The Cocktail Collective

by Naren Young

It’s a catchy name, no doubt. And it’s successfully garnered a lot of media attention already. But what is it? The Cocktail Collective is a group of six highly creative industry pros that have been brought together to revamp and re-vitalise the new drinks program at the iconic New York Midtown hotel, The Royalton. That name may sound familiar and it should as it was one of Ian Schrager’s first and most successful hotel projects that opened in 1988.

Back in those days the lobby played host to gaggle of gaunt models and the cashed up and self entitled suits (think Christian Bale and his cronies in American Psycho) who were all drinking Dom Perignon like it was water and a cocktail meant something ending in the word ‘tini’. At this year’s Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans, Howard Wein, the Food & Beverage head honcho of all the Morgan’s Hotels (who own The Royalton) thought it would be a grand idea to put together the A-Team of bartenders to make his new bar a serious drinking destination in a part of New York where this almost nowhere to get a finely cratfed cocktail.

This is ground zero for the Apple Martini and Cosmopolitan (the latter, I must add, I rather enjoy when made well). Willie Shine from the Contemporary Cocktails consulting firm was brought in to put the team together and he chose Simon Ford of Plymouth gin fame, Eric Alperin from The Varnish in LA, John Lermayer (The Florida Room, Miami), Richard Boccato (Dutch Kills & Painkiller, New York City) and Misty Kalkofen of Drink in Boston.

They’re essentially a team of consultants although I’ve been told they most certainly do not want to be known as such. Either way, you’ll be able to catch each of them intermittently as they host nights here every month. John worked his magic recently at a Miami night here, hosted by Josh Wagner, GM at The Florida Room and the nicest man in the industry, here or anywhere. ‘Great cocktails’ and ‘hotel bar’ are an oxymoron in Gotham City these days.

Gone is the era when a lobby bar in a hotel was the place to get your drink on. Iconic places such as the Hoffman House, Holland House, Manhattan Club, Hotel Wallach, which once had dapper bartenders with perfectly manicured moustaches once held court. Now all sadly gone in the name of consumer expansion. Those that do still exist, like the St Regis (home of the Bloody Mary), Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza and the Algonquin (directly across from The Royalton and where the famous ‘round table’ of Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Harpo Marx et al once called home) all make, I’m sorry to say, awful drinks. Those wonderful days when bespoke cocktails and hotels went hand in hand are gone.

But now, with venues like The Royalton are recognizing the need to update and ride the wave of cocktail creativity that is washing over the island of Manhattan like a monsoon. I tip my hat to you. The new design is beautiful, the vision of the Roman & Williams firm. Down the long hallway to the back of the hotel is a brand new, U-shaped bar that has a serious selection of spirits and all the usual geeky stuff one would find at a modern speakeasy downtown: bitters, vintage barware, hand cracked ice and sensible glassware.

By that I mean a cocktail glass that you can’t put a goldfish in and expect it to survive. There’s a punch program that is intended to get their regular clientele away from forking out a ridiculous $400 for a bottle of Grey Goose. A throng of vintage bowls have been sourced and the entire experience is prepared tableside using comical oversized shakers, huge ice blocks and a silver platter of garnishes.

It looks great but at a price way above what others are charging downtown. The rest of the menu is well balanced and kicks off with a page dedicated to great drinks from great hotels around the world. I especially love the Hotel Nacional from Cuba, which is John Lermayer’s contribution and I am also enamoured by Willie Shine’s delightfully refreshing Champagne Cobbler. Simon’s English 75 is a simple and elegant twist on the original that also has fresh raspberries and a whisper of rosewater added.

Will it work in this part of town? And will anyone care? Who knows? What I do know is that if I do find myself in this part of town (which is almost never) and thirsty, I can take comfort in the fact that I can at least, finally, get a great drink. Cheers to that!