Happy Repeal Day! Raise a Glass to Utah!

Loungerati Editor Fredo Ceraso enjoying
Repeal Day cocktails at Employees Only
(photo credit: Gabi Porter)

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution became the law of the land. This piece of legislation repealed the 18th Amendment's Prohibition of alcohol. The last state to ratify the amendment in the State conventions, thus passing the 3/4 majority required to amend the Constitution under Article 5, was Utah! So let's all toast Utah!

XXI Amendment 

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

On December 5, 2006 Loungerati was formed to fill the void for lounge website Tommywhitetie.com which was closed down by it's eponymous founder. A select group of Loungers refused to go quietly. It wasn't last call yet, and there was an open bar of opportunity and ideas.

Loungerati was born on a cocktail napkin at a bar called Brooklyn Social in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and memorialized with the epic Lounge Doctrine delivered by The Senator at the Algonquin Hotel bar the following year. Loungerati continues to serve as an outlet to those who enjoy Lounge culture, the sporting life, exquisite cocktails, classic music, and a good time!

To toast this joyous occasion, try out this exquisite libation I adapted for a multiple Best of Lounge winner in the categories of Burlesque and Haberdashery - the lovely and dangerous Gin Minsky!

The Gin Minsky
adapted by Fredo Ceraso

2 oz Hendricks Gin
1 oz St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
3/4 oz fresh lemon
2 dashes of Bittermens Burlesque bitters
Champagne

Tools: Mixing tins, jigger, coupe, Hawthorne strainer, fine strainer

Method: Combine bitters, citrus juice, gin, and elderflower liqueur in a mixing tin, add ice. Shake until well chilled. Double strain into champagne coupe. Top with bubbles and garnish with sprig of rosemary.

Please join us at the legendary King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City around 10pm December 5th to celebrate your right to imbibe and Loungerati's 7th Birthday!

Destinations: The Easter Parade & Bonnet Festival

Loungerati's Eff at the Easter Parade

The Easter Parade & Bonnet Festival is one of the last remaining authentic New York traditions. From the late-19th century until the 1950s, over one million people attended the annual event. Crowds may have thinned in this last half-century, but hardcore New Yorkers with penchants for ceremony and haberdashery keep it relevant.  Today, New Yorkers will put on their finest attire, sport creative head wear, and promenade up-and-down Fifth Avenue for several hours like Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. It is an informal amble, and any line between spectators and participants ebbs and flows like the Avenue's traffic.

From a lounge lifestyle-perspective, aficionados of vintage style hang up their tweeds and break-out fresh and found bright fashions. If you like to see boaters, seersucker, bonnets, poplin suits, bow ties, boutonnieres, and a glamorous, sartorial crowd, it is a must-attend event. Whether one is religious or not, the Easter Parade is treated by the city as its entrance to Spring. Jazz Age stalwarts such as Michael Arenella & The Dreamland Orchestra set up guerrilla performances in front the University Club. Lindy hoppers from the decade-old website and community, Yehoodi, show up with prepared routines as shutterbugs snap the whole scene. The New York Times photographer, Bill Cunningham, nips in and out the throng to spot those who'll grace next weekend's Sunday Styles section.

The Easter Parade runs from 10 a.m. through until 4 p.m. Gather in front of Rockefeller Center before making your way up to 57th Street, then stroll back down Fifth Avenue, and repeat! Once you are finished strutting your finest duds and headwear,head to these post parade destinations.

Since 1907, teetotalers have been getting their tea fix on at the traditional 4pm tea service Palm Court at the venerable Plaza Hotel (768 Fifth Avenue). The recent renovation has restored the 1,800 square foot stain glass sky light to its original grandeur. Linger for the savory snacks such as truffled quail egg sandwiches or freshly baked scones and gourmet pastries. It is a luxury indulgence and but worth the experience.

Thirsty parade goers should promenade over to King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel (2 East 55^th Street at Fifth Avenue). This is birthplace of the Red Snapper, the predecessor of the Bloody Mary, which was invented in 1934. Order one with Gin (Beefeater or Plymouth) to get the authentic flavor of the era and quench that thirst under Maxfield Parrish's 30 foot long mural. Try to pick out John Jacob Astor in the painting and no the barkeeps won't give any hints.

Happy Easter from Loungerati!