New Yorkers like options: Subway or taxi. Farmer’s Market or Whole Foods. Madison Square Garden or Mercury Lounge. These days, even bartenders are catering to our every desire by mixing up both low-proof cocktails for lightweights and high-proof options for serious boozehounds.
Proof is easy to calculate; it’s twice the ABV (Alcohol By Volume: the percentage of alcohol in the liquid, listed on every bottle containing any amount). The numbers vary, but a typical gin, rum, vodka or whiskey is 80 proof (40 percent ABV). Grain alcohol reaches 190 proof. Root beer can be 1 proof. Water is zero.
“Bartenders love high-proof [liquor] because it gives wiggle room to add a variety of ingredients,” says beverage consultant Marshall Altier, of spirits around 100 proof. Dilution, you see, is both the friend and enemy of liquor. The more you add, the more you take away.
PHOTOS: DRINKS WITH VARIOUS PROOFS
On the other side of the scale, says mixologist Sother Teague, “Low-proof liquor-based cocktails are an opportunity to highlight those ingredients that are typically playing second fiddle: amaros, sherries, vermouths and the like. It’s all about exploration.”
And, in many cases, the law. In New York, no establishment within 200 feet of a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship can get a license to sell or serve liquor. Beer, wine (including the boozier fortified kind), however — that’s a cocktail of a different color.
And the variety of colors abounds. Bartenders everywhere are playing with proof. “A long day of drinking is a good time for a low-proof cocktail,” says Altier. “A marathon.”
There’s ample time for exploration when you’re not sloshed after just one. Here are some of the most interesting lows and highs in bars around town:
“Easy Like Sunday Morning” at Evelyn Drinkery (171 Avenue C) Main ingredient: Aperol, 22 proof
“Bartenders like Aperol because it has a lighter, more subtle profile,” says Jared Shepard, one of three owners of the weeks-old bar. “You can blend without overpowering .” Their low-proof “Easy Like Sunday Morning,” $9, is made with Aperol, Pimms, cinnamon agave, lime juice, grapefruit bitters, and prosecco. It’s like a ruby red grapefruit with lovely, buzzy cinnamon. We’re relaxed already.
“Adonis” at ABV (1504 Lexington Ave.) Main ingredient: Fino Sherry, 30 proof
Being within 200 feet of a school, there will never be high-proof at the 10-month-old ABV — not that you’d really care. The rust-colored “Adonis,” $12, which blends Fino Sherry, vermouth and orange bitters, is served straight up with an orange peel garnish. Fruity and PG-13.
“Jacques et Ginger” at The Bourgeois Pig (111 E. 7th St.) Main ingredient: Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry, 35 proof
“Low-proof cocktails provide accessible options that don’t sacrifice flavor,” says Ravi Derossi, whose 8-year-old Bourgeois Pig is close to a church, hence the need to keep things semi-sober.
“The Jacques et Ginger” (Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry and house-made ginger beer), $12, is as straightforward as it gets.
“Lillet Lacanau” at Extra Place (8 Extra Pl.) Main ingredients: Lillet Blonde, Lillet Rouge, 34 proof
“Maybe some think [low-proof] defeats the purpose of drinking,” says Amadeus Bogner, owner of the two-month-old Extra Place. “But I disagree. You can still make fairly strong drinks, and they’re low in calories, too.”
Their list includes the “Lillet Lacanau,” $11, a fresh ginger cocktail that’s sure to become brunch’s next big star. It’s light and everything you love about OJ without being super-sweet or bitter. You could pound these, but of course you wouldn’t.
“A L’Ancienne” at Amor y Amargo (443 E. 6th St.) Main ingredient: Louis Royer “Force 53” VSOP cognac, 106 proof
At Amor y Amargo, bartender Sother Teague is all about exploration. “It’s exhilarating to drink the true expression of a given spirit. Higher-proof spirits offer the consumer the opportunity to taste ‘barrel proof,’ as the distiller intended,” he says.
If cognac is your thing, and you’re seeking something dessert-like, try the sweet “L’Ancienne,” $14.
“700 Songs Gimlet” at The Shanty (79 Richardson St., Williamsburg) Main ingredient: Perry’s Tot, 114 proof
Historically, “proof” meant the liquor will light on fire. So when a liquor is “navy strength,” it’s so strong that if you pour it over gunpowder it would still work.
“What bartenders appreciate about this quality is that the flavors don’t get lost,” says Bill Potter, one of the guys who serves, sells and makes high-proof gin under the bar’s New York Distilling Company label. “High-proof [liquor] is able to shine through any cocktail.” Like in their “700 Songs Gimlet,” $10, a sort of limeade, not too sweet or tart, with the clear, clean taste of Perry’s Tot gin supported by cinnamon and a bit of heat from Bittermens Hellfire Shrub bitters. Ahoy!
“The Charles Morrow” at Ardesia (510 W. 52nd St.) Main ingredient: Broadbent Madeira Reserve 5-Year-Old, 37.8 proof
Bartender Damon Gravina considered his grandfather when naming and creating this Manhattan-like low-proof cocktail from an ingredient list limited to beer, vino and fortified wines. “Not that [using] madeira is settling,” he says of the primary spirit. When mixed with smoked wormwood bitters, which, like Absinthe is known to produce a bit of a high, the $12 cocktail can pack a punch. Sip responsibly.
“The George Cohan” at The Rum House (228 W. 47th St.) Main ingredient: Johnny Drum 101 Bourbon, 101 proof
“Higher-proof spirits are more robust, athletic and carry more ‘heat’ on the palate than their tamer brethren, which gives them the ability to pair well with other full-bodied flavors,” says Rum House owner Michael Neff. We recommend splurging $2, and substituting with Booker’s 129.5-proof. More proof, yes, but more importantly, more flavor.
“Billionaire Cocktail” at Bishops and Barons (243 E. 14 St.) Main ingredient: Baker’s Bourbon, 107 proof
“There’s always that 18-year-old in us wanting to get sauced fast,” says General Manager Vala Durvett of cocktails with high-proof liquor, “but this has other ingredients that require thought and taste. It’s a billionaire. It’s the richest, highest everything you’ve got.” It’s a plum-colored, warm, flavor explosion best enjoyed by sipping. “We’re not trying to get 21-year-olds sh–faced,” adds Durvett. But they might.
“House Punch” at Rye House (11 W. 17th St.) Main ingredients: Lemon Hart, 151 proof; Smith & Cross 114 proof; Bacardi, 80 proof
Made with 3oz of rum, two of which are extremely high-proof, plus absinthe spray and Velvet Falernum (a spice-lime-sweet liquor best known for its role in Tiki-like concoctions), this has the possibility of being both your first and last drink.
“We actually had to reduce the portions so we did not get people annihilated,” says general manager Choun Yeh. We love the sour cherry finish, and the nearby glass of water.