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Maybe you’ll luck out and hang with these guys.

New Year’s Eve in New York. Some things never change — by the time the ball drops, most New Yorkers are safely out of town — but each year is always a little different.

Mustique, the classic New Year’s scene for the city’s chicest residents, this year has been decimated by one Lady Gaga, whose December 31 performance at the Fontainebleau has become this year’s definitive New Year’s experience. Peter Davis says he is going to see what she’s wearing; Ally Hilfiger because she’s “a really interesting creature to watch, it’s like seeing Madonna in the eighties.” It will be Hilfiger’s first New Year’s not spent in Mustique, where she’s become accustomed to watching the sunrise with everyone lined up on Macaroni beach. But this year, everyone’s going to be in Miami anyhow: “My friend Harif Guzman, Sabrina Bacon, all the D.J.’s that I know, Mark [Ronson], I think Lindsay Lohan, I think everybody’s going,” she says.

Gaga’s not the only reason to hit Miami: Answering the call of jet-set elders left cold by the phenomenon of the Lady but eager to get in on the A-list poolside action is none other than … Phish. No word on whether the aging jam band will rock the vacuum machine for the encore.

Another New Year’s hot spot will be relocating to colder climes: It will be below freezing in Moscow, where Simon Hammerstein is transporting his nightclub the Box for the season, maybe longer. The Box in Russia? It’s all very mysterious. “I guess I just know that it’s happening,” chirped fashion writer Derek Blasberg, who sometimes visits his friend Princess Dasha Zhuvkova. “And that in and of itself scares me!” The Moscow Box, designed to suck up oligarch dollars, is said to be less raunchy than the American version, which is easy to imagine. It may be the first installment in Hammerstein’s vision of a worldwide chain.

Elsewhere abroad: “London Call…” read the subject line of the e-mail Amy Sacco sent out Friday, inviting anyone who might happen to be in London to stop by her Vegas-themed party at Bungalow 8 over there. “PS.,” it blared on, “SAVE FEB FASHION WEEK FOR THE GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE NEW BUNGALOW 8 NYC!”

Less chipper is the yachting set, whose New Year’s fleet week in St. Barts is on the wane: The dismal economy has taken the gas out of the conversation and put a bit of a pinch in the pose. “I’m hearing a lot less about people chartering yachts and renting private planes,” said Jamie Mulholland, CEO of Cain Leisure, which manages various clubs and is a leading purveyor of high-end entertainment across the globe. “People just aren’t feeling it.”
All this might make for the best New Year’s in New York in years, however. The reason? It’s cheaper, comparatively. At Goldbar, Mulholland’s club downtown, all twelve tables — which begin at $2,000 and go up from there — have already sold out. The Boom Boom Room is expecting the landlocked masses to pony up for the musical stylings of Courtney Love — tickets went on sale Friday and range from $250 to $1,000. André Balazs, who typically is in St. Barts, is said to be staying for the occasion. “Usually everyone leaves,” Mulholland says.

via nymag

We’d never make a new year’s resolution to stop drinking, unless there was something physically wrong with us that demanded it, but it’s fun to pretend. And so we asked a bunch of bartenders and industry insiders to pretend with us: If, hypothetically, you were giving up booze as your new year’s resolution, what would be the last drink to pass your lips?

Eben Freeman, bartender at Tailor
“An Old Fashioned. Just brown and stirred. And in a classic Old Fashioned there wouldn’t be any fruit or rind—just a glass of cold booze. A lot of old purists used to say ‘Don’t put any garbage in it,’ as in, you can grind some zest over it, but don’t put the rind in the drink.”

Don Lee, bartender at PDT
“A ‘Staggerac’—a Sazerac made with George T. Stagg bourbon instead of rye. George T. Stagg is part of Buffalo Trace’s annual Antique Collection and my favorite bourbon. It’s bottled at barrel strength, and last year it was 144.4 proof. It’s the most intense concentration of flavors you can imagine—like a kick in the face if you’re not expecting it. Because of its limited supply, many bartenders and whiskey aficionados collect it and often gift each other bottles. Some would consider using it in a cocktail to be sacrilege, but I think it makes a beautiful (albeit decadent) Sazerac.”

Justin Philips, bartender and owner of Beer Table
“My last drink would be a J.W. Lees Harvest Ale from 1997. It’s the most delicious nectar imaginable—intoxicating in both flavor and strength. It’s brewed only one day out of the year (Dec. 1st), and is made using only Maris Otter barley. I think this beer has a real sense of place, almost a sense of ‘terroir,’ which is really exciting. I visited JW Lees in Manchester a couple weeks ago to make my yearly pilgrimage.”

Jason Cobb, bartender at the Brandy Library
“My favorite whiskey is one of the richest and most powerful whiskeys in Scotland—Lagavulin 16-year-old. And while that’s an amazing bottle, it’s the Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition from 2007 that keeps me wanting. It was finished in a Pedro Jimenez cask, which mellows out its salty flavor and gives it an almost charcoal dry note that at first and last interaction I fell head over heels with. I don’t think there’s a place I know of that still carries it, but if I every do find it or a suitable rival, I hope it’s the last thing to pass my lips.”

Ari Form, bartender/bar owner at The JakeWalk
“My last drink would be a Springbank 21-year single malt scotch. It’s overpriced because it’s rare and it’s full, sweet and salty all together. Why ruin your last drink by mixing it?”

Sean Josephs, bartender/owner of Char No. 4
“My last drink would be a Jacques Selosse NV Champagne Brut. It’s made in a rich, oaky, opulent style, but it’s balanced by the terrific minerality that characterizes great champagne. Definitely a final drink you’d be able to look back on with fondness as you endured the drudgery of sobriety. It’s pricey, but I guess if you’re quitting drinking you’d have more disposable income.”

Mike Wiley, bartender and co-owner of Bar Great Harry
“Jameson neat. My last drink wouldn’t be a Russian River sour or some Belgian IPA, though I would certainly drink one of those if I had to choose something to drink every day for the rest of my life. I own a beer bar and very rarely drink hard alcohol, so for my last drink I would need something very straightforward with high sentimental value. Jameson neat fits the bill.”

Paul Tanguay, beverage consultant with the Tippling Bros.
“An Pilsner Urquell and a shot of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey. Simplicity at its best.”

Terence Miller, sommelier and beverage director at Megu Midtown
“If held at gunpoint, I would choose wine over hard liquor. My final bottle of wine would be champagne—like a Krug or a Charles Heidseick or a Bollinger from a stellar year like 1985. Richness, vibrancy, complexity, minerality, the fun of bubbles dancing on the palate. Vintage champagne is an amazing glimpse into the past.”

Anthony Settecase, bartender at Allen & Delancey
A Manhattan, with Rittenhouse rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, a dash of angostura bitters, a maraschino cherry, three ice cubes and a twist of orange peel. It’s a classic. Rub the cut edge of orange peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink to release the oils. Do not drop it in the drink.”

Tad Carducci, beverage consultant with the Tippling Bros.
“I’d invite all of my bartender friends from around the country to Apothecary Bar & Lounge in Philadelphia (on their dime, not mine). I’d ask that they each bring a bottle of their favorite spirit and a bathing suit. I’d then contract a glassblower to fashion the world’s largest punch bowl, into which would be poured the collective liquid and a little fresh lime juice, as well as a splash of champagne. We would all then get into said vessel and imbibe till there were no more liquid to be had. Hopefully everyone would have the decency to wash their feet first.”

Photo by Sam Horine

via metromix

According to Page Six, The Beatrice Inn is coming back — but not in the West Village. The famed nightclub on West 12th Street — a favored haunt of the Olsen twins, Josh Hartnett and other assorted downtown scenesters — was shuttered earlier this year by city officials after numerous noise and smoking violations. Now, a source close to the club’s management tells us that owner Paul Sevigny will be opening a new, bigger space across town. “It won’t be in the Puck Building or at Civetta in NoLIta,” says our source, dismissing the two most popularly rumored options. “The space they’re looking at is in NoHo. They want to create a modern Max’s Kansas City [the former Warhol hangout on Park Avenue that had a restaurant downstairs and a nightclub upstairs]. There will be a live music component and a low-key downtown artist vibe.” Sevigny could not be reached.

Mr. Lewis weighs in with his column on blackbook to add “..but I know where the new Beatrice is and I’m itching to talk. Whatever can be said, and of course it has been said about the Bea, it was the closet thing we’ve had in quite awhile to real live night time fun. I’ll let you know more when Paul Sevigny says I can. Some of the blogs are so concerned to be the firstest, bestet, only blog in the world, that they’ll tell you too soon and cause political or legal problems that will squash it before the first ice is put into the first cocktail. It’s not all that important really where it is. When it is, is more important. But even for that we can wait. We have been waiting and are used to it. For all the snarky talk, nothing has replaced it since it’s been gone. The when is soon enough and that’s good enough for me. Shoot, Paul could put it on one of those little islands in the middle of the East River next July and I would start to swim right now.”

What is this I hear about Mike “The Situation” being at 1oak last night?

Spraying champagne over models an fist pumping is to be expected from a cast member of Real World: New Jersey The Jersey Shore, but WHO let him into Oak?

I also heard he was at the Eldridge earlier in the week. Really? Matt Levine has confirmed he is aware of the show, but The Situation has never set foot in the Eldridge.

New Yorkers spend all this time running/bad mouthing Jersey folks and all they had to do was get a reality show to be welcomed with open arms?

Heartbreaking. Really it is.

Updated…heres a photo of the entire cast at marquee last night!!!

Via chichi212

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via socially superlative

Gawker proudly gushes of what they claim to be Paul Sevigny’s plans regarding his new space. Dubbing it the “New Beatrice”, Gawker hears from a source close to the anti-press Sevigny, who says that a deal is in final negotiations for a raw, multi-level space in Soho that will offer food, an office/gallery space for exhibits, screenings and readings, and potentially a publication for all of those laid off journalists. It all sounds great! Just don’t call it the new Beatrice Inn.

The Bea was a reaction to the club and lounge scene that dominated the middle part of the decade, and certainly lacked aspirations to be the all in one scene described by Gawker. It was an intimate, down and dirty affair lacking aspirations beyond creating a fun party every night it was open. Was it always “closed for a private event?” Yes. Was it overhyped by just a little bit? You bet. But it was great while it lasted.

So when Sevigny and crew finally get around to opening this new place in the Hudson Square area (our guess), expect a tough door, lots of celebrities, scenesters, Olivier Zahm, and rock and roll. Just don’t expect it to be the Beatrice Inn II.

via eater

While 364 days of the year there are no civilians allowed at the Boom Boom Room, it turns out there will be normal people as far as the eye can see on New Year’s Eve. In typically confounding fashion, Andre Balazs will open his Meatpacking disco in the sky on December 31 to anyone willing to pony up for a ticket. $250 gets you standing room; $500-$750 gets you a seat for the festivities, which include a performance by Courtney Love and the requisite Dom toast at midnight. Friends of Le Boom received the invite above over the weekend, but The Standard’s website is open to the public and ready to shore up your New Year’s plans.

Top of the Standard fka The Boom Boom Room via @mokoyfman.

Here are your options:

EMPIRE STATE: Dancefloor tables with unobstructed northern views of the Empire State Building and skyline. $1,500/two people; $4,500/six

HUDSON: Tables with Southern views of the Hudson River and Statue of Liberty. $2,000/four; $3,000/six; $6,000/eight

NORTH FIRE: Tables in our north fireplace lounge with views of the Empire State Building and skyline.$1,000/two; $2,000/four

SOUTH FIRE: Tables in our south fireplace lounge with views of the Hudson River and Statue of Liberty. $2,000/four; $,6000/twelve

STAND FOR LOVE: Standing room only for performance and festivities. $250/person

Those considering RSVP’ing in the affirmative — and if you’re pot-committed to the five boroughs, this isn’t the wrong way to go — you will want to note that tuxedo rental and booze are not included.
· New Year’s Eve on Top of the Standard: Tix [The Standard]
· More on Boom Boom Room [~ENY~]

Via eater