Lemon Juice, and Regan's Orange Bitters.

Kill-Devil - Rum Agricole, Green Chartreuse, Demerara Syrup, Angostura Bitters.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying any rum agricole and bringing it back home to Vancouver, Canada (not available). I opted instead for Zacapa 23 rum, and didn't have any other luggage space.

[Chris Amirault]

Does anyone have the recipe for that Ode To Ankarah? I'd also be interested in the gin.

[Pan]

I went to Pegu Club for the first time last night, with three other people. Everyone found the place thoroughly pleasant. The best cocktails were the one I got - a Tantris Sidecar, which was wonderfully complex and left a good taste in my mouth - and the eggnog-like cocktail (I don't remember the name, but someone will) that tasted like the greatest eggnog you NEVER had. A good pisco sour of some variety was also ordered. I will be back. By the way, I don't know if it's been mentioned that it's under the same ownership as the Zinc Bar catty-corner to it. The bouncer outside the Zinc Bar recommended it as a place to go to for drinks and told us about the common ownership of the two places.