Travels and Adventures

Chris Gallagher, producer of the internationally acclaimed PUG! Muddlers (jcgallagher08@hotmail.com), and Gary Regan, the guy who always shows up when there are free drinks to be had, were the first people to sip Pegu Club cocktails at Audrey Saunders’ new joint, The Pegu Club (http://www.peguclub.com/). The first. The very first. No member of the public sipped a Pegu Club Cocktail at Audrey Saunders’ Pegu Club before Chris and Gary. Nobody. Ever. Geddit?

Not wanting to appear too eager, Chris and Gary had arrived at Pegu a full five minutes late for the relatively small gathering of “friends and family” who were invited to a sneak preview of the club on Wednesday, August 24. And as they expected, they were not the first people there. But nobody had ordered a drink yet. What were they thinking? Why the hell were they there? Oh, it’s true that everyone in attendance that night showed up to support Audrey and the clan, but this was Pegu Club, Goddamit. And Audrey’s cocktails were to be had. For free.

Although they are usually very shy about this sort of thing Chris and Gary wasted no time. They hailed bartender Chad Solomon and demanded Pegu Club cocktails. Chad obliged. The drinks were heavenly. Pure bliss. And they were the first. The very first.

All sorts of misfits showed up at Pegu as the evening progressed, and Gary and Chris spent time chatting to luminaries such as Ed Hamilton, the Minister of Rum himself--and a damned nice guy, too--Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown, the guys who shake their Martinis when they know damned well they should be stirred, and Sasha Petraske, the mastermind behind Milk & Honey.

Bartenders that night included a couple of people whose names we didn’t get--sorry guys--but we did find both Phillip Ward and Toby Maloney behind the stick, working diligently alongside our old pal Chad. Gary was scared. Very scared. These guys are dangerous with shakers in their hands. Nobody was injured, though. And watching the Pegu Club crew in action a beautiful sight. Real pros who care about their craft.

So, wander down to the Pegu Club, it’s at 77 West Houston Street in the Soho district of Manhattan (212 473 PEGU), and have yourself a cocktail or two. Do try a Pegu Club Cocktail while you’re there. But know that you won’t be the first to have done that. Chris and Gary were the first.

Here are a few pics taken on that oh-so-memorable evening:

The Very First Pegu at Pegu

Here’s Chad Solomon’s hand pouring the very first Pegu Club Cocktail to be served to the public at the Pegu Club.

Voici la main du Chad Solomon versant le tout premier cocktail de Club de Pegu à servir au public au Le Club de Pegu

Hier sieht man Chad Solomonas hand, wie er den allerersten Pegu Club Cocktail einschenkt, der im Pegu Club serviert wurde.

Esta es la mano de Chad Solomon vertiendo el primer Pegu Club Cocktail servido al público en el Pegu Club.

The Bartenders at Pegu

Chad Solomon Struts His Stuff. He’s the guy who made the very first Pegu Club Cocktails to be served to the public at Audrey’s Pegu Club. They were served to Chris and Gary. Did we mention that already?

We didn’t take pics of Toby Maloney or Philip Ward while we were at Pegu. They were moving far too fast. Here, though, is a swell pic of both of them, along with Julie Jones, a bartender who works up north in Canada. The pic was taken at a recent Cocktails in the Country seminar. Toby is the guy wearing a tie. Julie is wearing a red dress. Guess the other guy must be Phillip . . .

The People at Pegu

Audrey calms down for long enough to take a sip of a drink. She’s sipping a Pineapple Pisco Sour that Gary doused with some Angostura Bitters. Gary is wolfing down yet another free cocktail, this one was an Earl Grey MarTEAni. You can see by the look on her face that Audrey was very pleased to hear that Chris and Gary had sipped the first two Pegu Club Cocktails to be made at her new joint.

Anistatia Miller, who managed to get away from Jared for a short time but had to put up with Gary telling her that she really should try stirring her Martinis, raises a Pegu Club Cocktail. It was about the seventh Pegu Club to be made that night. Chris and Gary had the first two.

Jared Brown and Chris Gallagher--Chris is trying to persuade Jared that Martinis should really be muddled, not shaken or stirred. Jared is sipping the eighth Pegu Club Cocktail to be made at Pegu Club, and is secretly cursing Chris and Gary for getting there early and bagging the first two.

Audrey hunkers down with Sasha Petraske and his buddy, T. J. Sasha seems to be giving Gary the evil eye in this pic. Probably because he was peeved when he found out that he couldn’t get the first Pegu Club Cocktail to be served at Pegu. Chris and Gary had already downed the first two.

Sandy Rosin, Martin Douderoff and Ed Hamilton raise their glasses. Ed is drinking a Tea Punch, we think, and it looks as though Sandy and Martini are sipping Pegu Club Cocktails. They weren’t the first, though . . .

The Cocktails at Pegu

Pegu Club Cocktail (The first Pegu Club Cocktail ever to be served at Pegu Club, actually. August 24, 2005. Approximately 6:10 p.m.)	Pineapple Pisco Sour	Earl Grey MarTEAni
	Cocktails are presented with a cocktail condiment caddy at Pegu Club. Pretty nifty, huh?

Wot’s this ‘ere then?

Yes, we caught Audrey behind the bar at one point. Don’t she look swell back there?

In Conclusion