BlackBook Magazine

S. Hector Bury, bartender at Joe's Restaurant, likes to name his cocktails after David Bowie songs. Rightly enough, his “Lady Stardust” seems like a song in a glass—one popular on the radio during summertime, like Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” The combination of top-shelf champagne and fresh citrus makes for a light, crisp cocktail that's deceptively light. Use it as a chaser between "strong" drinks at your peril. (I did, and I have the hangover to prove it.)

On a recent Friday night, I headed to downtown LA bar Seven Grand with some friends in the know who swore by the cocktails. I was surprised to see a velvet rope and line outside—it was almost enough to make me turn around and go home. I’m of the strong opinion that patience is a virtue best untested when it comes to nightlife. My cohorts convinced me stick around, and after about five minutes (what was the point?), we were granted access. It was worth it after all. Seven Grand’s exceptional cocktails fit right in with the bar’s gentlemanly hunting club theme: strong, classic, distinct. There’s nothing girly about the combos of fresh fruit, top-tier liquor, and expert mixology. It doesn’t come cheap, though. The cocktail menu includes $10 juleps plus a $15 deposit required for the silver cup, crustas, punches, fizzes, and sours.

Humphrey Bogart on his deathbed lamented foremost having switched from scotch whiskey to martinis. Well, Bogey, it’s not called the “water of life” for nothing.

On Tartan Day, April 6th, we remember the Scots, who like two things naked, and one of them is malt whiskey. Here, a taste of the highlights of the Highlands and the Lowlands, neat. With sweet, delicate notes, the 18-year-old Johnnie Walker Gold ($85), best drunk chilled (sincerely), lives up to its name—pure, mellow alchemy. Lagavulin 21-Year-Old ($300) tastes of licking a fireplace (without the creosote aftertaste). It’s a glorious thing on some people’s tongues, but requires a braver heart for others—it’s a barefoot hot-coal walk, over a smoldering peat bog.

New Orleans' favorite beer is back on the Bayou (and in a few Yank bars).

My grandfather chased his bourbon with it, my father stocked his fraternity house with it, and it was my first stolen sip of beer as a kid. I can still remember the green and white label looking up at me from the bottom of an ice chest at a barbecue when I was twelve—magnified by a foot of water and the lure of the forbidden, promising Southern manhood by the ounce. Even at twelve, I’d heard the name enough to know that Dixie beer had a cultural significance in Louisiana on par with LSU football, gumbo, and humidity. Even Walker Percy gave it due reverence when he wrote that one can “eat crawfish and drink Dixie beer and feel as good as it is possible to feel in this awfully interesting century.” Dixie beer has been washing down Gulf oysters and boiled crawfish since 1907, but has been on a hurricane hiatus for the past two years since the brewery was flooded by Katrina and then dismantled by looters.

Coffee and tequila—what more could we ask for?

We love the occasional Mexican coffee—that sweet, cinnamon-y, Kahlua-and-java concoction—as much as the next jittery, caffeinated carbaholic. But it’s not every day that we frequent Bennigan’s or the sorts of places that serve that kind of thing. (Nor do we often want a mug of dessert as our after-dinner drink.) Patrón has put an entirely different spin on the theme, with their new Patrón XO Café ($23), an unexpectedly winning coffee liqueur made with pure coffee essence and the brand’s ultra premium tequila. The sugar content is low, the coffee flavor high—it’s a whole new way to get your buzz on. —Ray Rogers

Manhattan mostly snubs the time-honored suburban tradition of discounted drinks at the appointed (read: dead) hours of late afternoon. But that isn't stopping our budget-challenged bard from finding where 'the ladies' (or bums in drag) drink for free! (Echo that last word like they do at monster truck shows).

Happy Hour, we’re told, has naval origins, referring to on-board entertainment—USO and so forth. Over the years, the phrase has evolved from denoting a civilized evening at the end of a respectable day to—according to some authorities—a havoc-inducing and dangerous promotional scheme, a common booze-frenzy. Where sense and taste have failed there are regulations these days, such as moratoriums on buckets, and the whole thing is banned outright in otherwise reasonable states; and for bars where it matters, discounted liquor doesn’t exactly keep the riff-raff out. “Happy Hour” seems to be disappearing.

In New York, where the $13 well margarita lurks, a cheap drink is appreciated as much as anywhere else—more, in fact. We went looking for some spots where happy hour is alive, and, well, happy.

Dylan's candy is dandy, but Snickers sell quickest.

By Jonathan Kelly

Three-figure champagne and $12 mini-bottles of scotch? What else would you expect from the room bar in the Upper East Side’s fabled Carlyle hotel? Let food and beverage director Guillermo Guevara explain.

BLACKBOOK: As far as minibars go, yours seems fairly populist.

GUILLERMO GUEVARA: It’s nice to have a balance of highly priced items and important brands, but to also have items that are more affordable and don’t represent luxury.

BB: How much does the minibar change from your ordinary rooms to your most exclusive tower suites?

GG: Some of our suites have a bit of an upgrade in terms of wine. They also carry bottles of Chateau Montalana Cabernet Sauvignon and very exclusive champagnes such as Dom Perignon and Cristal.

Eggnog is for amateurs. We'd like the $750 scotch. Special batches, limited edition bottles, and other high-end liquors for the luxury-loving lush on your list.

Whiskey hounds get the royal treatment this season with an ultra-premium edition of Crown Royal, Cask No. 16 ($100). Maker’s Mark ($22.99, left) toasts the holidays with a seasonal green dip along with its iconic red wax seal. Laurent-Perrier’s grand cuvee champagne, Grand Siècle ($110), comes in an elegant, modern bottle, perfect for those with discerning palettes and impeccable taste. Or go a little glam with Pommery’s Gold Pop ($17.99) mini-bottles of champers. The exclusive collection of extra-old cognac in Hennessy X.O ($200) glitters in a gold-studded bottle.

A spice of varietals.

The old adage that “you get what you pay for” seldom holds true with wines. Ask any red-blooded merchant. Case in point: Ecco Domani’s new “blends,” which sell for $11 a bottle. The Italian winery’s new Sauvignon-Merlot and Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio blends are a perfect selection for holiday parties for 50 guests—or your kitchen table for two. The C/M is medium-bodied with firm flavor; the C/PG has a distinct richness and a long finish. Now stop shouting, “Amontillado!” —Staff

In many of the spacious rooms at the Chateau Marmont, the container of intoxicating incidentals is decidedly not a little square box. Let general manager Phil Pavel explain.

Freeze Frame: Spaghetti Bolognese leftovers, left, are optional.

BLACKBOOK: How many rooms have those full-size General Electric refrigerators in them, and how old are they?

PHIL PAVEL: Fifty-two of the sixty-three rooms do. The models are all restored refrigerators from the 1940s and 1950s.

BB: Some of the kitchens are massive. Do many guests actually cook in them? You guys even supply pots, pans, and spatulas.

PP: Define “cook?” There might not be dirty dishes, but things do get heated up.