Bar Talk: She Takes The Village

Ashtin Berry, Beverage Director, Air’s Champagne Parlor & Tokyo Record Bar, New York City

By Alia Akkam

Bartender Ashtin Berry created the beverage programs for a duo of distinct hideaways in New York’s West Village—Air’s Champagne Parlor and Tokyo Record Bar—without hard liquor. At both venues, the cocktails are built on wine, sparkling wine, Sherry, Port, amaros and saké.

Beverage Media Group: Air’s and Tokyo Record Bar are wildly different, stylish concepts. How do your menus capture these respective personalities?

Ashtin Berry: Air’s is this beautiful, feminine space, and I wanted the list to reflect that vision. The cocktails are companions to the entire experience, not the focus. With TRB [Tokyo Record Bar] it was a different frame of thinking, because so much is already decided for the guest, including the food. Their interaction and choices are focused on the drinks and music. TRB is about sense and energy. It is supposed to feel like a friend’s listening party.

BMG: At both bars all the cocktails are low ABV. How do customers respond?

AB: If the guest trusts you and you can establish a relationship where they know they are going to be taken care of, they are more focused on the experience than alcohol content. Air’s and TRB sit on top of one another and that often means they come and visit both. My number one goal is to hear they had fun, because how they feel when they leave is what sticks. The biggest challenge is making sure the menus are equally engaging and delicious, that they are on the same wavelength yet diverse enough. But that’s my favorite part.

BMG: Which drinks are moving the fastest?

AB: For Air’s, the Le Jardin (lime, yellow Chartreuse, mint) is definitely the top selling cocktail. It is basically a play on a Southside. The Mojito (saké, shisho, wasabi, Luxardo, yuzu) is the most ordered at TRB, but the Cosmo [see recipe] is ordered most repeatedly. It’s dry, floral, tart, and has a ton of mouthfeel from the Nigori. If a guest has one, they are definitely having a second.

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“Many of our guests aren’t familiar with saké, so I wanted to create cocktails that would help them get an idea of the flavor profile. The Cosmo is citrus forward and just slightly sweet. Like a Cosmopolitan should be. But because we don’t use hard alcohol I chose to use Nigori. It has a great texture and nice acidity to it. Bitter Sauvage acts as stand-in for orange Curaçao and the rose syrup highlights the floral notes of the Sakè and is a stand-in for cranberry juice.”