One of the greatest things about cocktails is the camaraderie that tends to come while enjoying them.
Case in point, as of yesterday, Sag Harbor Tavern (26 Bay St.) is hosting a week-long pop-up collaboration with some dear friends: beloved Lower Eastside cocktail bar Attaboy.
“After 12 years of operations, we had to shut down Attaboy on Eldridge Street for five days of maintenance, so we picked a slower week at the end of summer,” says Attaboy co-owner Sam Ross. “Our GM, Matty Clark, suggested doing a Hamptons pop-up partly to keep our full team working, and partly just for the fun of doing something outside the city.”
Attaboy co-owners Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy join forces with Sag Harbor Tavern owner Billy Durney for a summer pop-up at the Hamptons locale. (Left photo courtesy of Rachel Harrison Communications, right photo by Daniel Krieger)
Ross is friends with Billy Durney, owner of Sag Harbor Tavern and Red Hook Tavern in Brooklyn, so the idea to collaborate on a summertime pop-up was a no-brainer. “I’ve become great friends with chef Billy Durney since I moved to Red Hook in 2008, so I suggested we collaborate at his newest spot. Billy is a big cocktail guy, and when we saw the private dining room, a week-long takeover felt like a natural fit.”
The NYC-based institution is specifically taking over the restaurant’s private dining room, with seating on a first-come first-serve basis. According to the Attaboy team, the space comfortably accommodates 26 seated guests, with some additional standing room available. The rest of Sag Harbor Tavern will be operating as normal.
“The private dining room is dimly lit and incredibly moody, just like our space on Eldridge Street,” says Ross. “It will be candlelit, with our signature upbeat Attaboy playlists playing over the speakers. We’re even bringing a giant, glowing replica of our iconic ‘A’ to hover over the room. And of course, a framed photo of our captain, Sasha Petraske, will be watching from the corner.”
Featured cocktails will include the Penicillin and the Paper Plane, the latter of which was crafted by the late Petraske and Ross back in 2008. (Photos courtesy of Rachel Harrison Communications)
Serving a customized menu, the Attaboy team will be featuring their signature drink, the Paper Plane, as well as riffs on familiar cocktails: Penicillin, Casual Affair, Closing Argument, Inner Child, Jackknife and a bright summer citrus crusher Sag Harbor Spritz. All cocktails will be $25 a pop and there will also be N/A versions of some of the cocktail selections.
“The pop-up will feature a range of delicious spirits from the Brown-Forman portfolio, like Ford’s London Dry Gin, Old Forester Bourbon and Herradura Tequila,” says head bartender Jon Nutter. “For this collaboration with Sag Harbor Tavern, we leaned into some of our favorite summertime cocktails across a variety of spirits, ensuring, much like our traditional service, there’s something for every type of drinker. The menu strikes a balance between our best-known classics and an introduction to the next generation of timeless American cocktails.”
The pop up will be open through Sunday, August 10.
