Pegu Club (New York City)

Last updated
Pegu CLub
Pegu Club NYC 01.jpg
Logo at the main entrance
Pegu Club (New York City)
Restaurant information
Established2005 (2005)
Closed2020 (2020)
Street address77 W. Houston St, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°43′36″N73°59′58″W / 40.726536°N 73.999554°W / 40.726536; -73.999554 Coordinates: 40°43′36″N73°59′58″W / 40.726536°N 73.999554°W / 40.726536; -73.999554

Pegu Club was a craft cocktail bar in New York City, operating from 2005 to 2020. It was located on the border of SoHo and Greenwich Village in Manhattan. The bar was named after and loosely inspired by the Pegu Club, a club in a British colonial outpost in Myanmar, as well as its signature cocktail with the same name. [1]

Contents

The bar was one of the most influential in the world, and a pioneer of the craft cocktail movement. [2]

Attributes

A Gin-Gin Mule at Pegu Club Pegu Club NYC 02.jpg
A Gin-Gin Mule at Pegu Club

The bar occupied a large space on the second floor of a green building on Houston Street. The decor had a subtle Asian theme including bamboo floors and gilded lighting, kept dimly lit. Its entrance was subtly marked, only with a small brass dragon business card holder, affixed to the front door at street-level. [3] Tables included condiments eyedroppers with lemon, lime, sugar, and bitters, inviting guests to customize their drinks. [4]

Audrey Saunders was the creative talent behind the bar and its most well-known owner, among a group of partners. [2] Another notable co-founder was Julie Reiner. [5] Saunders had a drive for quality, partially inspired by her work at Bemelmans Bar. In testing cocktails, she would try innumerous ingredient and spirit combinations, measure her recipes, and refrigerate vermouth. For the bar, she ordered custom barware as well as a Kold-Draft ice machine. The bartenders and servers were given tailored vests over buttoned shirts or stylish cocktail dresses. Saunders was also noted to not accept poor behavior from guests at Pegu Club: part of the cocktail revolution was a change in viewing bartenders from a "liquid butler" to a professional worthy of respect. [6]

The bar's menu had a mixture of forgotten classics, including the Pegu Club cocktail, and Saunders' own creations, including the Gin-Gin Mule, Old Cuban, and Little Italy. [2] The bar was also known for its Fitty Fitty martini (half gin, half vermouth, with a dash of orange bitters to cut the vermouth's effect). At its opening, cocktails were $11-16. [4] The bar highlighted rye and gin, and was famed for not serving any vodka, allowing its guests to discover spirits they thought they might not enjoy. [6]

The food menu, put together with input from their chef Gavin Citron, was short though it had unusual and intriguing combinations. These included smoked trout deviled eggs, scallop mini butgers, and a slider with pulled duck and barbecue sauce. In 2005, the small plates ranged from $6 to $16. [4]

History

The space was formerly used by a "scrappy" music club before the bar opened. [6] Pegu Club opened in 2005, owned by Audrey Saunders, who was already well-known as a bartender and protégé of Dale DeGroff. At the time of its opening, the cocktail renaissance was in its infancy, and Pegu Club was one of few places in the city to find a complex cocktail. [3]

The bar announced its closure on April 30, 2020, stating that its lease is set to expire in October. Though Saunders had planned to keep the bar open, the business shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the bar. Saunders said the slower summer business would not sustain the operation, a rent hike was possible, the federal small business loan would not have allowed her to rehire all the staff, and there were plumbing issues in the building as well. Saunders stated she was unlikely to reopen Pegu Club elsewhere, as the bar had a sense of place in its location that would not be replicable elsewhere. [3]

Pegu Club was one of the pioneering establishments in the cocktail renaissance. [7] It was also influential in training several of the best-known bartenders; [3] its opening staff was Toby Maloney, Phil Ward, Jim Meehan, and Chad Solomon, all of whom would eventually create their own cocktail bars. [2] The bar also included notable bartenders St. John Frizell, Brian Miller, DEl Pedro, and Kenta Goto. [1] The bars created by these bartenders included PDT, Death & Co., Mayahuel, Fort Defiance, Violet Hour, Bar Goto, The Polynesian, and many others. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan (cocktail)</span> Cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters

A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred then strained into a cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old fashioned (cocktail)</span> Cocktail made with whiskey, bitters and sugar

The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martini (cocktail)</span> Cocktail made with gin and vermouth

The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. A popular variation, the vodka martini, uses vodka instead of gin for the cocktail's base spirit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negroni</span> Cocktail made of gin, Campari, and vermouth

A Negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of one part gin, one part vermouth rosso and one part Campari, garnished with orange peel. It is considered an apéritif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronx (cocktail)</span> Drink of gin, orange juice, and vermouth

The Bronx is a cocktail. It is essentially a Perfect Martini with orange juice added. It was ranked number three in "The World's 10 Most Famous Cocktails in 1934" behind the Martini (#1) and the Manhattan (#2). In the 1934 movie "The Thin Man", the lead actor compared the methods for shaking the Manhattan, the Bronx and the Martini.

<i>The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks</i> 1948 book about cocktails

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a book about cocktails by David A. Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its witty, highly opinionated and conversational tone, as well as its categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour; its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base, modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and its 1:2:8 ratio for sour type cocktails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson (cocktail)</span> Gin and vermouth cocktail, often served with an onion

The Gibson is a mixed drink made with gin and dry vermouth, and often garnished with a pickled onion. In its modern incarnation, it is considered a cousin of the ubiquitous martini, distinguished mostly by garnishing with an onion instead of an olive. But the earliest recipes for a Gibson – including the first known recipe published in 1908 – are differentiated more by how they treat the addition of bitters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegu Club (cocktail)</span> Gin-based cocktail

The Pegu Club or the Pegu is a gin-based cocktail that was the signature drink of Burma's Pegu Club. Located just outside Rangoon, the club was named after the Pegu, a Burmese river, and its members were those Britons who were senior government and military officials and prominent businessmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last word (cocktail)</span> Gin based prohibition-era cocktail

The last word is a gin-based Prohibition-era cocktail originally developed at the Detroit Athletic Club. While the drink eventually fell out of favor, it enjoyed a renewed popularity after being rediscovered by the bartender Murray Stenson in 2004 during his tenure at the Zig Zag Café and becoming a cult hit in the Seattle area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegu Club</span>

Pegu Club is a recognized heritage site in Yangon, Myanmar, which was a Victorian-style Gentlemen's club founded in 1871 during the British colonization of Burma. The building was built in 1880 and finished in 1882. Pegu Club used to be a place for British officials to spend their time for a drink or two. It was well known because of its signature Pegu Club Cocktail. In southeast Asia, Pegu Club was an equivalent place to the Royal Selangor Club of Kuala Lumpur and The Tanglin Club of Singapore. Rudyard Kipling, as a young newspaperman, visited Pegu Club when he was in Yangon in 1889. Paul Theroux visited Pegu Club in the early 1970s and wrote about it in his book The Great Railway Bazaar. The first phase of the Pegu Club's restoration was completed in 2018.

<i>Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide</i>

Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide is a cocktail recipe book and bartending manual first published in 1935. The guide was once used on nearly every bar shelf in the United States. About 11 million copies were printed in 68 editions, as of 2015.

The Blackthorn is an Irish whiskey or sloe gin based cocktail. Both versions emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinez (cocktail)</span>

The Martinez is a classic cocktail that is widely regarded as the direct precursor to the Martini. It serves as the basis for many modern cocktails, and several different versions of the original exist. These are generally distinguished by the accompaniment of either Maraschino or Curacao, as well as differences in gin or bitters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick & Nora (glass)</span> Stemmed glass used to serve mixed drinks

A Nick & Nora glass is a stemmed glass with an inverted bowl, mainly used to serve straight-up cocktails. The glass is similar to a cocktail glass or martini glass.

Audrey Saunders is an American bartender, considered one of the world's most famous bartenders and New York's most famous female bartender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craft cocktail movement</span>

The craft cocktail movement is a social movement spurred by the cocktail renaissance, a period of time in the 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industry, especially in the United States. The renaissance spanned from 2004 into the late 2010s. By 2017, high-quality ingredients, techniques, and liquors began to be ubiquitous in bars across the United States, leading writers to declare the renaissance over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attaboy (bar)</span> Cocktail bar in New York City

Attaboy is a craft cocktail bar in the Lower East Side of New York City.

Bemelmans Bar is a cocktail and piano bar in the Carlyle Hotel, on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City. The bar opened in the 1940s, serving wealthy Upper East Siders and numerous celebrities. Bemelmans has distinctive Art Deco decor, including murals of Madeline painted by Ludwig Bemelmans, author and illustrator of Madeline. It has been known for multiple drinks, though in recent years it is best known for its martinis, often served very dirty.

References

  1. 1 2 Wondrich, David; Rothbaum, Noah, eds. (2021). The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–530. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199311132.001.0001. ISBN   9780199311132. OCLC   1260690923.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Simonson, Robert (2020-04-30). "Pegu Club, a Pioneering Manhattan Cocktail Bar, Won't Reopen". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dai, Serena (2020-04-30). "Cocktail Pioneer Pegu Club Closes Permanently After Nearly 15 Years". Eater NY. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  4. 1 2 3 Bruni, Frank (2005-09-23). "The Pegu Club". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  5. Simonson, Robert (2020-06-09). "A Guiding Light Goes Dark". PUNCH. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  6. 1 2 3 Zavatto, Amy (2020-05-05). "We Say Goodbye to Pegu Club, One of the Greatest Cocktail Bars of All Time". Liquor.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  7. Repanich, Jeremy (2019-11-19). "14 Bars That Changed Cocktails Forever in America". Robb Report. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  8. Clarke, Paul (2020-04-30). "Remembering Pegu Club, 2005-2020". Imbibe Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-10.