Why Don’t You… Add This To Your Bar Cart?

29 Sep Why Don’t You… Add This To Your Bar Cart?

‘Why Don’t You’ is my weekly tribute to legendary editor Diana Vreeland who penned a column of the same name for Harper’s Bazaar for 26 years begging, “Don’t just be your ordinary dull self. Why don’t you be ingenious and make yourself into something else?”

I want to be one of those women, who when you go to their home, they have fresh flowers, a candle lit, and offer you some sort of libation.

I just feel like it’s necessary in a big girl apartment. Hold me to it, y’all.

To help me with this, I sought out the help of a master mixologist, Sarah Boisjoli. She’s been in the bartending business for 10 years, curating the drink menus at New York favorites like the Stanton Social and Tao. She and her fiancé, Anthony Serignese, just opened up Joe’s Bar NYC on the Upper West Side. It has a cool, relaxing vibe that immediately made me want to order a drink and fries. There are even kiddie wading pools and lawn chairs!

Turned off by the somewhat exclusive atmosphere of bars in the city—“they’re so serious about where you stand and what you order”—she set out to create her own establishment with her fiancé that felt more inclusive. One that didn’t call for an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails.

As for the drink menu, Sarah curated all of the drinks herself. “It’s fun, super ‘70s, a little retro, very approachable and best of all, not too serious.”

You and I though, we can add a few specific bottles to our bar carts to bring this approach to drinking home, starting with wine.

“Chardonnay will work for most occasions,” Sarah suggested. “A Chablis from Northern France, it makes for really easy pruning but has enough body to stand up to food.”

Or when in doubt, white, in general, will always work! “I drink white wine all year long, we’re New Yorkers so I feel like when it’s the summer, it’s hot in our apartments and in the winter it’s hot in our apartments—it’s always so hot that I want white wine.”

She’s not lying.

If you prefer tequila, like me, Sarah suggests mastering how to make a really classic cocktail with a twist. Try a A Martinez—typically made with aged gin, sweet vermouth, and a little bit of orange bitters, but use aged tequila instead, “so you get the same toasty notes, finish it off by adding a little bit of gin to dry it out a bit.”

And you can never go wrong making a classic margarita with a twist, instead of using cilantro or dry curacao, add flavored syrup.

If you’re in the mood for a fun, relaxed bar to grab a drink and catch up with friends, I suggest Joe’s Bar. Then hit up one of Sarah’s favorites: Attaboy or The Happiest Hour.

What’s your drink of choice?