The Name: The Birthday Shirt
The Bar: The Tippler (425 West 15th St., NYC)
The Story
Behind The Name: It was my birthday last week! Happy birthday to me! I'll pause while you sing in celebration of your favorite cocktail blogger becoming one year older!
December 4th is not just my birthday, it is also the anniversary of the only actively bad drink I've ever gotten for this blog. Regular readers will surely remember the debacle of The Brave Potato, a drink I ordered on my birthday two years ago and which left a bad taste in my mouth, both literally and figuratively. It was a disaster. It was such a disaster, in fact, that last year, I didn't even order a What's-That-Drink cocktail because I was worried I might have a similar experience. I also didn't order a drink because last year I celebrated at a bar called The Ginger Man, which has one of the best beer selections in the city, but is not exactly known for their mixed drinks.
But this year, I decided that I had to order a birthday drink and hopefully the results would be better than two years prior.
But while I didn't order an unusual drink on my birthday last year, I did do something special at The Ginger Man: I wore a shirt. I know, you're thinking that most people wear shirts in polite society, but this wasn't just any shirt. It was a special shirt that I had never worn before. And it looks like this.
It might not look too weird on the clothes hanger, but this shirt is quite odd. The middle is white, but then the sleeves and collar and cuffs are not, so you look kind of like you're wearing a vest. And then the collar, cuffs, and right sleeve are all a purple checkered pattern, but the left arm is inexplicable robin's egg blue. On top of all that, there are the rather prominent black buttons which just add together to make the shirt perplexing. I had bought it because I liked how unusual it was. It's a well-made garment, but it really does look like someone made a terrible mistake while making this and accidentally put the wrong sleeve in. Or someone had started making a shirt and realized they didn't have enough white fabric, so they decided to use the purple check fabric for the rest of the shirt, but then realized they didn't have enough of THAT, so they just went, "fuck it" and made one sleeve blue because they had to finish this shirt because they were on a deadline. Maybe the shirt was put into a futuristic matter transporter with two other shirts and the atoms got jumbled out and the three shirts melded into one. No matter why this shirt was made, I like it. I like clothes that people are confused by when they look at you.
And other people liked it too! Almost everyone who came to my birthday last year said "I like that shirt," and we all theorized how this shirt had come into being. The person who seemed most enthusiastic about the shirt last year was my friend David, who recently joined me for The Psychic Squirrel a few months ago. On my birthday, we planned to meet at another time, and he told me that we could grab dinner only if I wore the same shirt. I don't think he was joking.
After my birthday, I went to put the shirt away and reflected on how well-received its first outing had been. "What a great shirt!" I thought to myself. I then proceeded to completely forget that it was in my closet and didn't wear it again.
Until last week. As I was going through my closet on my birthday last Friday, I happened to see the shirt and realized that I had to wear it again. And thus, a tradition is born. It is now officially my birthday shirt. And I, forever and always, will only wear it on my birthday. Or if someone invites me to a weird shirt party.
December 4th is not just my birthday, it is also the anniversary of the only actively bad drink I've ever gotten for this blog. Regular readers will surely remember the debacle of The Brave Potato, a drink I ordered on my birthday two years ago and which left a bad taste in my mouth, both literally and figuratively. It was a disaster. It was such a disaster, in fact, that last year, I didn't even order a What's-That-Drink cocktail because I was worried I might have a similar experience. I also didn't order a drink because last year I celebrated at a bar called The Ginger Man, which has one of the best beer selections in the city, but is not exactly known for their mixed drinks.
But this year, I decided that I had to order a birthday drink and hopefully the results would be better than two years prior.
But while I didn't order an unusual drink on my birthday last year, I did do something special at The Ginger Man: I wore a shirt. I know, you're thinking that most people wear shirts in polite society, but this wasn't just any shirt. It was a special shirt that I had never worn before. And it looks like this.
It might not look too weird on the clothes hanger, but this shirt is quite odd. The middle is white, but then the sleeves and collar and cuffs are not, so you look kind of like you're wearing a vest. And then the collar, cuffs, and right sleeve are all a purple checkered pattern, but the left arm is inexplicable robin's egg blue. On top of all that, there are the rather prominent black buttons which just add together to make the shirt perplexing. I had bought it because I liked how unusual it was. It's a well-made garment, but it really does look like someone made a terrible mistake while making this and accidentally put the wrong sleeve in. Or someone had started making a shirt and realized they didn't have enough white fabric, so they decided to use the purple check fabric for the rest of the shirt, but then realized they didn't have enough of THAT, so they just went, "fuck it" and made one sleeve blue because they had to finish this shirt because they were on a deadline. Maybe the shirt was put into a futuristic matter transporter with two other shirts and the atoms got jumbled out and the three shirts melded into one. No matter why this shirt was made, I like it. I like clothes that people are confused by when they look at you.
And other people liked it too! Almost everyone who came to my birthday last year said "I like that shirt," and we all theorized how this shirt had come into being. The person who seemed most enthusiastic about the shirt last year was my friend David, who recently joined me for The Psychic Squirrel a few months ago. On my birthday, we planned to meet at another time, and he told me that we could grab dinner only if I wore the same shirt. I don't think he was joking.
After my birthday, I went to put the shirt away and reflected on how well-received its first outing had been. "What a great shirt!" I thought to myself. I then proceeded to completely forget that it was in my closet and didn't wear it again.
Until last week. As I was going through my closet on my birthday last Friday, I happened to see the shirt and realized that I had to wear it again. And thus, a tradition is born. It is now officially my birthday shirt. And I, forever and always, will only wear it on my birthday. Or if someone invites me to a weird shirt party.
Ordering
The Drink: One of my favorite places in New York City is Chelsea Market,
a large indoor market and food hall located in, you guessed it,
Chelsea. I've been there multiple times (it's one of my go-to places to
take friends who are visiting the city), but I had not been to their
underground bar, The Tippler. I'd heard great things about it, though,
and I do love Chelsea Market, so I figured this would be the perfect
place to celebrate my birthday. It was a great selection--The Tippler is a huge space, but also feels very cozy. By arriving early, I was lucky enough to nab a large wooden table right at the entrance to the bar, and as friends trickled in, I had several cocktails from off the menu and all were delicious. Plus, as you would expect from a bar located in a sprawling culinary market, the food was great. And some of the cocktails even contained ingredients that I knew I had seen in the various storefronts above--most notably a variety of unusual bitters. I immediately knew The Tippler was a great choice for a birthday celebration, and was excited to play What's That Drink there.
I will confess that I initially was going to order a drink with a different name entirely, but as had happened the year before, my shirt had once again become a topic of conversation. Most interestingly, David--my friend who had been the most intrigued by the shirt last year--not only didn't remember the shirt at all, but seemed to actively dislike it this time around. "I wore this shirt just for you!" I told him. "I really wish you hadn't," he replied.
Given that the birthday shirt was now officially a tradition, my friend Morgan suggested that I order a drink called The Birthday Shirt. I agreed that that was a good idea. Morgan was incredibly pleased with himself, and told everybody multiple times how he was the one who came up with the name. I'm letting you know this because I always believe that credit should be given where credit is due. So, thank you Morgan. I hope you appreciate this acknowledgment.
I will confess that I initially was going to order a drink with a different name entirely, but as had happened the year before, my shirt had once again become a topic of conversation. Most interestingly, David--my friend who had been the most intrigued by the shirt last year--not only didn't remember the shirt at all, but seemed to actively dislike it this time around. "I wore this shirt just for you!" I told him. "I really wish you hadn't," he replied.
Given that the birthday shirt was now officially a tradition, my friend Morgan suggested that I order a drink called The Birthday Shirt. I agreed that that was a good idea. Morgan was incredibly pleased with himself, and told everybody multiple times how he was the one who came up with the name. I'm letting you know this because I always believe that credit should be given where credit is due. So, thank you Morgan. I hope you appreciate this acknowledgment.
The server--who was fantastic and was attentive all night even though the bar was very busy-- came to our table and I explained the weird drink order. Our server seemed to love the idea, although she did express some slight concern about explaining it to the bartenders. She seemed to think they might feel like I was trying to test them, but I assured her that there was not a specific drink I was looking for and that anything they put in the drink I'd be happy with. "Maybe give me a hint about what type of spirit you want?" she suggested. But I refused and told her I wanted their interpretation of The Birthday Shirt without any input from me. Given her apprehension, I repeated that if they didn't want to do it, she could let me know and I'd totally understand. But she smiled mischievously and said, "Oh no, I'll definitely find someone who'll do it," and walked off.
In a bit she came back holding both a drink and a shot in her hand.
The Drink:
"Is this The Birthday Shirt?!" I asked when she'd returned.
"Well...not exactly." she put the drinks on the table. The shot was topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles, which certainly seemed festive. "This is a birthday shot," she explained. "And the bartender said that maybe someone with a speech impediment would call it a birthday shirt." I asked her what was in the shot, and she pointed it out on the menu: lemon vodka, frangelico, and Bailey's, topped of course with whipped cream and sprinkles. Our server rolled her eyes as she relayed the bartender's explanation. It was clear that she thought they had copped out quite a bit and wished that she was bringing me something more fun, unusual, and off-the menu.
"But, on top of the birthday shot, we're also bringing you our old fashioned with muddled cherries. On the house. Hope that's okay." I assured her that a free old fashioned was always welcome and thanked her. Then, I took the shot.
"Is this The Birthday Shirt?!" I asked when she'd returned.
"Well...not exactly." she put the drinks on the table. The shot was topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles, which certainly seemed festive. "This is a birthday shot," she explained. "And the bartender said that maybe someone with a speech impediment would call it a birthday shirt." I asked her what was in the shot, and she pointed it out on the menu: lemon vodka, frangelico, and Bailey's, topped of course with whipped cream and sprinkles. Our server rolled her eyes as she relayed the bartender's explanation. It was clear that she thought they had copped out quite a bit and wished that she was bringing me something more fun, unusual, and off-the menu.
"But, on top of the birthday shot, we're also bringing you our old fashioned with muddled cherries. On the house. Hope that's okay." I assured her that a free old fashioned was always welcome and thanked her. Then, I took the shot.
 |
| Me wearing the birthday shirt, while holding the birthday shot. The old fashioned is on the table, and my friend Alex is in the background completely undermining my attempts to look dignified and wise beyond my years. |
Assessment
of Drink: Not much to complain about flavorwise. The crew at The Tippler knows what they're doing, and both the birthday shot and the old fashioned were excellent. Birthday cake shots are actually fairly common, but this one was well-balanced and not as overly sweet as birthday cake shots tend to be. And the old fashioned was really great. A poorly made old fashioned tends to just be watered-down whiskey, but when you have a good old fashioned you realize that the process that goes behind making this drink well really does elevate it. In this instance, they had the brilliant idea to muddle cherries along with the sugar and bitters. Rather than just getting the customary maraschino cherry garnish, there was a nice undertone of cherry throughout which didn't dominate the flavor profile but also added a nice tartness. It was very well-crafted.
When they were placed on the table, the idea was clearly that these were two separate entities. One shot, and one drink. But since they were both served in response to my order, I decided to think about how they worked as a pairing. I wondered if doing the shot right before might have had any effect on the old fashioned. Maybe it would bring out some natural sweetness of the cocktail? But...yeah it really didn't. There's no cohesion between the shot and the drink. So, my attempts to justify the two as a pairing didn't really work, and they remained separate entities in my mind. But the were delicious entities at the very least.
When they were placed on the table, the idea was clearly that these were two separate entities. One shot, and one drink. But since they were both served in response to my order, I decided to think about how they worked as a pairing. I wondered if doing the shot right before might have had any effect on the old fashioned. Maybe it would bring out some natural sweetness of the cocktail? But...yeah it really didn't. There's no cohesion between the shot and the drink. So, my attempts to justify the two as a pairing didn't really work, and they remained separate entities in my mind. But the were delicious entities at the very least.
Does It
Live Up To The Name: I guess there is some cleverness is going "Birthday Shirt sounds like Birthday Shot," although the specificity of bringing speech impediments into the equation seemed unnecessary and lightly mean-spirited. But, still, it was a little disappointing to receive two things directly off the menu. The challenge really wasn't met. And so, as far as What's That Drink is concerned, I've now struck out twice on my birthday.
But, from a non-blogging standpoint, it was still a great order. The birthday shot was fun (in fact, later in the evening, I did another round of birthday shots with my friend Nick). And it's hard to be too disappointed in a bar's service when they give you a free drink--especially one as excellent as that old fashioned. So, much like the birthday shirt itself, it's hard to know what to make of the Birthday Shirt What's That Drink experience. I may not have left with a never-before-crafted custom cocktail, but I had a great time with some great friends at a great bar. While wearing a great shirt.
But, from a non-blogging standpoint, it was still a great order. The birthday shot was fun (in fact, later in the evening, I did another round of birthday shots with my friend Nick). And it's hard to be too disappointed in a bar's service when they give you a free drink--especially one as excellent as that old fashioned. So, much like the birthday shirt itself, it's hard to know what to make of the Birthday Shirt What's That Drink experience. I may not have left with a never-before-crafted custom cocktail, but I had a great time with some great friends at a great bar. While wearing a great shirt.
