photo by Brad Murano
Town & Country Magazine has chronicled high-spirited life in America since 1846, but it has never given its name to a drink – until now. The editors of the magazine selected recipes from well-known bars and restaurants from around the country, then assembled a panel of cocktail experts at Harding’s in New York City, to rank them.
Eddie Eakin, Boulevardier’s bar manager, had the winning cocktail out of all the national contenders. Now, at Boulevardier, patrons can enjoy the “Town & Country” cocktail for $11. The ingredient list includes Bulleit bourbon, Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, Crown Maple dark amber syrup and Bar Keep apple bitters.
Eakin explains, “I wanted to come up with something simple for a reader to replicate – no infusions, no syrups, no juicing. The drink also represents a publication that has been in print since the mid-1800s, and a staple in American homes since before I was born. If you break it down, it is really a blend of a little ‘Manhattan’ and a little ‘Old Fashioned’, two of the most quintessential classic cocktails. Apply this concept with bourbon, the most American of spirits, age old American flavors such as maple and apple, and you have the ‘Town and Country’ cocktail.”
