http://dickandjanesbar.tumblr.com/

Please help us represent New York and vote for our very own...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:45:42 -0400

Please help us represent New York and vote for our very own Erika Ordonez to win the wild card for a chance to win the title of Ms. Speed Rack USA at the final competition held in NYC on May 16.

http://www.speed-rack.com/vote?field_cityref_nid=29

Thank you for your support. We will make you proud!

Your girls,

Jessie, Emery, and Erika

International Bartender Exchange has arrived!!

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:45:24 -0500

To My Fellow Troops,

For my first of many contributions, I would like to start by saying thank you. To all of you whom I have met, it remains an honor and privilege to work in the same industry and be constantly inspired by your talent. To all of us who have yet to meet each other, let’s make this a platform upon which we can change that! There is an endless amount we can learn from each other in the interest of strengthening our community and our profession; BarX will be an outlet to accomplish just that. My experiences in our industry thus far can best explain why I am so passionate about this program.

I began bartending in the summer of 2008 and quickly fell in love with the craft. I was overcome by an eagerness to take advantage of every opportunity to expand my knowledge and contribute to our community. In the winter of 2010, while working at the three locations of Bar & Books in NYC, I was given the opportunity to do a bartender exchange with the lead barman, Radek Smerda, from the two outposts of Bar & Books in Prague. I worked at both Prague bars for 10 days while Radek worked at Bar & Books NYC. It was an instrumental experience both personally and professionally. I acclimated to a different lifestyle characterized by leisure and the highest appreciation of the hospitality industry that I had ever experienced. Bar & Books Prague was a perfect reflection of its focus on customer attention and execution of technique and taste. I absorbed a different approach to service, was able to perfect my craft daily and upon my return, applied a new, expanded mentality to our industry. Radek and I were able to exchange our experiences, praises and criticisms, and as a result, both bar programs were strengthened and the company became more unified with definitive leadership and a common vision.

A year later, I was presented with the opportunity to open and build the bar program at Dick & Jane’s in Brooklyn. Bar & Books gave me the tools I needed to take on this new challenge and I am so happy I did. In early summer 2012, I received an email from Ben Warren, business development manager of The Jones Bar Group in Leeds, England, inquiring about recipe submissions for the cocktail list at Brooklyn Bar, one of six bars in the group. He was working on a new cocktail menu to make Brooklyn Bar as authentic to Brooklyn as possible. After sharing some of our most popular recipes, we proposed a bartender exchange between Dick & Jane’s and the bars under the Jones Bar Group. On Wednesday, September 19, 2012, Brooklyn Bar hosted a cocktail competition between 12 of the bartenders working for the group, sponsored by Russian Standard, Pernod-Ricard,Samuel Adams and some local publications in Leeds, the winner of which, Alex Carr, received the prize of a week in New York to work at Dick & Jane’s. He was here for the last week in November. Not only did we learn a lot from each other but we have expanded the possibilities in the future, just one of which includes bringing Alex back forTales of The Cocktail.

My trip to Leeds to work in the six bars with the Jones Group is coming shortly and I cannot wait to report back! In the meantime, I will be working on potential opportunities for all of you and doing my best to represent you as part of the new USBG Council in New York.

Stay tuned and stay awesome,

Jessie

How to get involved:

First get the support of your employer. Hosting a swap generates positive PR to regular patrons while allowing a bartender to travel affords enhanced free training and exposure to the latest trends, techniques and recipes to bring back to your home bar! If you need assistance in explaining the benefits, as well as hearing success stories, of BarX please reach out to Jessie (Jessie@ShakeStir.com).
Post your position, job description, any relevant tags (e.g. city, beach, warm weather, skiing, etc.) for where you work as well as the date(s) of your desired exchange. You can create as many separate BarX opportunities as you like. Just because you post a BarX opportunity doesn’t mean you have to accept an applicant for the position.
Check your ‘Opportunities I’ve Posted’ page regularly to see who’s applied (applicants appear by clicking on the blue title for any position posted) then view, print or email their ShakeStir profile to see if their credentials fit the bill. We repeat: there is absolutely no obligation to accept any applicants – if the fits not there keep on looking.
If an applicant looks good and the fit may make sense, take the discussion offline by clicking on “Send email to [name]” to let the applicant know. From there it’s up to you and your applicant to work out the specifics (shifts, transportation, housing, pay, etc.) and make it all work.

Jessie’s inside tips:

Create a unique cocktail or cocktail list for your visiting bar before you arrive to show off your skills and leave your mark while you’re there.
Be Professional. Just as you would at your home bar, be on time, well groomed, respectful of the traditions and customs of your visiting bar and be a team player!
Help out locally. We strongly encourage at least one of your shifts to be a fundraising event for a local charity. Research what is needed in the area and find a cause that you are passionate about.
Keep a journal to record observations about different techniques, trends, equipment and perspectives that you come across, both for bartending and for hospitality. This is a great way to ensure you bring best practices back to your home bar while convincing your employer that the exchange was worthwhile (and can be done again!).
Reach out to local brand representatives to sponsor a BarX exchange. You’ve supported them, now BarX is a great opportunity for them to support you while also raising awareness and goodwill for their brand in other markets. Everybody wins.
If you don’t know an applicant to the opportunity you’ve posted, look on ShakeStir to see who that person is friends with. Bartending is a tight knit community…referrals are not hard to come by.
Don’t forget to log back into ‘Opportunities I’ve Posted’ to review new applicants and either ‘Accept BarX Application’ or ‘Decline BarX Application’ after you’ve found a match or decided a fit didn’t work. Everyone deserves the courtesy of a reply.

Dick and Jane’s make’s L Magazine’s 10 Best...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:12:19 -0500

Dick and Jane’s make’s L Magazine’s 10 Best Bars in Brooklyn for 2012.

Now Hear This! USBGNY elected it’s new council to...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:30:42 -0500

Now Hear This! USBGNY elected it’s new council to serve for the next two years, effective January 1, 2013:

From Jason Littrell, current President of the United States Bartenders Guild New York Chapter:

Congratulations to the new Council. Pamela Wiznitzer President, Ms Franky Marshall VP, Jessie Duré Secretary, and the enduring soul of the organization Hal Wolin as Treasurer.

I can’t wait to see all the new ideas and direction of our wonderful organization. None of this would have been possible without the Herculean efforts of Paulo Sousa, Marshall Altier, Jonathan Pogash, David Nepove, Nicola Riske, and our selfless army of members locally and nationwide and their willingness to give so much of themselves.

I look forward to being a small part of the USBGNY as a positive force in our community in the decades to come. @nevernudeever @usbgny

USBGNY's Newly Elected Council

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:24:00 -0500

USBGNY elected it’s new council to serve for the next two years, effective January 1, 2013:

From Jason Littrell, current President of the United States Bartenders Guild New York Chapter:

Congratulations to the new Council. Pamela Wiznitzer President, Ms Franky Marshall VP, Jessie Duré Secretary, and the enduring soul of the organization Hal Wolin as Treasurer.

I can’t wait to see all the new ideas and direction of our wonderful organization. None of this would have been possible without the Herculean efforts of Paulo Sousa, Marshall Altier, Jonathan Pogash, David Nepove, Nicola Riske, and our selfless army of members locally and nationwide and their willingness to give so much of themselves.

I look forward to being a small part of the USBGNY as a positive force in our community in the decades to come.

#USBGNY #DICKANDJANES

The L Magazine: “22 Cocktails to Get you Through the New...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:02:00 -0500

The L Magazine: “22 Cocktails to Get you Through the New Year”. It’s that time of year again and our friends at The L Magazine have reached out to your favorite Brooklyn bars to gather exceptional cocktail recipes to help us all get through the Holidays. Here is Dick and Jane’s submission courtesy of our own Jessica Dure.

For Christmas Night:
Candlebox

2 oz. Michael Collins Irish Whiskey
1/2 oz. Barenjager
1/2 oz. Fruitations Rio Red Grapefruit (all-natural fruit concentrate)
1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
Shaken with ice and double strained into a chilled coupe. Garnish with twists of grapefruit.

For a fancy gathering:
Autonno Con Mio Nonno
Recipe originally made for La Dolce Vita, the Fratelli Portfolio party, recently held at 5ninth in Manhattan.

1 oz. Candolini Grappa Bianca
1 oz. Combier Cassis
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. Cynar
A dash of orange bitters
A dash of plum bitters
Shaken with three blackberries and double strained over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Or, shaken with 3 blackberries and double strained into a champagne flute and topped with Prosecco. Optional: garnish with a lemon twist.

"Follow us on Instagram @dickandjanes"

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:13:53 -0400

“Follow us on Instagram @dickandjanes”

Dick and Jane’s Bar by Kunle Martins. @kunleirak

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:12:10 -0400

Dick and Jane’s Bar by Kunle Martins. @kunleirak

Photo

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:23:48 -0400

NYMAG.COM

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:20:30 -0400

NYMAG.COM

Leeds Barman to visit Dick and Jane’s.

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:41:00 -0400

Leeds Barman to visit Dick and Jane’s.

Inside New York

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:39:51 -0400

Inside New York

Meet Your Bartenders.

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:18:00 -0400

Jessie Dure,
Born and raised in Riverdale, New York, Jessie has tended bar since 2009. Having grown up behind the counter of her parents’ Deli, she’s been in the service industry for over 20 years. A 2008 graduate of McGill University, Jessie began Medical School in 2009 and continues studying medicine today. Training under Carmen Operetta and Ben Scorah at Bar and Books, Jessie amassed extensive knowledge of whisky, cocktails and the art of bartending. Shortly after joining Dick and Jane’s she quickly became Manager and lead bartender. She is a member of the United States Bartender’s Guild New York Chapter (USBGNY).

Emery Lafontana,
Known to some as Mountain Gypsy, due to the combination of her free spirit and Montgomery, Vermont upbringing, Emery has tended bar since 2010. Emery moved to Brooklyn to study Jewelry design at Pratt University. After being introduced to the world of mixology by Purity Vodka’s John Pomeroy, she quickly became engulfed in cocktailing. Most think her to be crazy, but we know Emery as the brilliant rock star behind the bar.

Ema Fernandes,
From a small town just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, Ema has tended bar since 2009. Her love for bourbon and Scotch quickly developed when she began bartending at a small blues venue in lower Manhattan. After being introduced to one of the owners of Dick and Jane’s Bar, she was offered a position to train under Jessie Dure as part of the opening staff. Ema’s love of complex and contrasting flavor combinations, and experimenting with her own cocktail creations, is sure to set her apart from all other cocktail aficionados on the scene.

Cocktail of the Week: The Ward Eight

Originating in Boston, the Ward Eight was created in 1898 by the Locke-Ober Café’s Tom Huisson. When asked to create a cocktail to celebrate the hopeful election of Martin Lomasney, the candidate for representative of Ward Eight in the Massachusetts General Court that year, Huisson delivered a variation on the Whisky Sour using grenadine and orange juice. Huisson’s original recipe is served straight up and calls for rye whisk(e)y, lemon juice, orange juice, and grenadine. Since 1898 however, a handful of different recipes for this cocktail have been published, an inevitable occurrence among all classics. Some variations use simple syrup, some use bourbon instead of rye, some use relatively large proportions of all the ingredients and are served over ice. At Dick and Jane’s we chose to showcase our favorite variety and it has quickly become one of the most popular cocktails on our menu.

The Ward 8

2oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 teaspoons house made grenadine

Shake and strain into a wine goblet over crushed ice. Garnish with a slice of orange and a marasca cherry.

So, if your conversation is suddenly disrupted by loud hammering, just know that while time consuming, we LOVE using our industrial size muddlers to beat the s*** out of that ice and we can guarantee that after your first sip, you will love us for it, too.

Spirit of the Week: Bourbon

For a whisk(e)y to be legally called Bourbon it must be at least 51% corn, distilled at less than 160 proof, aged for at least two years in new, charred oak barrels, and it must be made in the U.S.

Bourbon is often said to have derived its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, the area it is generally thought to have been originally produced. The truth behind that account is a bit unclear as bourbon was being produced well before the division of territories following the American Revolution. There is no doubt, however, that the name, like many at the time, is a tribute to the French as a reflection of the appreciation for their support during the Revolution.

While there are many iconic figures in the history of bourbon, in this issue we find it most relevant to highlight the man responsible for its social significance, Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Revered as a genius entrepreneur who eventually established 7 different distilleries, Taylor began his journey with whisk(e)y with a trip to Europe where he researched distillation methods in Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and France. He used all he learned in Europe and taking into account the importance of climatic balance he designed the most modern and innovative distillery in 1870 which he called the OFC (Old Fasioned Copper distillery), currently the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfurt, Kentucky. Absorption of colors and flavors from the barrels are maximized under conditions characterized by a balance of heat during the summer and cold during the winter and therefore knowing the quality of his bourbon, he also made sure that the look of the distillery and the way he packaged his product were direct reflections of that. Since bottling didn’t become standard until the 1890s, the design of his barrels was the essence of his marketing. He branded his trademark O.F.C. E.H. Taylor Jr. on the head of every barrel setting his barrels apart from all others at the time. Other brands quickly fell in line and then followed the emergence of bottling.

Jumping to a century later, about 40 years after Prohibition, bourbon experienced a steep decline in sales and thus marketing with the emergence of vodka and tequila, under a new generation of drinkers eager to rebel by imbibing on libations unfamiliar to the generation before them and additionally, with the increasing presence of women in the industry and the corresponding direction of the media. Thankfully, in the 1980s, the influence of Single Malt Scotch whisky, taking a lesson from the world of wines at the time, fueled the rebirth of interest in Bourbon by hosting Whisky dinners, Scotch Tastings, appearing in magazines and other social media outlets. Scotch Whisky then motivated distillers of Bourbon Whisk(e)y to explore the possibilities resulting in Single Barrel and Small Batch expressions

Date Night Den, A New York Magazine Review

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:32:00 -0400

Date Night Den, A New York Magazine Review

The L Magazine Turned 9. Guess where they got Drunk?

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:50:31 -0400

The L Magazine Turned 9. Guess where they got Drunk?

The Dick and Jane Cocktail Experience with Charlotte Voisey

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:09:17 -0400

“Part festival, part conference, part cocktail party - The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is an annual celebration of the myriad points of intersection between cocktails and culture. With over one hundred events spread across five days and five boroughs, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic offers a vast array of unique experiences to enthusiasts and professionals alike, expanding the very definition of what constitutes a “cocktail event”. @cocktailclassic

Dick and Jane’s Bar is elated to be participating in this years Classic. The Dick and Jane Cocktail Experience, hosted by Charlotte Voisey @Charlottevoisey (Portfolio Ambassador, William Grant and Sons USA).

More on Charlotte http://www.manhattancocktailclassic.com/charlotte-voisey/

There is more to a cocktail than just filling the glass. As the last few years has shown, a great bartender uses skills and understanding that are not always seen by the guest at the bar and rightly so.

Charlotte Voisey explains some of the detail that goes into the drink and deconstructs the cocktail experience looking for special touches along the way.

Dick and Jane’s Classics as well as Hors D’oeuvres will be served to deliciously punctuate the conversation.

The Experience will take place at Dick and Jane’s Bar Saturday May 12, 2012 from 1pm - 2:30PM. Tickets are $50 (Limited to 20 Seats) and are now available at http://tickets.manhattancocktailclassic.com

See You There!

The Wall Street Journal

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:46:00 -0500

The Wall Street Journal

Black Book Magazine Review

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:40:00 -0500

Black Book Magazine Review:

Editorial Review

This cocktail spot’s old-world appeal, dim lighting, and exposed brick, is enough to induce the sexiest of exchanges between Dick, Jane, and every cocktail-cradling patron. An ideal destination for a Match.com/blind date, Dick and Jane’s specialty drinks are potent and flavorful, thanks to the expert curation of Charlotte Voisey, whose work has graced the Gramercy Park Hotel and the Mandarin Oriental hotels. The Boulevardier rye-and-vermouth blend drink is a hit, as well as any fresh fruit or veggie-infused cocktail. Drink, flirt, make-out, repeat.

Bar Scrawl by Billy Roundy, See ‘Dick and Jane’...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:12:00 -0500

Bar Scrawl by Billy Roundy, See ‘Dick and Jane’ Drink.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/51/34_51_roundy_bp.html

Ghosts of Holidays Past

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:37:17 -0500

Last night’s cocktail hour, featuring cocktails with Purity Vodka, launched the 7-day countdown to 266 Adelphi’s 4th Annual Winter Solstice Party. Dick & Jane’s is revisiting one of their favorite soirees, picking up right where they left off. For those of you who experienced the festivities of Solstices past, you know you won’t want to miss this one. For those of you who haven’t, take our word for it… it’s going to be a blast! Dick & Jane’s wants everyone to try the great cocktails from their countdown party, so they are running a special — Order a Purity Santa Lucia cocktail (pictured below) between now and December 21st and you’ll receive an invitation to the party.

What better reason to celebrate than the longest night of the year? No matter what your belief system entails, the end of December represents a special time for everyone. In the past, emphasizing inclusivity and education, The Winter Solstice Party welcomed all traditions. This year will be no different. Holiday traditions from around the globe will be celebrated. Menorahs, Christmas trees, krasekake (Norwegian ring cake) and risalamande (rice pudding) have all been a part of past celebrations, and this year, we are hoping to learn about more traditions from around the globe.

Join guest bartender and Purity Vodka brand ambassador John Pomeroy for a Santa Lucia cocktail, and the celebration of the 4th Annual Winter Solstice at Dick & Jane’s in Brooklyn on December 22, 2011.