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Bars

We surveyed hundreds of you about your drinking habits over the winter. The results helped us bring you the best cocktails, bartenders and music venues around the state — not to mention beer-fueled life drawing, the hopping gay bar scene, car-free crawls and the truth about hangovers. Here’s to going out, and getting away with it.

Photography by Nat Rea

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Survery Sez:
54% of respondents went out at least once a week
33% went out at least once a month

What do you drink?
Beer    35%
Cocktails    31%
Red wine    17%
White wine    14%
Soft drinks    3%

How much do you drink?
1–2 drinks    40%
3–4 drinks    46%   
5–6 drinks    8%   
Who’s counting?    6%

Who do you go out to meet?
One person    15%
Small group    78%
Large group    5%
 

High Spirits
Five cocktail trends worth toasting.

The farm-to-table love affair has found its way behind the bar, bringing with it a fresh interest in the classics (Sidecar, anyone?) and serious attention to craft. “People are no longer drinking to get obliterated,” says Mat Arruda of Tini in Providence. “It’s about appreciating cocktails, choosing drinks that complement food.” Oh, and drinks snobbery is out.

Fresh is best. “Bartenders are working with tarragon, chamomile, simple syrups infused with fresh herbs,” says John Libonati, bartender at Persimmon in Bristol. “I like cocktails with a bit of texture and seasonal flair.” At Local 121, proprietor Nancy Miller puts a fresh twist on classics: “We’ll do a Tom Collins with Meyer lemons, so it’s a little sweeter. We also do a gin and tonic with tonic made from a quinine tree. It’s wonderful.”  

What’s old is new.  Pre-Prohibition spirits and classic cocktails are the new chic.  “An Old-Fashioned, something people used to associate with their grandmother, is one of the hottest things out there,” says Jesse Hedberg, bartender at Fluke Wine, Bar and Kitchen in Newport and Cook & Brown in Providence. Bitters, absinthe and long-forgotten liqueurs are also back on the bar menu. “Crème de Violette wasn’t available for forty years in the U.S., and now there are companies bottling that,” says Hedberg. “It’s this beautiful deep purple, and it’s real and natural. It’s not Apple Pucker or these neon liqueurs from the eighties or nineties.”

Quality is everything. The new cocktails are smaller, well-crafted drinks. “You see small,family distilleries and handmade rum and gin,” says Libonati. Even old-standbys can step it up: “The new margarita? Good, 100 percent tequila. Good orange liqueur or Triple Sec or Grand Marnier. Fresh lime juice,” says Tini’s Arruda. “Once you have that, you don’t want a frozen margarita from Chili’s.” And don’t be surprised if you see your bartender pull out a jigger, says Hedberg. “With classic drinks, the ratio of spirits and juices is very precise.”

Creativity counts.  Don’t let the old-school craze fool you; there’s still some innovation going on. “People are making different kinds of syrups, like basil syrups, using ingredients that are in-season to create something different,” says Arruda. Sometimes really different: “Molecular mixology is progressive and experimental and far-out,” says Hedberg. “You can make foams and gels — they’re almost edible spirits. There are seaweed ingredients you can froth up into a cloud. People like to see something they’ve never seen before.” 

There’s no room for attitude.  “You used to have people trying to educate you, ‘Don’t order that, order this.’ It could be intimidating,” says Hedberg. “People don’t want to be lectured or frowned upon for ordering a Cosmo. The guest always comes first.”
—Nicole Maranhas
 

Go Dancing

Yes, iPods are wonderful, but sometimes that marriage of plastic to processor can leave you wanting more. After all, who wants to knock back a cold one with a Nano? Rhode Island boasts a smorgasbord of live music venues, from the Block to the Bucket, to get you up close and personal with the visceral thrill of fingers on frets and jugular-popping vocals.

Rock
Although its address has changed over the years, Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel (79 Washington St., Providence, 331-LUPO, lupos.com) remains the sine qua non of live rock music in Little Rhody. Everyone from punk doyenne Patti Smith to tween heartthrob Justin Bieber has graced the Lupo’s stage. The floors are sticky, the music is loud, and there’s a good chance you’ll run into someone you knew in elementary school. If Lupo’s isn’t your scene, dust off your moshing skills at Providence’s Club Hell (73 Richmond St., Providence, 351-1977, myspace.com/clubhelllive) or let your hair down and sing along to rock, funk or reggae seven nights a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day at Newport Blues Café (286 Thames St., Newport, 841-5510, newportblues.com).

Jazz & Blues
East meets West at Chan’s (267 Main St., Woonsocket, 765-1900, chanseggrollsandjazz.com), where smoking hot jazz and blues is served alongside Chinese food. Rhode Island institutions like Steve Smith and the Nakeds and Duke Robillard play frequently. For jazz of the big band variety, head over to Bovi’s Tavern (287 Taun-ton Ave., East Providence, 434-9670, bovistavern.com); on Monday nights, the sixteen-piece John Allmark Jazz Band lights up the stage with classics from the era of Dorsey and Ellington. Or amp up the culture quotient at OceanCliff (65 Ridge Rd., Newport, 841-8868, newportexperience.com) while you sip champagne and take in the sunset from the resort’s stunning deck.

Acoustic Americana
Over the past several years, a new “Rhode Island Sound” has emerged as several notable local bands, including Deer Tick and the Low
Anthem, have achieved national attention for their softer acoustic sound. You will find intimate gigs with singer-songwriters (as well as an impressive selection of craft cocktails) at Local 121 (121 Washington St., Providence, 274-2121, local121.com), Irish sea shanties
(with an extensive array of brews on tap) at the newly remodeled Penalty Box (1119 North Main St., Providence, 331-8545, myspace.com/penaltybox.bar), and sweet country music at Boucher’s Wood River Inn (1139 Main St., Wyoming, 539-9800, thewoodriverinn.com). Heading to the Block for the weekend? Have a groovier sail home after stopping at Captain Nick’s (Bridgegate Square, Block Island, 466-5670), where local band the Booze Beggars plays the deck every Sunday sunset from 6 to 9 p.m., with alt country faves that get the crowd twirling. 
—Jamie Samons