Top bartenders spill their secrets
These sham-rock stars are elevating the bar.
On March 17, St. Patrick’s Day partiers from the world over will gussy up in inexperienced and descend on NYC for the world’s oldest and largest parade of its type, drawing roughly 150,000 marchers, round 2 million spectators, and almost as many bagpipes.
For the hardy military of bartenders working the entrance traces on Tuesday, the annual scrum would be the final check of a malt-pourer’s mettle — suppose “Braveheart” meets “Cocktail.”
“St. Pat’s is like our Super Bowl,” laughed Sean Reilly, proprietor of Sean’s Bar and Kitchen close to Times Square. “By 8 am, the bars start filling up. You really have to be able to handle the heat.”
The rush, the publishes informed The Post, is available in two waves — the morning, earlier than the beginning time of the 265th annual procession down Fifth Avenue, after which post-parade, when issues wind down round 4:30 p.m.
It’s an all-day, all-night affair, throughout which sufficient Guinness will probably be consumed to put the inhabitants of the 5 boroughs low. (“You’ve got to wear your most comfortable shoes that you could possibly own,” Reilly admitted.)
“By the time the parade lets out, all those people that are out there watching it, they got to go somewhere,” mentioned Reilly, who has labored the green-letter day in family-owned bars since age 11, beginning by selecting up empty glasses and carrying ice buckets.
For the leprechaun’s share of revealers, that “somewhere” winds up being Midtown watering holes like Sean’s on West forty eighth Street, a shillelagh’s throw from the route.
Keeping the hordes well-watered will wind up being a marathon-level occasion for Katie Reilly (no relation) of Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar — the Dubliner remembers working the faucets on the Second Avenue spot for “16 hours” straight final 12 months, and expects a repeat subsequent week, her fourth St. Pat’s shift in a row.
“I started at 9 am, I thought, and then maybe it was 1 or 2 [a.m.] by the time I finished,” the beer pourer sighed. “That was a long day.”
The secret to success, she mentioned, is avoiding “disaster” by laying on sufficient Guinness — and having one faucet jockey devoted to pulling pints till the bar resembles a beer-pong desk.
John McCorry, who owns the Tailor Public House on Eighth Avenue, informed The Post that his crew should have poured as much as 200 pints of obsidian-hued brew earlier than midday final 12 months, and can possible accomplish that once more.
“The Guinness doesn’t stop. It just keeps going on all weekend,” McCorry mentioned.
Meeting the insatiable demand requires taverns to replenish as if prepping for Prohibition 2.0.
As proprietor of 9 Gotham watering holes, together with Connolly’s in Times Square, Bernie Reilly informed The Post that he shares the famed drinkery with 2,000 kegs for the large day.
That’s 20 occasions what they’ve for a traditional week.
In reality, almost a 3rd of their yearly Guinness shops are imbibed on that one notorious day in March alone.
“We sell 7,000 kegs at Guinness a year — we sell 2,000 kegs on St. Patrick’s Day,” mentioned Bernie, father of Sean however no relation to Katie. At Connelly’s, the celebration goes for almost 24 hours — from 6 am till closing time at 4 am the following day.
Besides staying properly provided, a profitable St. Paddy’s hinges on correct staffing. At Connolly’s, which means upping the variety of bartenders from six to 24 throughout 4 flooring — and tightening safety to stop any booze-fueled hootenannies from breaking out.
Past St. Pat’s debauchery at Midtown bars has included every part from brazen lavatory intercourse to a thief dressed as a lecherous leprechaun, loose-lipped bartenders previously spilled to The Post.
Connolly’s, Bernie defined, runs a decent ship — to date, they “haven’t really had an incident yet,” he asserted.
Despite the hustle and toil, Katie Reilly takes the St. Pat’s induced-insanity in stride, she mentioned.
“It’s one day of the year, have some craic,” she mentioned, utilizing Irish slang for “a good time”
“You just get to have fun and meet so many people — and people from all over the world as well,” she mentioned.
But do not get too caught up within the festive spirit, Bernie Reilly warns his employees.
“Book that day off, and you’re taking the rest of the year,” he tells them.
