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Prohibition & the Perfect Manhattan: NYC Cocktail History with Diana Pittet
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This conversation will explore the role of the bar in fueling the city that never sleeps and go into more detail about how alcohol in general--and the cocktail more specifically--has shaped the city over the centuries. We'll talk about the first distillery on Staten Island in 1640, the role of slavery, and the rise of rum. We'll take some time to discuss the birth of the cocktail in New York, the impact of prohibition, and the resulting growth of speakeasies (and flight of talented mixologists).
Only now, 100 years since the enactment of Prohibition is the proper cocktail making its overdue comeback in America, and New York City has been a driving force in its renaissance.
Led by cocktail expert Diana, this interactive conversation aims to enhance your knowledge of all that bars and drinking entails in New York City. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future bar expeditions, we hope next time you're in a watering hole, you'll see things with a more informed eye.
A former Latin teacher, Diana traded in the classical world for classic cocktails after she earned a master's degree from NYU in Food Studies. She is the co-founder of Night Owl Hospitality, a cocktail catering company on the Jersey Shore, where she also runs a whiskey club. This autumn, Diana returns to NYU to teach a graduate class on the history, culture, and politics of drinking. An avid traveler, Diana aims to visit a total of 50 different countries by the time she is 50.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
This was a fun and interesting seminar. I was sorry it was 3 in the afternoon so I couldn't have an alcoholic drink while watching.
I'd love to have her do another Friday evening series on cocktails or spirits. The history of rum is really fascinating, wines of the world and the history of viniculture, etc. I didn't make it to the bubbly convo but might also be good. Think about it on a Friday night as a virtual cocktail hour. Recommend something before that folks might prepare. We scheduled a post-convo zoom with our friends and family and really enjoyed that too. Thank you!
More US based topics. I know that you give tours in several cities here. Would love to hear about Beacon Hill in Boston and other such topics. That's one reason why I liked this Prohibition/New York conversation. I usually travel abroad and tend toward the European offerings but these would be interesting.