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Business & Tech

Disaster Drinks

Natural disasters influence Park Slope's drink specials.

Lately it seems that every week brings weird weather and apocalyptic antics. Clearly a trend is emerging and it’s not global warming.

At Park Slope bars, the new “too soon?” tongue-in-cheek gimmick is the disaster-themed drink special. After May’s faux rapture, I sipped on a Dark and Stormy during a “last call” special. Although I opted out of the all-you-can-drink, end-of-the-world deal since I knew I’d be going to work later with the rest of the world.

Then, Tuesday brought us a 5.8 east coast earthquake and plenty more wordplay inflected happy hours and delicious disaster drinks—hereafter DD’s.

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Now Irene is heading our way. Half priced hurricanes anyone?

Trekking out after the earth stopped moving, drinkers enjoyed post-quake DD's. Here's the round up around the Fifth Avenue bar “epicenter.”

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At (477 Fifth Avenue) bartender Michele Hodges was making $5 Mudslides to soothe jangled nerves. Hodges was at home when the quake hit and, like most New Yorkers, thought it was just construction, “until I saw it on TV.”

Fellow bartender, Betty Collin had another typical reaction. “I thought my blood sugar was low and I had vertigo!” But this local joint has been around since 1969, so it takes more than a tremor to rattle the bartenders or the regulars.

After the quake, local resident Scott Fredrickson was at Timboo’s long bar with a beer, just as he has been nearly every day since 1982.

Nearby at (497 Fifth Avenue) owner Ray Gish won the “best effort” DD award. The low-key staff was running the typical happy hour, but only after trying to no avail to get their hands on some Aftershock, spicy cinnamon liquor.

Thick and syrupy, it burns your mouth and is about as classy as Jager but possibly less tasty. Gish says that they tried three different liquor stores but no one had it. “The neighborhood’s not ghetto enough!” A loss for earthquake survivors in need of a laugh. 

Newcomer Der Kommissar (559 Fifth Avenue), an arty brat bar with a killer playlist, was shaking up an original earthquake drink, the “Kerjigger.”

Alongside their normal $2 off draft beer special, the very funny Qi Ricks muddled fresh watermelon, Simple Syrup, gin, and Campari in a gigantic beer stein and garnished her ‘jigger with watermelon slices. For $7 it was a huge drink with a pleasing fruit pulp and signature Campari bitterness.

If you’d prefer a little sweetness, Qi will whip you up a tequila and rum version that tastes like watermelon punch at a backyard bbq. You don’t need to wait for a disaster to strike either, Qi makes an original fruit cocktail every night of the week.

In front of (375b Fifth Avenue), an open faced bar that embraces the street, a chalkboard sign proclaimed that they were having an “Earthquake Party.” Only $6 bought you a well shot and a beer (Coors or Bud). For $1 more you could upgrade your booze selection.

Though the theme may change, the good news is that bartender Victoria Viscusi runs this “extended happy hour deal” all day every day. But she agreed that there ain’t no party like an earthquake party…

However, the best deal by far was down the street at (506 Fifth Avenue). Owner Peter Lederman is running a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon and $2 well shot “aftershock special” until Friday.

That’s what I like to call “Wisconsin cheap,” a.k.a. drink prices low enough to pretend you’re somewhere that hasn’t adjusted for inflation since the 1970s. With The Fifth Estate’s swanky ambiance you can feel flush for five bucks. I’m less traumatized already. 

(273 13th Street), the punk-metal-hipster bar with a brass stripper pole was a close second for the best deal and number one for post-disaster appropriateness vibe.

The windowless bar has a hideaway feel to it—the perfect place to hunker down until chaos passes. That is if you can handle the chaos inside. In honor of the quake, Bartendress “The Crusher,” was dolling out $2 Rolling Rocks (get it?) and go-go dancers were shaking it to “re-enact the earthquake” inside from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

 

 

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