Last week, there was a revival of the iconic Lower East Side bar to Benefit Another Round, Another Rally. It was the unofficially Summer’s Last Call. We know that the season ended weeks ago but we’re still not over it and the weather isn’t helping the cause. We’ve been playing outside as long as the sun continues to keep us warm. This event checked all those boxes!
The PKNY Reunion, a tropical cocktail pop-up happened in Brooklyn on October 7th and 8th. San Diego-based distillery Cutwater Spirits resurrected the iconic Lower East Side bar PKNY for a two-night immersive experience. The intimate event featured the original PKNY bar team, including NYC bartending legend Richard Boccato, together for the first time since the establishment’s closing in 2013. They made some of their favorite cocktails from the PKNY menu using Cutwater’s award-winning rums and ready-to-enjoy canned cocktails. The best part of the event is that 100% of all tickets sold went to benefit industry charity, Another Round, Another Rally.
PKNY (2010-2013) was critically acclaimed for its outstanding cocktails and uniquely NYC, punk-inspired take on the tiki bar and famously forced to close due to Manhattan’s rising rents. As an industry leader, Cutwater has pioneered the canned cocktail revolution and is now the most awarded canned cocktail brand in the U.S. The pop-up featured stations of Cutwater’s innovative rum-based canned cocktails including their Piña Colada, Mai Tai and Mojito.
Boccato, along with original PKNY bartenders Natalie Jacob and Abraham Hawkins, were mixing up a few of their favorites from the genre including the Missionary’s Downfall, Zombie, Q.B. Cooler, as well as putting their own spin on Cutwater’s canned Piña Colada which was served blended from a frozen pineapple.
The pop-up also featured a kaleidoscope of colorful lighting, freshly tagged work from PKNY’s original graffiti artist Ivory TM7, an ambient set from their house DJ, custom bento boxes and other surprises to celebrate summer’s last call.
“Another Round, Another Rally is a nonprofit financial resource for the hospitality industry providing reimbursement grants, immersive educational scholarships for historically excluded voices in the community, as well as emergency assistance for unexpected hardship,” shares Travis Nass, COO and Co-Founder of Another Round Another Rally. “We are thrilled to see this iconic NYC bar revived for this special event and are so grateful to Cutwater Spirits for making it happen.”
Stay tuned for the next epic event!