Aw, Shucks: How Oysters & Cocktails Pair Up Beautifully In A Manhattan Apartment

Editor’s note: It’s National Oyster Day and what better way to celebrate than with drinks? Our thanks to contributor Tony Sachs and Georgette Moger-Petraske for sharing this intimate and fun way of enjoying oysters and drinks.

Turning an apartment into a cocktail-and-oyster salon is a daunting task even during the best of times. To do so in the middle of a pandemic should be damn near impossible. But Georgette Moger-Petraske, the bon vivant and food/drinks writer who authored the seminal book Regarding Cocktails, has pulled it off in style, creating a new and delightful diversion in the heart of Manhattan’s sleepy Murray Hill area.

A Pearl of Inspiration

Photo credit Allison Webber @stilllifewithbooze

The concept of Regarding Oysters fell into place when Moger-Petraske found herself living alone after her roommate decamped to Queens. Around the same time, she found an antique mint green perfume counter from New Orleans, circa 1860, that she thought would make a perfect bar. “The first blush of a plan began to blossom,” she says. New York was still in the throes of the Covid pandemic, and bars were still inaccessible in person. “People were missing bars so much,” she recalls. “They were trying their hand at home and ending up with well-intentioned shaken Negronis for their spouses, roommates, and quarantine pods.”

Opening her own bar was, of course, out of the question. But she was intrigued by the possibility of turning her elegant abode into a lab of sorts, where aspiring hosts and home bartenders could learn, hands-on, some of the lessons espoused in Regarding Cocktails. Moger-Petraske wrote the book for her husband, the late Sasha Petraske, who helped kick off the cocktail renaissance with his bar, Milk & Honey.

Oysters are a perfect foil for boozy beverages of all sorts, from martinis to single malt Scotch, combined with the bivalves’ natural liquor and “luged” straight from the shell. Regarding Oysters has a ready source in Moger-Petraske’s friend, oyster farmer Meg Dowe. She makes bi-weekly excursions to the North Fork of Long Island, where they harvest Dowe’s Yennicott oysters — “everything you could ask for on the half shell. Sweetness, saline, and the perfect cup for the tastings and luges I offer at the salon.” Guests get a hands-on lesson in shucking, with their host prepared to step in and do the job for them if need be. (Confession time — Georgette did wind up shucking one or two particularly ornery oysters on my behalf during my recent visit. Not that I needed her to, of course).

Opening the Oyster Bar

Moger-Petraske, who is fully vaccinated against Covid, had already had a mild case by the time she launched Regarding Oysters last year — “I figured I might as well do something with my antibodies,” she quips — and takes precautions to make sure her guests, which number up to six at a time, are safe. Pre-session disinfecting, temperature checks and hand washing are mandatory, and windows are kept open for maximum ventilation (fortunately, she has a fireplace for the chilly winter months). Business has been steady since she first opened her doors, even as bars around NYC have reopened. It’s an intimate and delightful alternative to the bar scene, and the cocktails and canapés, all prepared by Moger-Petraske, can stand alongside those of any watering hole in town. To say nothing of the oysters, of which guests get to shuck a half dozen.

Oyster Slurps

The cocktail list at Regarding Oysters is small but potent, and includes two alcohol-free options. Each guest gets a welcome glass of champagne or mini martini, and also gets to prepare two drinks under the host’s watchful eye during the session, which lasts about two hours. Here are a couple of Moger-Petraske’s favorite drinks to pair with oysters:

The Attabuoy

“It’s the house martini, served as a welcome drink. I prep it in a martini pitcher an hour before class and keep it in the freezer. One part Dolin dry vermouth, two parts Ford’s Gin. I add 1/2 oz of water per martini for ideal water content. Pour into chilled coupes and finish with a drizzle of freshly shucked oyster liquor and a cornichon — your buoy!”

The .38 Special

“Michael Madrusan named this Milk & Honey classic less for alluding to a smoking gun but for the exact 3/8ths measurements that comprise it. I’ve always loved scotch paired with oysters, whether right out of the shell as a luge or in a perfectly chilled coupe. The original recipe of the .38 Special was made with blended Scotch. However, when oysters are involved, I like to have guests create this drink using a lightly peated whisky like Bowmore.”

2 3/8 oz. Bowmore 12 Year Old single malt Scotch

3/8 oz. yellow Chartreuse

3/8 oz. Amaro CioCiaro

Lemon twist garnish

Combine the Scotch, Chartreuse, and amaro in a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until the drink is sufficiently chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with the lemon twist.

Regarding Oysters eschews traditional horseradish and cocktail sauce with its bivalves. In their place, Moger-Petraske uses “far more curious elixirs,” as she calls them, including Chartreuse Vegetal, H. Theoria’s Amour Matador Liqueur, and Bourgoin Verjus (made by Bourgoin Cognac). Each one complements the oysters in a different way, and they make the traditional array of condiments seem hopelessly mundane in comparison.

If you’re in New York or planning to be there, reservations can be made through http://www.regardingoysters.com.

Pairing, CocktailsTony SachsAugust 5, 2021cocktails, pairingsComment