This summer, OC got you Tipsy and Tan. Now, we're just getting you tipsy. Meet Fridays at Five, our cocktail series where mixologists at New York City’s white-hot new restaurants create OC-exclusive drinks for our readers. Drinking on the job? Don't mind if we do...
Hats off to Black Friday shoppers; after a hectic family gathering, several days’ worth of cooking, and a little too much food, the last thing we need is another big event. Enter: The Happiest Hour, the latest escape in Greenwich Village. With decor inspired by Dirty Dancing’s tropical resort, and a back wall covered with retro tchotchkes (think seashells, cigar boxes, alligator heads), you won’t ever need a shot of whiskey at this laid-back bar (although you might want one).
Lest you can’t make it out to New York City, co-owner Jim Kearns shares a zippy variation on a house drink, the Link Ray. Fittingly titled The Missing Link, this refreshing celery-jalapeno-tequila concoction (with a dash of Lagunitas IPA) might just be the perfect remedy after battling the post-Thanksgiving crowds.
Name: Jim Kearns
If this drink had a soundtrack, what would it be? "Link Wray"
Drink of choice: A Miller High Life and Powers neat, or on the rocks depending on the day
Hangover cure: Water, sleep, and temperance
Best date advice: I always tell people to be themselves. People always put on too much affect. You can’t keep that up forever, might as well show your true colors, and if someone doesn’t like them, then fuck them.
Worst pick-up: At Pegu Club, when we were just packed to the gills on Fridays and Saturdays, a group of guys would come in at 3 a.m. and order Ramos Gin Fizzes. It’s a delicious drink, but it takes like, 10 minutes to shake a Ramos Gin Fizz properly. They would come in, order five of them, and then try to pick up every girl at the bar and get her to order a Ramos Gin Fizz with them. So we’d end up with 10 Ramos Gin Fizz orders. Once I tried to make five in one shaker; a couple minutes in, the shaker just pops open and sprays Ramos Gin Fizz all over the bar, all over me, all over the beautiful cocktail books, the POS, the barback, just everything. I cleaned myself up and came back and was like, do you still want those? They did. I never saw them leave with anybody.
What not to do to your bartender: There’s nothing worse than going to the guy who is waving at you, acting like there’s a fire going on next to him, and then he turns around to get orders from six people around him. And it’s like, okay, now I’m waiting for you. It just creates an awkward dynamic. I actually call it getting Jerry Lewised.
Exclusive Recipe: The Missing Link
OC Alcohol Scale*: 7
“I mean, it’s a beer cocktail.” With tequila.
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz cane syrup
½ oz Suze
1 oz jalapeno tequila
1 dash celery bitters
Dash of Lagunitas IPA
Celery salt and heart for garnish
Rim a tall glass with celery salt (a mix of celery powder and kosher salt). Combine lime juice, cane syrup, Suze, and tequila in a shaker. Shake with ice, and strain into glass over ice. Top with IPA, garnish with celery heart and some black pepper.
*OC's Alcohol Scale ranges from 1 ("like sippin' from a juice box&quo
Hats off to Black Friday shoppers; after a hectic family gathering, several days’ worth of cooking, and a little too much food, the last thing we need is another big event. Enter: The Happiest Hour, the latest escape in Greenwich Village. With decor inspired by Dirty Dancing’s tropical resort, and a back wall covered with retro tchotchkes (think seashells, cigar boxes, alligator heads), you won’t ever need a shot of whiskey at this laid-back bar (although you might want one).
Lest you can’t make it out to New York City, co-owner Jim Kearns shares a zippy variation on a house drink, the Link Ray. Fittingly titled The Missing Link, this refreshing celery-jalapeno-tequila concoction (with a dash of Lagunitas IPA) might just be the perfect remedy after battling the post-Thanksgiving crowds.
Name: Jim Kearns
If this drink had a soundtrack, what would it be? "Link Wray"
Drink of choice: A Miller High Life and Powers neat, or on the rocks depending on the day
Hangover cure: Water, sleep, and temperance
Best date advice: I always tell people to be themselves. People always put on too much affect. You can’t keep that up forever, might as well show your true colors, and if someone doesn’t like them, then fuck them.
Worst pick-up: At Pegu Club, when we were just packed to the gills on Fridays and Saturdays, a group of guys would come in at 3 a.m. and order Ramos Gin Fizzes. It’s a delicious drink, but it takes like, 10 minutes to shake a Ramos Gin Fizz properly. They would come in, order five of them, and then try to pick up every girl at the bar and get her to order a Ramos Gin Fizz with them. So we’d end up with 10 Ramos Gin Fizz orders. Once I tried to make five in one shaker; a couple minutes in, the shaker just pops open and sprays Ramos Gin Fizz all over the bar, all over me, all over the beautiful cocktail books, the POS, the barback, just everything. I cleaned myself up and came back and was like, do you still want those? They did. I never saw them leave with anybody.
What not to do to your bartender: There’s nothing worse than going to the guy who is waving at you, acting like there’s a fire going on next to him, and then he turns around to get orders from six people around him. And it’s like, okay, now I’m waiting for you. It just creates an awkward dynamic. I actually call it getting Jerry Lewised.
Exclusive Recipe: The Missing Link
OC Alcohol Scale*: 7
“I mean, it’s a beer cocktail.” With tequila.
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz cane syrup
½ oz Suze
1 oz jalapeno tequila
1 dash celery bitters
Dash of Lagunitas IPA
Celery salt and heart for garnish
Rim a tall glass with celery salt (a mix of celery powder and kosher salt). Combine lime juice, cane syrup, Suze, and tequila in a shaker. Shake with ice, and strain into glass over ice. Top with IPA, garnish with celery heart and some black pepper.
*OC's Alcohol Scale ranges from 1 ("like sippin' from a juice box&quo