Bar Convent Brooklyn Book Signing
Are you one of the many LAST CALL subscribers who are part of the bar/drinks /spirits industry who will be attending Bar Convent Brooklyn this week in Industry City? If so, and you’re craving a refreshing blueberry-almond Lambrusco Spritz and a signed copy of my book Amaro (or just want to say “Ciao!”), then join me on Tuesday, June 9th from 11:30AM - 1:30PM at the Haus Alpenz booth (Booth 8A-601).
I’ll be kicking off two days’ of programming featuring Friends of Haus Alpenz special guests stopping by to sign books and share a tasty cocktail amidst all the tastings, panels, meetings, and industry schmoozing. Thanks to my friends at Haus Alpenz, I’ll be signing complimentary copies of my book Amaro and sharing one of my favorite summertime drinks, Jose Cordon’s Vino Veritas. This low-ABV, beat-the-heat spritz features a tantilizing combination of Cappelletti Pasubio Vino Amaro, almond orgeat, and fizzy Lambrusco over ice, garnished with aromatic fresh mint and a fat juicy blackberry. I served it last summer at an event at Officina del Bere 1397 and it was a certified smash, so I’m hoping to make this a summertime tradition. You’ll find the recipe below and the cocktail will also be featured in my next book, Drinking Italian)
After my guest shift, be sure to swing back by the Haus Alpenz booth on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet even more acclaimed drinks writers (and dear friends), including Clay Risen, Dave Wondrich, Shannon Mustipher, Dave Arnold, and Amanda Schuster.
While Bar Convent Brooklyn itself features two days’ worth of programming spread out across several buildings in Industry City, the publicity-driven events and activations, both on location and orbiting the conference at pop-ups all over Brooklyn and Manhattan, from today through Wednesday seems particularly overwhelming this year. I realize to be invited to too many parties isn’t really a problem one should complain about, but something about the sheer number of pop-ups from visiting bars, the overlapping conflicting schedules, and the distance between event locations makes it difficult to navigate so many desirable events compressed together.
There have been thousands upon thousands of words written about the impact of pop-ups—both pro and con—and I don’t have anything new to necessarily add. I commiserated over this with a fellow drinks writer in the back room of The Long Island Bar the other night and he pointed out that while it’s very desirable for a visiting bar team to present their point-of-view and featured drinks over an evening’s worth of buzz, entertainment, and exposure, it risks dampening the genuine experience of people visiting NYC over the course of Bar Convent Brooklyn. Imagine if you’re in town and finally have a chance to visit one of the many acclaimed or award-winning NYC bars that’s been on your must-visit list, only for that bar to instead serve as set dressing and a backdrop for a visiting pop-up bar from Denver or Boston or Mexico City or Montreal.
Personally, I’m looking forward to making the most of educational panels and tastings and meeting with the many producers in town, especially all my visiting Italians. But going through the many email invitations and missives in my inbox as I attempted to fine-tune my BCB itinerary, the number of events that weren’t a pop-up bar collaboration were few and far between.
The drinks industry is very much a young person’s game and there are many folks out there every night with the energy, stamina, support, and (somehow) means to and attend all of these many events this week. But as I edge closer to Senior Statesman status I’ve elected to attend only a handful of them and have had to be selective based on the logistics of zipping around from Industry City to Midtown to Williamsburg to the West Village then back home to Brooklyn Heights all in one night. And frankly, with Games 3 and 4 of the Knicks hopefully historic Finals run on Monday and Wednesday, making sure I’m in front of my TV (or a TV) at tip-off is my top priority.
In my years attending BCB I’ve often found the outlier event following the official end of the show—typically a more chill, casual lunch or drinks with a producer—is often the best way to wrap things up amongst friends in a favorite venue. This year at Leon’s, chef/owner Nick Anderer’s Italian restaurant kitty-corner from The Strand, they’ll be hosting select SRO World Cup viewing parties, kicking off with the Mexico vs. South Africa match this Thursday, complete with Cocchi cocktails, Merguez Frites Sandwiches, and Wings. Be sure to say hello if you see me there.
I’ll likely have a more detailed recap of Bar Convent Brooklyn in an upcoming LAST CALL dispatch, but if you’re looking for me this week, I’ll be at BCB all day Tuesday, likely most of Wednesday, and at a couple of on-the-chill-side events (that aren’t likely a pop-up and especially if I was offered an Uber or Lyft code by a savvy publicist), or at home with Enzo watching the Knicks hopefully beat the Spurs.
Recipe: Vino Veritas
Jose Cordon, Felix Trattoria | Venice, California
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