Indeed, Top Flr is interesting… black and white colors inside, very sparse and yet, really really cool. I will say, though, that the first time I went in it, I did not think it was the cleanest joint. But, it is certainly very clean and very very good – I just must have been put off by the lack of “fancy decor or something like that.” Chef Shane Devereux serves up some amazing and inexpensive dishes. But, we are not here to talk about the food – everyone blogs about food.
We are here to talk about the cocktails at TopFlr. They have a wide selection of interesting and off the wall cocktails which will delight most palettes. The bartender, Nate, is actually the “Craft Bartender” (he does not like the word – “mixologist”) for Top Flr and Sound Table-which we will be reviewing soon. Nate proved to be an excellent bartender since they were out of many things he was going to try on us. In fact, he made up a concoction that is not even on the drink list at Top Flr and we friggin loved it.
Alison, Chelsea, and I sat at the bar and asked Nate to order for us. We got three drinks, but will be reviewing two of them: the Silver Dagger and one made up on the spot (not really) – the Pimm’s Flip. Chelsea rated the Silver Dagger and it follows!
Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives. One Olive = waste of my blogging time; 5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm
The Silver Dagger consisted of Luna Azul Blanco, basil, pineapple puree, and rhubarb bitters. It was gorgeous.
Presentation: 3 olives – Fairly straightforward. Classic muddled look with nice frothy top. Maybe a sugared rim next time…
Creativity: 3.5 olives -Rhubarb, pineapple and basil…nice thinking Nate.
Taste: 4 olives – Scrumptious! Flavors hit in waves of a finely choreographed attack. The pineapple tied all the tastes together nicely. Yummy.
Overall: 4 olives – Very refreshing and fairly complex drink. Super enjoyable with everything we ate from tuna tartar to the pizza.
Our other drink – the one Nate called the Pimm’s Flip – was his “egg version” of a Pimm’s Cup served up. But really, it was nothing like what I know to be a Pimm’s Cup. It was 100 times better. The problem here is that I wrote down what was in this drink on a napkin (you can see how seriously we take this) and I cannot find that said napkin. So, unless Nate decides to comment below on what was in it, I’ll just say it was one of my top five drinks thus far.
Presentation: 5 olives – the bitters on the top with the frothiness of the egg white was almost heavenly.
Creativity: 5 olives – even though I do not remember what was in it. I do know he shook the crap out of it TWICE.
Taste: 4.5 olives – lovely, delightful, sinful. I drank almost the entire thing by myself. Screw leaving some for Alison and Chelsea.
Overall: 4.8 olives – I am telling you, I will make Nate create this drink again.
We cannot wait to go back to Top Flr. Too bad it took us so long to get back there.
pimms flip:
build in mixing glass
1 egg white
1 oz pimms #1
1 oz domain du canton ginger likker
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz lemon juice
dry shake(no ice) for one full minute at least (the longer the better it feels in the mouth(that’s what she said))
add ice
shake it like a british nanny for at least a minute
strain into cocktail glass
fancy tom cruise style angostura swirl on top (it’s not just for looks, it enhances the cocktail sippage quite a bit)
it was great having you ladies at my bar. come see us at top flr or sound table anytime. next one is on me.
and i posted that at 5 in the morning thank you very much… lord knows any good little bartender is asleep at 8:59
yum yum yum – thanks nate!
…and just for the record. i am nothing out of the ordinary at either of our restaurants. all of our bar staff are equally (if not more) prepared than me to make you a great drink, no matter what your brain drives you to desire.
(and i doubt you’ll find a single mixologist among the lot)
But can they all back it up with such a ferocious shake? I love the action shot. Thanks Nate.
thank the lord that somebody else is willing to say it…. “mixologist” yuck.
stumbled on your blog — so happy you have found our little midtown secrets — top flr and sound table. they are opening a new place on the corner of 8th and Juniper called The Lawrence. Next time you are at Top Flr tell them to cook with more tarragon because it smells great when you walk by. I always wonder if it would be rude to stick my head in and yell hey that smells good! you can also stick a bunch in your vodka and thank me later. perfect for any vodka/citrus drink.