OUR MISSION

OUR MISSION - WE'RE PUBLISHED! Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 marked the Premier of our new book, Happy Hour in the High Peaks: An Adirondack Bar Guide. The hardcover, 160 page book can be found at bars and bookstores throughout the Adirondack Park or order online at www.happyhourinthehighpeaks.com. You'll find a list of our book signings on the Events page and where to buy the book on our Retailers page. The book contains reviews of 46 of our favorite bars in the Adirondack Park, and 46 drink recipes with an Adirondack twist. As a companion to the book, we have also published a 46er Passport so that you can follow the Happy Hour Trail to become a Happy Hour 46er and make new friends along the way. Summit Tour t-shirts will be for sale at our book signings or available online. Whether you are a native, resident, or visitor, you'll find 46 more reasons to visit the ADIRONDACK PARK!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Recipe Day! Apocalypse? Winter Solstice?

Winter Solstice. First day of Winter. Yule. Return of the Light. End of the World. Apocalypse. No matter what you call it or your reason for drinking, we've created some festive cocktails in honor of this auspicious day.

Like most of us, you probably don't really believe the world is ending today. We like to think of it as the Mayans' inability to finish the calendar rather than the signifying of the end of time. Perhaps the project was just more work than the Mayans bargained for.

Here in the Adirondacks, winter officially arrived

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Prohibition Ends: 79th Anniversary Recipe Day!


How will you celebrate the 79th Anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition today?

Just when you thought it was just another Wednesday in December, Happy Hour in the High Peaks comes to your rescue, offering something auspicious to celebrate.  Pammy’s Pub has been dead for days as we work diligently to complete our writings for our upcoming book publication.  Suddenly revived, the cupboards on the bar have been flung open, and we’re looking for the ultimate way to celebrate the anniversary of the end of Prohibition.  We’re putting on our drinking caps, rolling up our sleeves and polishing our barware in preparation of the celebration.

Northern Adirondack backroads (weren’t they all then?) served as the perfect highway for running Canadian whisky. Tales of Adirondack bootleggers and runners tell of organized crime, speakeasies and bathtub gin. A little research on the Prohibition Era in the Adirondacks yielded the story of Pete Tanzini, a.k.a. Will O' the Wisp, Saranac Lake mason and accomplished race car driver.  Our first cocktail today is named in his honor.

Will O' the Wisp
1 ½ oz. gin
1 oz. black raspberry liqueur
½ oz. simple syrup
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
Club soda
Shake with ice, pour into collins glass and top with club soda.



Named for Pete Tanzini's wife, Gussy Menzel Tanzini, this cocktail is based on the Mary Pickford, a popular Prohibition Era drink, but "Gussied up" a bit.

Gussied Up
2 oz. light rum
1 oz. Grand Marnier
2 oz. pineapple juice
1 tsp. grenadine
1 tsp. maraschino cherry juice
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange section and a cherry.


Lemon and lime juice were regularly added to distilled spirits during Prohibition, particularly to those of the bathtub variety in order to make the often nasty stuff a little more palatable, especially for the ladies. The Hackensack Lemonade uses generous quantities of both.

Hackensack Lemonade
2 oz. Can