One of the things that I love about going to a restaurant that has a great bartender is the creativity she may have. If I have a certain flavor in mind but don’t see anything that matches it on the menu, I quite frequently ask the bartender to create something in that vein. For about 90% of the time, it has been a positive experience. Recently, I was introduced to a bar that has built part of their menu off of a concept that is perfect for my drink ordering.
Ward III, located in the Tribeca area of Manhattan, was a creation of three bartenders: Michael Neff, Kenneth McCoy, and Abdul Tabini. All three men have worked in the Tribeca area as bartenders and have known each other for about a decade. They decided to combine their talents and opened Ward III a year ago.
I had the opportunity to speak with Michael Neff on a recent afternoon. As a bartender who has worked in many establishment and personally opened a dozen, he has a good understanding of the world of bars. With a team of three I was curious as to how the cocktail menu was created. The answer was simple: the three co-owners had equal input on the cocktail list, each creating three to provide a menu of nine recipes.
While these cocktails vary in ingredients and flavor, even more intriguing to me was their Bespoke menu. As Michael noted, “If I have time, I can talk with you and determine what you want. My job is to figure it out, but when there are 150 people here, this list will help.”
What list is he referencing? Well, that’s the special part of the Bespoke menu. Rather than just telling a bartender you want a fruity drink, this list gives you five categories to help guide your bartender: spirit, texture, spice, flavor, fruit. Within each of these categories there are anywhere from seven to twelve options. In addition to these regular options, there may be other choices as the season allows, such as fresh melon. All you need to do is identify what you want in each category, and the bartender will create the perfect, custom drink for you.
In addition to these drinks being made based on the needs of the patron ordering, they also have other handcrafting. For example, rather than keeping vanilla-infused vodka, they create their own using vanilla beans. As Michael explained, “Ward III is a noisy bar.” There’s a lot of muddling happening to infuse a variety of herbs, fruits, and veggies into drinks using a muddler, which also happens to be made by Michael. (Yes, so that means you will get a handcrafted cocktail filled with fresh ingredients that were muddled with a handcrafted muddler!)
I wondered how the Bespoke menu would work if a customer weren’t seated at the bar. How does one effectively communicate a drink via a member of the waitstaff? The answer is through good communication and training. The waitstaff listens carefully to what the patron wants and delivers that message to the bartender, no differently than placing an order for a gin and tonic. Of course, if there is any uncertainty, the bartender will go and speak with the patron. However, Michael found that typically the waitstaff know exactly what their customers want.
In addition to offering great cocktails, Ward III also has a food menu that is available almost all day long. The kitchen opens at 11:30 am (Monday through Friday) and keeps serving food until 4:00 am. With items ranging from Bacon-Wrapped Dates to Curried Quinoa and Mango Salad to Mini Pulled Duck Sandwiches, the menu is quite impressive.
As Michael stated, “The mark of a bar is a good bartender or mixologist who can create with what everyone has.” Having toured their bar, it is obvious that there is no need for outlandish tools or trendy ingredients. They simply make excellent cocktail using basic ingredients that are available to everyone. And that makes Ward III a success.
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