Esquivel Tribute and Documentary filming at PKNY Oct 11th

Breaking news from our pals Jack Fettterman and mucho mu-cha-cha Gina of the Jungle:

"Tuesday October 11,  Primativa in Hi-Fi presents a tribute to Juan Garcia Esquivel at PKNY and we want you to help show NYC's love for the E-man!'

Director Arturo R. Jiménez  (from Mexico) is working on a documentary on Esquivel! and his influence and the musicians, DJs and fans who help keep his music alive today. He will be attending our PKNY party on October 11th to film footage of Esquivel! fans in a NYC bar enjoying his music today.

Shooting is scheduled for 7:00 to 9:00 in the back room. PKNY will be open to the public, but only recipients of this invitation will know that they will be filmed ahead of time.

The drinks and music won’t be such a bad reason to come either. 

Zu zu zu zu zu zu zuuuuuuuuuu..

PK-NY
49 Essex St.
NYC

Primativa in Hi-Fi Exotica Tuesday - April 5th Jack Newcastle's Book Signing

Jack & Gina

Primativa in Hi-Fi brings the sounds of exotica and mid-century lounge to Painkiller Tiki New York bar every Tuesday night.  Primativa is the brainchild of tiki-philes Jack Fetterman and Gina Haase. The duo share their visions and soundtrack of vintage Tiki and exotica that would made Donn the Beachcomber proud.  The setting is the back room of Painkiller which just won “Best Lay/Lei” at the Time Out New York 2011 Food & Drink Awards. The sounds of exotica legends such as Martin Denny and Les Baxter float through the bar with jungle shrieks and drum beats. Hawaiian shirts, floral South Seas dresses, and guayaberas mix with grey flannel suits all looking to escape the everyday in this tropical backdrop. Meanwhile, the classic and old interpretations of the drinks such as the Kon Tiki Mai Tai, Golden Cadillac, and Negroni Swizzle keep your thirst quenched and the room buzzing.

This Tuesday, April 5^th our pal author Jack Newcastle will be signing his new novel, the mad cap 1950s comedy  "The Fine Art of Mixing Girls" at Primativa in Hi-Fi. So while you stop by for a delicious Jet Pilot cocktail made by forbidden island vixens like Joanne “Lu Lu” Martinez, pick up a copy of Newcastle’s book which as been described as “a highball comedy of manners, full of too much gin and too many cigarettes — a must for cocktail enthusiasts and mid-century modernists alike!”

Find out about Jack Newcastle

Buy Jack's Book

Join Primativa's Facebook group

Head over to Painkiller NYC

What We're Drinking: The Fredo at Painkiller

The Fredo does not get passed over at Painkiller Tiki Bar

Some people say the Banana Daiquiri was invented in Cuba in the late 1800s, while others claim that British restaurateur Conrad Graves debuted the cocktail at his Mountain Top bar in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, during the 1950s. The origins are as cloudy as the drink but Mountain Top bar claims to have served 6 million of them throughout the years! So they win in my book.

The popularity of this frozen daiquiri surged in the 1980s and became associated with the veritable vortex of poorly made uber sweet frozen daiquiris that flowed from slushy machines at faux tropical bars. Honestly, I would never even think of ordering one if it was not for the talented bar team at Painkiller Tiki Bar in New York City. Boccato, Gonzalez, and company have resurrected this once classy refreshing go-to-cocktail for the holiday in Havana set and introduced it to a brand new generation of tipplers. Please note - when ordering the  Banana Daiquiri at PK, simply ask for "The Fredo".

Why The Fredo? No, it is not a homage to your dashing correspondant (I wish)! It is named after Fredo Corleone's favorite drink during the Cuba scenes in Godfather Part II. Painkiller bartender Enzo Lim was kind enough to share the recipe for this new favorite.

The Fredo:

3/4 oz lime juice

1 oz demerara syrup

1 1/2 oz white rum

Half or third of a banana

1 heaping scoop of cracked ice

Combine ingredients in blender. Blend. Serve in a chilled glass. Garnish with a banana segment speared with an umbrella.

Most recipes on the web call for triple sec or curacao and sugar to be added - we disagree. This classic simple version at PK gets the balance right.  The flavor of the banana only enhances the smoothness of The Fredo.  It is similar to a piña colada in consistency and goes down just as easy. Don't get passed over - order one next time you are at Painkiller.

- Fredo

Tiki's Revenge

by Fredo

The First Wave
The first wave of the Tiki revival hit New York ten years ago with the opening of bars like Zombie Hut (Brooklyn), Otto's Shrunken Head (14th Street), the Lei Bar in Niagra's basement (Ave A),the clubby Tiki Room (Flatiron), and the kitsch 1950s Polynesian themed Waikiki Wally's (East Village). These places were heavy on retro kitsch factor and gimmicks. The worst offender was the Tiki Room, an awful nightclub in the Flatiron district that catered to the B&T. This place had wide screen HDTVs over the bar and their cocktail program was closer to a Spring Break bar than the Tonga Room. In our opinion, they were straight up poseurs more interested in capitalizing on a trend than paying attention to the history and craftsmanship of the genre. Other bars like Otto's Shrunken Head and Zombie Hut got the ambiance and inspiration right when they first opened. It seemed like they were taking pages out of the Trader Vic's play book circa 1956. Unfortunately, the same attention to detail and quality was lost at the bar. The main criticism of the first wave is the lack of fresh ingredients, proportioned pouring, and artisanal touch that has come to typify the new generation of top cocktail bars. However, in all fairness, they were not all mediocre drinks and sugary hang overs. I do thank them for putting Tiki back on the radar after forty years in the vault.

The Desert Island
In recent years, there have been some gems among the coal. A disciple of Tiki, Brian Miller of Death & Company and Joe Swifka of Elettaria preached the gospel of Don the Beachcomber in his classics. Miller slayed notions of the genre's fad with reinterpretations of the classic island cocktails. My favorite being a Gin version of the Zombie called the Winchester. This concotion stays true to the Zombie formula but uses three types of gin in lieu of rum. A Swifka original is the Black Pearl, which is Tiki-fied old fashioned using Cruzan Black Strap rum in addition Old Forester Bourbon as the base spirits. This proved Tiki was not pigeon holed. Quality ingredients and creativity kept the genra alive in the late-2000s when the trend and flavor of the month establishments like the Tiki Room and Waikiki Wally's were washed away. Thank the Tiki Gods for Elettaria's Tiki Mondays!

Tiki's Revenge
Once again the trade winds are guiding us to the Forbidden Island, so queue the Les Baxter but also add Desi Arnaz to the mix. This time around prepare for cocktails made correctly! The wave is moving from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic. In San Francisco, Smuggler's Cove which opened in December 2009, has 70 plus cocktails on their menu and top talent from West Coast bar scene rolling the drinks. In New York, Painkiller is under construction in the Lower East Side. The noticeable differences with these bars is they draw their inspiration from the Caribbean in addition to the South Seas. They should really be called Rum Bars in the tradition of Trailer Happiness in London. It is clear that the Rum Revolution illustrated in Pete Wells New York Times article is in full swing.

Dutch Kills owner Richard Boccato and award winning bartender Giuseppe Gonzalez should have Painkiller open by the Ides of March but this won't be another Trader Vic doppelganger. I'm expecting something out of Mean Streets. According to Eater, Boccato says:

"Since the team is planning to blend 1970s New York culture and 1940s tiki culture, this may just be the best-ever tiki bar. Even the address is cool."

That cool address is the former East Side Company space on Essex and Grand. Expect freshly squeezed juice, an ice program par excellence, lots of falernum, private reserve rums,the classics made to perfection, as well as inventive cocktails and punches.

So until you can venture to PK NY to try the namesake, enjoy one of the British Virgin Island's most famous drinks:

The Painkiller
4 parts fresh pineapple juice
1 part cream of coconut
1 part fresh orange juice
2 oz Rum (we recommend Smith & Cross Jamaican pot stilled rum)
touch of fresh grated nutmeg

Stir the juices and creme in bar glass, then add rum, stir again. Fill goblet with crushed ice, serve the mixture, and top off with dusting of fresh nutmeg.

PAINKILLER
49 Essex St
New York, NY

(Photos of PK NY courtesy of Giuseppe Gonzalez)