“The Pegu Club” and an interview with Audrey Saunders

We saunter up the stairs to where an old jeans and leather shop on Houston Street sat to find the relatively new venture for Audrey Saunders and her partners who also own and run the well-established Flatiron Lounge.  It’s a blast to be back in New York and even better when you know you’re in for amazing drinks and bar geek conversation with one of the best in the business.

The place has a vintage Asian chic to it with nice warming brown tones and simple black lattice worked cupboards breaking up the back bar.  The place is buzzing as they set up for what is expected to be a very busy night.  Pegu Club, Flatiron and the Museum of the American Cocktail have organized the “Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour” to raise money for industry people and their families affected by Hurricane Katrina.  The likes of Dale DeGroff and Chris McMillan from New Orleans have been lined up to mix Sazeracs, Ramos Gin Fizzes and Mint Juleps for a good cause. It really isn’t the best day to do this interview, but we’re on a schedule.

After the customary introductions and explanation on what the show is about, we settle up to the bar where I ask Audrey to make us a cocktail for the camera while we chat.  She chooses one from the menu, which is definitely not about the “bells and whistles” as much as it is about enjoying well crafted, classically inspired drinks.  Audrey claims, “Actually all of the recipes that we have here are deceptively simple.”  The drink is a classic taken from Charles H Baker’s, “The Gentleman’s Companion” circa 1939; the Jimmy Roosevelt is somewhat of a twist, like a Champagne Cocktail over crushed ice with a Chartreuse float.

Audrey starts by saying, “It’s classic in a sense that it’s an elegant champagne cocktail but something that historically, has fallen off the pages.  We’ve resurrected it. The one thing that’s not in his book that we have improved upon is a little bit of demerara sugar syrup because we think that it needs a touch of sweetening.”  One thing that is very interesting with the Pegu Club is the tiny box of condiments that go out with drinks so customers can improve them to their taste if need be.

“So what we do is just roll the demerara around the glass, and although we are adding an Angostura soaked sugar cube it doesn’t melt quick enough. Now what I’m going to do is take a little bit of cracked ice, because ideally you would be drinking this on your yacht in 80˚ F weather. I’m going to go one and a half ounces of cognac, then pour Champagne on top going around and floating the champagne,” Audrey says. The look of it is already making me thirsty but she won’t let me get my hands on it just yet."

“The one really fabulous ingredient that seems to just really make this drink is Green Chartreuse.  So just go drizzling over the back of a bar spoon around the drink, and just a little bit and that’s it,” as she presents the champagne saucer to me.  The cocktail is beautifully refreshing with lovely subtle herbal characteristics and finishes nice and dry although the demerara has been added.  As I make sounds of palate ecstasy she smiles knowingly and says, “It really is just taking a basic formula and understanding it again.”

As Audrey made the cocktail I noticed that she was particular about using a jigger and hand crushing some large, thick ice cubes.  Knowing the time Audrey Saunders has spent behind bars making cocktails I ask why she doesn’t freepour the ingredients. “I like to work with jiggers here, I just think the whole idea of being consistent in cocktails is extremely important,” she answers.  So how important is the ice thing then? She jumps to this one saying, “Ice is huge because it’s all about how much a cocktail is diluted.”

I ask about the event and whether she’s excited about the impending busy night, “Yeah.  It’s always nice to do something for people who are in real need and to have the same mindset with all your friends.  You know its not often that everybody comes in, because Dale’s (DeGroff) traveling, Gary (Regan) travels, Robert Hess is on the west coast, so it’s a good thing that we’re all doing it together.  And it really is a treat to have Chris (McMillian) come into town, he’s an extraordinary human being,” she says beaming with a kindred happiness.

Knowing how the bar fraternity is in Australia, I ask her if the bar community here is also very much like a family.  “Yeah we’re a very tight community.  I think we’ve all grown up in this industry together from when we all first came in to the point where we have our own bars now.  We’re such a small community and I think especially those of us who are really focused on the actual art of creating cocktails, need the support. For me to go and walk out of here and be able to talk shop with Julie (Reiner) or Sasha (Petraske) or go to somebody else’s bar is really important.  So yeah, pretty tight.”

Pegu Club is based on the name of the old British officers club in Rangoon but this bar really caters to the cocktail culture by freshly squeezing juices, supplying cocktail condiments and making their own ginger beer.  I wonder how people are taking to the thought.  “It’s been phenomenal.  The feedback has been extraordinary and the support from the (bar) community has been incredibly supportive as have been regular guests.  The whole idea behind Pegu was just to create an adult experience,” states Saunders.

One thing is clear about Audrey, and that is a strong opinion when discussing bars and especially the service aspect.  “It’s a shame there are so many bars and lounges out there that really don’t hit the mark because the service isn’t there and no real level of expectation with regards to the product that is being served. As far as understanding what I do with regards to operating a bar or lounge and creating cocktails, the real emphasis is on service because otherwise it’s just another pretty room,” she continues. 

This rise in the industry and wider interest in cocktails have given many bartenders an open forum to develop great drinks. So why the boom now if cocktails have been around for so long?  “I’m not terribly fond of the term bar chef, I’m a bartender first and foremost as was Jerry Thomas in 1862 and there was a real level of pride with that.  But I think bartenders started going into the kitchens to raid the walk-ins for ingredients and they started to do interesting things,” she answers.

“It all goes back to understanding classics though.  You can’t create, a mango, guava, whatever, all sorts of flavours tied in martini, unless you’ve really perfected something as basic as a whiskey sour or a gin fizz because those are classics.”  We continue on about classics for only a couple more minutes and begin to wind down, mainly to the fact that Audrey is keeping an eye on her watch.  Although she doesn’t say anything I know there’s a lot of work to be done, so I thank her for the interview and promise to return for a night of classics in a matter of hours.  But I think that will be another story for another time.

CHEERS!!!