Blue & Gold

Our next Women Who Whiskey outing took us out of the West Side to the East Village, to a renown little dive bar called Blue & Gold.

Blue & Gold has been open for as long as anyone can remember, and despite being in the quickly gentrifying Lower East Side, it has maintained the lowest prices in Manhattan.

A generous pour of whiskey--anything from Canadian whiskey to Bourbon to Scotch--will run you between $3 and $6, depending on what you get. And they have quite a selection! Beers--even the imported variety--are also quite cheap.

There's no wait staff, just a busy bartender who does nothing more than pour beers and liquor. If you ask him nicely, he'll throw in a little mixer, but cocktail are not Blue & Gold's M.O.

The bar is dark, paneled in worn wood--the built in board game booths scarred with the marks of generations young people in search of a cheap drink. It has a pool table covered in bumper stickers and an old-fashioned juke box in the back, and on the wall a tiny chalk board for enforcing pool table etiquette.

It's not a place for a first date or high heels, but this grimy little dive bar certainly has it's own timeless charm.

Even when three people in a row put Journey on the jukebox.

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Blue & Gold

79 East 7th St

(between 1st and 2nd Aves)

212.473.8918

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Whiskey Park: Gentlemen Edition Part I

To close out the Spring 2011 Season, Women Who Whiskey hosted it's first ever Gentlemen Edition, an expanded Women Who Whiskey event to which significant others and gentlemen friends are also invited to partake in the whiskey festivities.

Women Who Whiskey: Gentlemen Edition Part I was held at Whiskey Park, located in Donald Trump's Parc Tower and part of the Gerber Group.

The location--with it's sectioned off group seating areas, long bar, and even a pool table, was the perfect venue for twenty-five people to sit, stand, mingle and enjoy themselves.

The manager was very accommodating and allowed me to reserve seating for just drinks for a large group.

But--unlike Employees Only or Little Branch--Whiskey Parked lacks that authentic, one of a kind feeling that so many hole-in-the-wall prohibition era bars have.

The decor was modern, and a bit jarring, the wait staff, although lovely girls, would have been at home in any sports bar, and the whole atmosphere was a bit sterile and unoriginal--not surprising since it is a chain establishment associated with Donald Trump.

The cocktails, although drinkable, were not excellent. The Manhattan was watery and over-mixed and the Mint Juleps were just adequate. Pours of whiskey were slightly more expensive than the West Village average, but without the service and ambiance to justify it.

I would not return to Whiskey Park for it's cocktails, but I did appreciate their effort to accommodate our group, and the wait staff was very friendly, and the gentlemen certainly appreciated the pool table. I would recommend this establishments for large groups and corporate outings.

Women Who Whiskey will be back in September with a new Fall 2011 Season.

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Whiskey Park

100 Central Park South

(between 6th and 7th Aves)

212.307.9222

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