The LAST CALL 2024 New Year's Rockin' Eve Special

Brought to You by High Wire Distilling Co.

Dec 29, 2023

The Ball, 1978 (Photo: Chester Higgins, Jr./*The New York Times*)

The LAST CALL 2024 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Special is available to all readers thanks to the generous support of High Wire Distilling Company.

Charleston’s High Wire Distilling Company—founded by husband-and-wife team, Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall—helped pioneer small-batch, craft spirits in South Carolina, focusing on a simple approach of using the finest ingredients available and developing recipes using a creative, culinary approach.

Launched in 2015, their High Wire Distilling Co. Southern Amaro remains a standout in the ever-growing category of American amari. Blackwell and Marshall looked to Italy’s rich tradition of amaro for inspiration, but crafted their own regionally inspired style using foraged and regionally grown Southern ingredients such as Charleston black tea from Wadmalaw Island, Yaupon holly, Dancy tangerine, and wild mint harvested on Johns Island.

With a dark cola color and coming in at 30-percent alcohol-by-volume, High Wire Distilling Co. Southern Amaro is an ideal medium-body, slightly bitter, gateway-style amaro with notes of licorice, mint, vanilla, and fresh citrus. Try it neat on its own, over ice with a splash of soda water and an orange peel, and in classic cocktails like the Black Manhattan and Boulevardier—or stir it up on our featured cocktail for New Year’s Eve, the Yesterday, Today, and Amaro.

Buy High Wire Southern Amaro Online

New Year’s Eve Cocktail: Yesterday, Today, and Amaro

Brian Kane, Abe Fisher | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Yesterday, Today, and Amaro. (Photo: BTP)

Yesterday, Today, and Amaro, one of the best-named cocktails from my book, Amaro, was created by bartender Brian Kane when he was working at Abe Fisher (now permanently closed) in Philadelphia. Kane told me the drink’s name was an homage to the history of passing down recipes for amaro production from one generation to the next.

Over the years making this bittersweet Manhattan variation on New Year’s Eve has become a personal tradition. It’s a terrific cocktail, but the name is just made for symbolically looking back at the year as it ticks down its final hours while embracing the company you’re with and a bit of hope for whatever the future may to hold.

Most bars will have all these ingredients on hand, so don’t be afraid to politely ask your bartender to make this for you. I tend to do that when I’m out and about between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and the bartender always gives a nod of approval when they give it a straw test, and in many cases other people at bar will see it and ask about the drink and soon order one for themselves.

Makes 1 Drink

2 ounces rye (preferably Wild Turkey 101)
1/2 ounce Cynar
1/4 ounce Averna or High Wire Distilling Co. Southern Amaro
1/4 ounce Bénédictine
Lemon zest

Combine all the ingredients except the lemon zest in a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until chilled and strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon zest over the surface of the drink and discard.

Bruce Nevins and Margaret Trudeau dancing at Studio 54 in 1979. (Photo: *New York Post*)

Welcome to the second-annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Special!

The original mission statement for LAST CALL still holds true with a promise to feature regular dispatches on bars and bar culture, drinks and spirits, restaurants and regional foodways, popular culture, and sometimes cats.

In 2023, I wrote and shared just over 100 dispatches on LAST CALL with articles, personal essays, interviews, and recipes covering everything from vintage amaro, the 10th anniversary of Emmett’s Pizza, a breakout Brooklyn gelato maker, and the agony of being a lifelong Knicks fan, to a one-night-only Brooklyn pop-up of London’s St. John restaurant, the new generation of brewery and distillery cats, and my favorite childhood Central New York pizzeria. Plus there were on-the-ground field reports from my travels throughout Italy with Ed Anderson and my annual residency at LUCA in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If I have the time and means I hope do travel more in 2024. I especially miss Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. And I think 2024 just might be the year I adopt a new cat (RIP Louis), though I still have to master that whole you have to love yourself before you can truly love someone else. That’s what resolutions are for, I guess.

This past year also featured the launch of two new paid subscriber exclusives: The Lowdown (an expanded edition of what I’ve been eating, drinking, writing, watching, and reading) and City Guides (a curated lineup of my personal picks for eating and drinking in New York City and beyond).

We also celebrated our 1-year anniversary, introduced underwriting and sponsorship partnerships with some like-minded businesses and brands, and continued to grow the total number of subscribers to LAST CALL (it took me 14 months to hit my personal 1-year subscriber milestone but that’s close enough for me) and hope to double that by this coming July.

5,500 Subscribers and Climbing! LAST CALL Launchd on July 11, 2022.

Next year promises the continuation of these popular features along with even more original content, including essays, interviews, and collaborations. And this will be the first place to learn about any details of my next book, Drinking Italian, including publication date, pre-orders, cover reveal, early excerpts, and more.

While not a full-on Dick Clark-style countdown, coming up next are a host of fun facts from the first full calendar year of LAST CALL, which launched July 11, 2022, including the most popular dispatches, the top 10 Dive Bar Jukeboxes, and some of my favorite articles I’ve published this past year beyond LAST CALL. Plus, a host of boldfaced Friends of LAST CALL will be dropping by to share their own New Year’s Eve plans.

Scheduled to Appear: David Lebovitz, Elizabeth Minchilli, David Wondrich, Garrett Oliver, Christene Barberich, and more special guests!

Dive Bar Jukebox: Shut Up and Play the Hits

This year LAST CALL featured 30 unique playlists from chefs, writers, bartenders, musicians, and all-around cool people who answered the question: If we were in a bar together and I put 10 credits on the jukebox, what would you play and why? There were a lot of fun themes, so many good songs, and solid advice on the art of creating a killer playlist. All of these LAST CALL Dive Bar Jukebox playlists are available to listen to on Spotify.

Top 10 Most Popular Dive Bar Jukeboxes of 2023

DJ Mojo (September 29, 2023)
A stream-of-consciousness musical journey and a deep dive interview with DJ Mojo, a fascinating and truly very cool 6’4”, 74-year-old, wisdom-spouting music aficionado, Vietnam War veteran, and NYC nightlife legend.
Tim McKirdy (August 25, 2023)
VinePair Managing Editor (and my VP editor) Tim McKirdy shared his thoughts on dive bars (and his concerns because he didn’t come of age experiencing proper dives back in Scotland and England) along with a terrific playlist, featuring an eclectic mix, ranging from Amy Winehouse and Seu Jorge to Led Zeppelin and Sammy Davis Jr.
Joseph Stinchcomb (March 24, 2023)
Joe Stinchcomb, co-owner of Bar Muse in Oxford, Mississippi, gets “a little grimy” with his all-Atlanta hip-hop playlist, but he notes it’s one that would be at home at most of his favorite dives and promises you’ll want to turn it up loud.
Blake Cole (June 30, 2023)
Bay Area native and owner of the Oakland bar Friends and Family, Blake Cole gave us the skinny on her favorite dive bars and thoughts on what makes a dive bar a true dive bar, along with a playlist of personal picks, including George Michael, Tina Turner, and Shania Twain,
Simon Ford (July 14, 2023)
Simon Ford had been on my Dive Bar Jukebox wish list since I launched LAST CALL and he was definitely worth the wait. The entrepreneur and Fords Gin Global Marketing Director shares tales of favorite dive bars from his many travels and an equal-parts soulful and foot-stomping, plus-sized playlist that’s perfect for any mood or occasion.
All Steely Dan Edition (May 19, 2023)
This All Steely Dan Edition Dive Bar Jukebox was inspired by the book, Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan (University of Texas Press), brought to life by writer Alex Pappademas and artist Joan LeMay, who vividly illuminated the Walter Becker and Donald Fagen “Daniverse.”
Kendra Borowski (June 23, 2023)
For her DBJ debut, food and hospitality publicist and DJ Kendra Borowski shares a playlist with a mix of New Order, Dire Straits, and The Supremes, along with stories about spontaneous dance parties at Soho dive bars and the tale of a legendary unbreakable bottle of Jägermeister.
Harpoon Eddie’s Summer Flashback (June 9, 2023)
In this special-edition BTP-curated DBJ playlist, I broke out the mix-tapes of my youth for a Harpoon Eddie’s Flashback, celebrating a double-album of the new wave favorites you might have heard during one of my shifts at Harpoon Eddie’s—a seasonal Central New York beach bar located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake in Sylvan Beach, New York—many lost summers ago.
Ally Marrone and Patty Dennison (March 3, 2023)
Ally Marrone and Patty Dennison, two of my favorite Brooklyn bartenders, delivered big time with not one, but two playlists. Read on for their loving tribute to Montero Bar & Grill (where I’ve witnessed them both belting out their favorite karaoke numbers), an off-screen pistol-whipping, and after-hours bowling antics. Pop Pop!
Jason Diamond (October 27, 2023)
The Brooklyn-based writer, author, and frequent contributor to GQ and New York magazine’s Grub Street, shares why he thinks the idea of the New York dive bar is now a thing of the past, dive bar encounters with two icons (Bill Murray and Jim Gandolfini), and a very eclectic, Diamond-approved playlist running the gamut from Ike and Tina Turner and Sturgill Simpson to Del Shannon and The Cramps.

Most Frequently Appearing Artists

The Rolling Stones (6 Songs: “Dead Flowers,” “100 Years Ago,” “Waiting on a Friend,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Sway,” “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”). The second year in a row The Rollings Stones have topped this category.
Bruce Springsteen (5 Songs: “Thundercrack,” “Prove It All Night,” “All I’m Thinkin’ About,” “I’m on Fire,” “Racing in the Street”)
Aretha Franklin (3 Songs: “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” “People Get Ready”)
Talking Heads (3 Songs: “This Must Be the Place,” “Once in a Lifetime,” “Sugar On My Tongue”)
David Bowie (3 Songs: “Young Americans,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Starman”)
Two-Songs Club: The Beatles, The Clash, Sammy Davis Jr., Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Gorillaz, Chaka Khan, Idris Muhammad, New Order, Pulp, Lucinda Williams

Songs That Appeared More Than Once

“I Believe” by R.E.M. (All R.E.M Edition, John Currence). Only one repeat song this year!

Beyond LAST CALL

I wrote, or at least tried very hard to write/am still writing, the manuscript for my next book, Drinking Italian. I can’t wait to cross the finish line. Wish me luck. On the freelance front, I filed stories for several publications, including VinePair, PUNCH, and Imbibe. Here are a few of my personal favorites (in publication-date order).

“Ten Essential New-School Amari and How to Use Them” (PUNCH)
“The Growing Category of American-Made Amaro Is in Its Golden Age, But Will the Future Remain Bittersweet?” (VinePair)
“Beer, Wine, and Apricot Brandy: The Blue-Collar Booze of Jaws” (VinePair)
“Barred from the Bar: How Your Favorite Neighborhood Haunts Deal With Troublesome Guests” (VinePair)
“The Bar Jukebox Will Never Go Out of Style” (Imbibe)
“At These Bars, the Best Bottles Are Hidden Away in Private Cabinets of Curiosities” (VinePair)
“When It Comes to Classic Cocktails, 3 (Ounces) Is the Magic Number” (VinePair)
“On Oral History of Brooklyn’s Beloved Long Island Bar” (VinePair)
“That’s Amaro” (Club Oenologique) [print only]

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Andy Warhol, New Year's Eve, 1987, New York City. (Photo: Catherine McGann)

I usually stay in on New Year’s Eve and try to make a dinner that leans toward snacks and something on the more luxurious side, likely a bone-in ribeye with a hard sear from a cast iron pan and a batch of twice-baked potatoes topped with a dollop of sour cream and lots of black pepper. I have a quart of frozen spumoni in the freezer from a recent trip to L&B Spumoni Gardens that I may dip into while watching movies in the dark, watching the Ball drop in Times Square, and listen to the fireworks (both the official and unofficial neighborhood pyrotechnics) before crying myself to sleep (typical Sunday).

If I leave the apartment I’ll stay close to home and stop by Grand Army and The Long Island Bar for a one-two punch, early evening cocktail combo. January is always a rough month for this freelance writer and I’m not looking forward to the New Year’s Day reality of rent, bills, pitching and lining up writing assignments, and finishing my manuscript. On the more positive side, my birthday falls in January and I have a fun month-long, still under-wraps residency of sorts I’m excited to share more about when I am able.

But what’s a New Year’s Rockin’ Eve party without a cavalcade of special guests? I flipped through my Rolodex and dialed up a great line-up of Friends of LAST CALL to help close out 2023 who took the time to share their personal plans to ring in the New Year. I hope you enjoy spending time with them and I’d love to hear what you’ll be doing this New Year’s Eve.

David Lebovitz

(Author of Drinking French, The Perfect Scoop, My Paris Kitchen and The David Lebovitz Newsletter on Substack)

In Paris, the réveillon de nouvel an (New Year’s Eve) is a big deal, as Parisians are very social and never miss an opportunity or occasion to drink and socialize together. There are plenty of crowds on the streets and the Métro is free all evening to encourage people not to drink and drive. People also avoid driving because New Year's Eve is a popular night to set cars on fire.

Every year I’m invited to a massive party a friend holds in his loft, where upon arrival, he's always tending to several large casseroles on the stove, to feed the crowd. Once it was a beef bourguignon, another time it was a Thai curry. The bathtub is filled with ice—which is one of the few times you’ll see a lot of ice in France!—and each person is requested to bring a bottle of Champagne to add to it. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of dancing, and a lot of food—and, of course, a lot of French champagne. Taking the Métro home at 4 a.m. is always an experience; it’s packed to the gills with people, some continuing the party on foot (or on the Métro), while others are happy to be heading home.

Toby Cecchini

(Co-owner of The Long Island Bar in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn)

This Sunday night, for the first time ever, we’re going to serve a special prix fixe special menu for New Year’s Eve at Long Island Bar where all the seating is reserved, except for the bar, which is walk-in with a limited menu. We’re almost fully booked. Generally I make pasta for Jess. She likes her New Year’s Eve pasta, which is spaghettini with caviar, a little butter, a little olive oil, toasted pine nuts, a lot of black pepper, and Calabrian chili paste. Simple greens served on the side. And we always have Champagne. We’ll have a very early dinner and then I’ll come into work. My family will come to the bar at midnight for the toast

Elizabeth Minchilli

(Author, Food Tour leader in Italy, and author of the Substack publication Elizabeth’s Newsletter from Italy)

We are never ones for going out on New Year’s Eve. Our tradition is to have friends over, either in Rome or in our home in Umbria. This year it'll be Umbria, and we’ll be with our Danish friends who are chefs and own a B&B in Umbria. I usually plan something “fancy” and last year we started with a bunch of appetizers: caviar, blini, and Champagne (Cuvee Rose Laurent Perrier). Lisbeth and Thomas made a gorgeous Waldorf Salad (which is something I guess is eaten in Denmark for holidays?) and a loaf of brioche. We then had a gooey Mont D’or (we dipped in with pickles and fennel) and also bottarga and butter spread on Sardinian flat bread . Our main was a pasta I don’t make every day: penne alla vodka, with a gorgeous bottle of Carasuolo d’Abruzzo from Emidio Pepe. Dessert was a stunning lemon tart that Lisbeth (the pastry chef) made. Then amari, grappa, clementines, and chocolates as we waited to ring in the New Year. And we followed Italian tradition by having a bit of lentils, which are supposed to bring wealth for the new year. And my personal tradition: I bought everyone scratch-off lottery cards.

David Wondrich

(Writer, cocktail historian, author of Imbibe! and Punch, and editor of The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails)

This New Year's Eve I'll be at the Met--the opera Met--with my wife and daughter, seeing Carmen. That gets out at 10:00 p.m., at which point we're going to trundle on home, enjoy Champagne and a cold repast, as the society columns used to say, and tuck ourselves into bed. The Met thing isn't a tradition, but it seems like a god way of injecting a little drama into the evening, without bringing it up to the level of dramatic New Year's Eve enjoyed (if that's the word I want) a few years back by Richie. Richie's the one who, according to a couple of Carroll Gardens girls we overheard reminiscing a few years back, made the holiday memorable when he "like, died, but they revived him."

Christene Barberich

(Writer, advisor, consultant, and author of the Substack publication, A Tiny Apt.)

Going out on New Year's Eve gives me major anxiety, so we almost always host a small group of friends at home. In terms of approach, I literally treat it like a huge blizzard is coming, hoarding charcuterie essentials like there's no tomorrow. Last year, our tiny gathering turned into a full-blown party, which, as fun as it was, really messed with my need for "feeling refreshed + ready" New Year's Day vibes. Hence, this year's ritual will be small, cozy, hopeful, and very likely include a pot of chili or an Alison Roman bean concoction. I have a lot of shit to do in 2024, so a little champagne, extra fiber, and good sleep are my main plans.

Garrett Oliver

(Brewmaster, The Brooklyn Brewery; Editor-in-Chief, The Oxford Companion to Beer; founding board chair, Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling)

This year I'll be doing what I call "The Classic Slide.” The evening will start maybe 9:30-ish with my friends (at the table, on the floor, behind the bar, and in the kitchen) at The Four Horsemen, who are well known for both their great food and their Champagne-slinging skills. Then we'll "sliiiiide" out the back door and down the hallway into the embracing arms of and sonic bliss of Nightmoves. More Champagne, probable Mezcal Negronis, and "workin' it all out" on the dance floor. It sounds like a lot, but I'll know half the people there, and it'll just be, well...nice. And I like nice.

Amanda Schuster

(Freelance lifestyle writer based in Brooklyn whose most recent book is Signature Cocktails)

I am not a big New Year’s Eve fan. I think there's too much pressure to appraise the last 365 days and attach meaning to the new one, and then there's the whole mandatory fun aspect of it all, never mind those overpriced prix fixe menus everywhere—no thanks! For obvious reasons, the past couple of years I've indulged in some serious self-care on New Year’s Eve, perfectly content to cook a good dinner (seared duck breast with Port blackberry sauce, wild rice, homemade spinach soufflé), watch New Year’s Eve episodes of fav TV shows (Rhoda, Cheers, Frasier, Barney Miller, etc.) and watch the ball drop on TV with some good bubbly and Anderson Cooper's cackle.

Before the pandemic, good friends who live in the West Village hosted a small gathering of people who share my overall disdain for the whole "It's New Year's Eve—you WILL have fun, damnit!" aspect of the day. It was always a great excuse to dress up a little, open bottles, (and/or perhaps kill other bottles), and be with some people I genuinely like to be around instead of dozens of iffy ones. This year, their little soiree is back on, though sadly for the last time, as they are moving in a few months. It's obviously going to be a bit emotional, but I'm ready for it. Most of the time, I can't get a cab or car service home, but they don't live too far from the F train. If you've never taken the subway at 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, you are missing out on quality Only In New York entertainment! There is inevitably a major breakup happening in real time, people who are definitely not dressed for the cold, someone who just met someone new and is really excited about it, not to mention all the shedding sequins and glitter on the floor and seats, perhaps a broken stiletto or two.

New Year's Day I make a shisell (big pot) of Hopping John-ish type of stew for good luck with black eyed peas from dried beans, smoked sausage and/or ham hocks, and collard greens with a side of cornbread (from a mix) or biscuits (from a can). Does it actually work? I am alive and healthy, my parents are still alive and pretty much healthy. I'd say at this point that is the best one could hope for.

Emmett Burke

(Owner of Emmett’s and Emmett’s on Grove in the Big City)

I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year’s Eve but have started to embrace it more in recent years. Especially with friends, usually celebrating at the restaurants—we try to make it fun but not too over the top.

I’ll be in the city at both my restaurants. We are throwing a big party at Emmett’s on Grove which will be a lot of fun. I plan on being in Emmett’s III (*) a fair amount and going back and forth between the two restaurants and most likely popping by whatever parties come up throughout the night—kind of see where it takes us.

What I plan to eat and drink? Pizza and Champagne in the limo—my favorite combo.

(*) Emmett’s III is a 1990 Cadillac limousine that Burke occasionally drives around with friends eating pizza, drinking Champagne and Martinis, and watching 1980’s-era VHS movies the vintage VCR. “This is something I was looking for for a long time, and it has, by far, exceeded my wildest dreams,” says Burke.

Brian Bartels

(Co-owner Settle Down Tavern, Oz by Oz, Turn Key in Madison, Wisconsin, and author of The Bloody Mary Book and The United States of Cocktails)

The plan, as always, is to hang with good friends. There are pals visiting and we will most likely hop around this Mad Town with some of Wisconsin’s finest. Drinks and snacks at a writer friend’s home then supper with shrimp cocktail, homemade pasta, and prime rib at Turn Key Supper Club. As with any special occasion I always feel inclined to have one nice, cold, dry, gin Martini, but since we started featuring Root Beer Old-Fashioneds at Turn Key in the past few months I might hop on that bandwagon for one.

I am so accustomed to working on New Year’s Eve that whenever someone hands me a glass of bubbly my first instinct is to pound it and get right back to working. Hopefully this year I’ll just sip and appreciate so many good friends, so many loved ones, and the extended family, and pay my respects to 2023 that was a year of ups and downs. I’ll likely play one of my dad’s favorite songs, ”We’ll Meet Again” by the Ink Spots, hug my dogs, and kiss my favorite gal Jessie.

Amy Stewart

(Author of The Drunken Botanist and the Substack publication It's Good to Be Here)

I might get together with friends for a low-key New Year’s Eve potluck, but if that doesn't come together, I'm totally fine with a normal night at home. The main event for me is New Years Day, when I make black eyed pea fritters. I'm a fifth-generation Texan and it's a longtime southern tradition to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day for good luck in the new year. My Texas friends and family always text each other reminders to pick up black eyed peas, because stores do run out! I make fritters out of them because even people who don't like black eyed peas will eat a fritter. Any fritter recipe is fine, but I generally make mine kind of like this. The trick is to squeeze each fritter in your hand before frying, to get all the excess moisture out. I serve them with a chipotle aioli, a batch of cornbread, and either collard greens or a kale salad, just so we can pretend we're eating healthy. I distribute them to friends and neighbors, and I encourage you to make some too, because we're going to need all the luck we can get in 2024.

Joe Campanale

(Author of Vino: The Essential Guide to Real Italian Wine, owner of Fausto, LaLou, and Bar Vinazo)

Each year I go to LaLou for the earliest possible reservation with my partner Ilyssa and our now 3-year-old son. The chef always puts on some fancy specials and it blows my mind to see my son eat things like caviar and truffles that I didn't try until I was in my twenties. We drink some Burgundy wine (a specialty of LaLou) and are hopefully in bed by 10 p.m.

Patty Dennison

(Head Bartender of Grand Army in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn)

I can almost guarantee that I will be working. New Year's Eve is one of those holiday's that some people love, and that just isn't me so I am more than happy to work it each year. I think I have worked the past three New Years? We usually do a little menu at Grand Army which is fun with lots of sparkles (yes, that is what I call sparkling wine) and this year also a lot of Rosaluna too.

New Year’s Eve is a funny holiday for me. My family was always still visiting my grandparents, and my mom would go to a party with them, my sister and dad were typically already back home, and I would just hang out alone. This sounds so sad, but it was honestly kinda nice. If I have any tradition it's just laying low and watching a movie alone, and then if I am feeling spicy watching the ball drop at midnight.

What am I eating and drinking? Fried chicken and Champagne, duh. I love some sparkles and any excuse to drink it. And black eyed peas on New Year's Day are a must. Have to eat all of them to get all that good luck in for the new year. As far as resolutions go, maybe one year I actually tried, but I think I'm at the point now where I realize maybe they aren't for me. I love the energy of them, but if I need to change some shenanigans the New Year probably isn't going to inspire me to get that shit done. Pop Pop!