Audrey Saunders
New York, New York
Pegu Club
77 West Houston Street between Wooster and W. Broadway
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Signature drink: gin-gin mule (lime juice, simple syrup, sprigs of mint, gin, homemade ginger beer)
Whoever said, "God is in the details," must have tried one of Audrey Saunders's cocktails. The ice cubes she uses are extra-large so they don't melt too fast and dilute the drink. Every table at Pegu Club has a box of cocktail condiments (four eye droppers) filled with lemon juice, lime juice, bitters and simple syrup so you can customize the flavor to your liking. She also utilizes a spice rack of about two dozen liquid concentrates (including clove, allspice, bay leaf and long pepper, all in vodka). Saunders stocks more than 30 gins, and some of the rarer ones are under lock and key. She refuses to use those classic but awkward V-shaped martini glasses (she sticks with old-school glassware). She decants martinis and manhattans into a carafe that floats on crushed ice so the drink can stay chilled and undiluted. Yes, everything has been thought out and the drinks are perfect. Saunders ran the beverage program at highly respected Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel before opening Pegu Club in 2005, and she continues to set the standard for classy, high-end cocktails.
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Photo: courtesy of Audrey Saunders
