The Dash and Pony pop-up speakeasy on June 24 will feature a cocktail grounded by tequila and sweetened only with corn water, a strained purée of sweet corn that recalls moonshine and backyard stills.
It's a fitting reference for an event so underground that it's hard to tell who's even behind it.
That would be Ali Mills, formerly of Coquette and now tending bar at Patois, and Korey Tichenor, a part-time bartender most recently at Domenica. Their speakeasy is geared to fellow bartenders and friends, "to try things that would be taboo on our own cocktail menus," Ali tells me. "We like bitter, texturally strange things." (Proof: plans for a cocktail brimming with spirit-infused tapioca pearls, a play on Taiwanese bubble tea.)
Rounding out the party will be a sour, a sangría, and a long drink (stretched with a non-alcoholic mixer); Michael and Christopher Ball will cater the "drunk-hungry" crowd.
And true to its bootlegger vibe, this speakeasy will pop up at a private home, with a deep front porch and a double parlor (one possible parlor game includes $1 roulette spins that get you a shot, determined by where the roulette wheel stops).
As for the name, Dash and Pony refers to the one-ounce side of a jigger and a dash of bitters - "all you need for a cocktail," Ali says.
The Dash and Pony speakeasy pops up June 24 at 9 p.m. at Via Fortier's house, 1810 Hastings Place.
