For the second straight year, thousands of elegantly dressed drinkers descended upon the main branch of the New York Public Library Friday for the opening night of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, a five-day celebration of all things cocktail-related. And despite the potentially lethal combination of four hours of open bar, thousands of five inch heels, and the NYPL's sweeping marble staircases, nobody took a spectacular tumble and landed in a bloody clump of bones and broken glass, impaled by a stiletto to the throat. At least not that we remember.
If you get a chance to attend this extravaganza next year, don't miss it. True, it costs $150, but that's not an unreasonable price for four hours of upscale drinks served throughout four floors of that beautiful old library, which tends to frown on alcohol consumption during its regular hours of operation. There were several bands rocking throughout the joint, a well-stocked oyster bar, carnival performers, a caricature artist, and a raucous circus/disco party in the basement. Every spirit company and their mother had a bar set up to sling a special cocktail, and though this kind of crowded event has the potential to turn into a wretched shitshow, it all somehow worked. Most importantly, you never had to wait for a drink; if one bar was crowded, you simply glided over to another.
The Classic continues through Tuesday night, and there are still quite a few appealing events to enable you. Besides the exhaustive cocktail classes at The Astor Center, on Monday night there's the Time Out "New York Dining & Libation Society: Flavors of Brazil" shindig at S.O.B.'s; an "Indy Spirits Expo" at Soiree Nightclub; and, if you can slip away during lunch, a "rum bus" trip Tuesday from The Astor Center to Caracas Arepa restaurant in Williamsburg, where The Guarapita, a Venezuelan Rum punch, and other Venezuelan drinks and dishes will consumed with gusto. Check out all the action here.
