Cocktails, Culture

Published: January 7, 2002

In case Rudy wasn't persuasive enough, we've discovered another reason to get to the box office: the playful intermission cocktail menu at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. Instead of the usual no-name-booze-in-a-plastic-cup to accompany the Raisinets, there's an inspired (if jokey). selection of theater tie-ins that evoke a less sober theatergoing age. Contact's An Italian Housewife combines brandy, sweet vermouth, and a dash of bitters. The Tryst at Vespers, offered during performances of Barbara Cook's Mostly Sondheim, is a high-octane blend of cognac, Cointreau, créme de cassis, and champagne. The recently departed QED, or apple-vodka martini, makes a return engagement next month, along with Alan Alda in the hit play's starring role. Sweet Concessions, the bar's operator, began developing specialty cocktails about a year ago, "when everyone was watching Sex and the City," says manager Brett Stasiewicz. To capitalize on the Candace Bushnell-induced Cosmo craze -- and to boost sales -- he started mixing seasonal champagne cocktails arid winter warmers like the Misty-Eyed Irishman (heavy on the Irish whiskey), all of which can be ordered before the curtain and collected at intermission, an incredibly civilized alternative to jockeying for position in line. Popular in London, advance ordering hasn't caught on here. "New Yorkers don't like to pay for things in advance," says Stasiewicz. Tele-charge Is bad enough.