Any bartender in the city would jump at the chance to work with Daniel Boulud. But when it came time to pick the bartender to head up his handsome new Bar Pleiades in The Surrey hotel, the chef looked west--and north--and tagged Cameron Bogue as the man for the job.
At Boulud's Vancouver outpost of db bistro moderne, Bogue was a key player of the city's burgeoning cocktail scene. He's obsessed with making his wide-ranging cocktail components (such as pistachio milk and cranberry juice) from scratch, and combines this homemade arsenal with an eclectic spirits library to create some of NYC's most fanciful new drinks.
Bogue is a seasoned traveler and many of his creations at Bar Pleiades are steeped in his global finds. One section of the menu focuses on flavors he encountered during a nine-month motorcycle trip from Shanghai to India: yuzu, cardamom, five-spice powders and Fujian tea.
For his Beijing Mule, a riff on the traditional Moscow Mule, Bogue infuses vodka with roasted Asian pears and adds yuzu juice, saffron-flavored simple syrup and house-made ginger beer (click here to download the recipe). If infusing isn't on your agenda, Bogue suggests substituting Hangar 1 Spiced Pear vodka and store-bought ginger beer, which produce an equally delicious and refreshing drink.
Bar Pleiades, The Surrey, 20 E. 76th St. (between Madison and Fifth aves.); 212-772-2600 or thesurrey.com
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