History in a Glass

Pop quiz - What does Jules Vincent have in common with George Washington, Butch & Sundance, Teddy Roosevelt and Albert Anastasia?

No, no, besides the magnetic charisma and an innate ability to lead men.

Still no answer? Okay, I'll give it to you. All of us have had, at one time or another, an adult beverage under the roofs of the historic buildings of NYC. I doubt George Washington stopped to considered the Fraunces Tavern on Pearl St as significant at the time. As, I'm sure, Teddy Roosevelt didn't care if The Paris Cafe would ever wind up on the Federal Registry of Historic Buildings. That's what makes it so special. These spots weren't a publicity stop, they were the regular haunts of famous - and very often infamous - men.

Historic Drinking is my favorite thing to do in NYC. Any city really. I've always hunted down the oldest pubs, restaurants and hotels with the express objective of consuming a cocktail there. Kind of like time travel with a buzz on. See how George McFly survived Biff with a rye whiskey old fashioned in your hand.

That is what makes my current trip to New York so difficult. I CAN'T DRINK! I've cheated a bit. Nursing a beer while sucking down glass after glass of water. Taking a baby sip from two fingers of beautifully brown bourbon in the perfect rocks glass. Watching the bartenders mixing elegant concoctions and dreaming of having "one of those" as my next one that I know will never come.

It's pure torture. Sober as a judge while in some of the best watering holes on the planet. PJ Clarke's, Pete's Tavern and McSorley's are on the schedule today. That means a non-drink with the likes of Frank Sinatra, ee cummings, O. Henry and Richard Harris. Sure, you could slug back a beer in any old alleyway and there's a halfway decent chance that Richard Harris had one there but I doubt there'd be a plaque.

Why not visit a museum instead? That would be the obvious question. In response I say two things. First, would you visit an exhibit of Roman art when you could actually step back into ancient Rome? Second, do you know any museums that let you walk around with a Jim Beam and Ginger?

Seriously, does anyone know of a museum that has cocktail waitresses? I'll go there now.