MARTINIS
Pre-GAMING? Have you heard about it? What is it you want to know? Pre-Gaming, when it comes to cocktails, or the drinking of any alcoholic beverages, is when you are going out to a nightclub, or for drinks at a bar or cocktail lounge, but have one or two drinks at home before going out. Why? Well, mostly to save money. Especially these days, days of $20 plus cocktails. The act of pre-gaming serves as social, financial, and preparatory way to start off the evening. Pre-gaming is a major way to save money, as it's a lot cheaper to buy alcohol at a liquor store and make cocktails at home, as compared to drinking in a nightclub or cocktail lounge where drinks can cost $20 or more, plus with tax and tip, you're looking at a cocktails cost $30 or more by the time you pay for the drink and add the tax and tip. "It's insane."
Back in the 1980s when I was a young man in my 20s, I often pre-gamed. My apartment was on Avenue A in New York's East Village, and on nights offf, if my friends and I were going out to a club, we'd often pre-game at my house, having a drink or two before we left. At the time Stolychnya was a popular Russian Vodka, and my personal favorite in those years, so I always had a bottle of Stoli in my freezer. It's customary to keep Russian Vodka in the freezer, just in case you didn't' know, and my drink of choice was Stoli & Grapefruit. During those times drinks ranged from $5 to $7 a pop. It was much cheaper back then, but still, at the time, though not expensive, that was exactly cheap, so as today, with everything from groceries, gas, and cocktails at bars and cocktail lounges in New York City, we were looking to save money too. My friends would come over, we'd drink Stoli, then head on out, primed with one or two drinks at home.
Back in the 1980s East Village, wE had another way to pre-game before heading to one of our favorite nightclubs. We had lost of great inexpensive bars in my neighborhood, where you could get a cheap beer or cocktail. My favorite was the Holiday Ounge on St Marks Place, where I could get my favorite drink - Stoli & Grapefruit for only $2.It was a cool little bar run by one of the local Ukrainians "Stephan," who I always loved seeing behind the bar, and ordering my drink from. Yes, it would cost me just $3, paying $2 for the drink, and leaving Stephan a $1 tip, so it was almost as cheap as (very cheap anyway) to pre-game at a local bar, as it was to drink at home, so we'd pre-game at the Holiday Lounge, have a one drink there, then head to Nell's, Area, The Paladium, or whichever club we were going to that night. Yes things were much cheaper back then. You could go to a diner, and get a whole breakfast of 2 Eggs, with potatoes, toast, and coffee for just $2.99, which would cost you a little more than $4 zithtax and tip. Today, that same breakfast cost you $20 plus. That's why I never go out for breakfast anymore. I eat breakfast at home.
Besides saving money, which often is the main reason for pre-gaming (pre-drinking), saving money is not the only reason to do pre-game drinking at home. Having pre-game cocktails at home allows people to gather in a more intimate quieter setting to converse, listen to your own chosen music, and bond before going to a completely different World inside a New York City nightclub.
Yes, I was listening, as usual to 1010 New Radio at home in Greenwich Village, as I always do. 1010 Wins New Radio "Give Us 1o Minutes & we'll Give You the World," is there slogan, and I'm a fan. Besides getting all the Big World News Stories, and the biggest news stories of New York City, they always give you all sorts of interesting other stories and info, that you wouldn't get on network news. I find out so many things from 1010 news radio, I just love it. They give you little tidbits and if I need more info, I just jump on my phone and Google for more info. And so, I heard that Pre-Gaming Drinks at Home has now become a big thing, do to the "High Cost" of cocktails in New York City, bars, cocktail lounges, clubs, and restaurants. It's just too much, and people have a choice. They "Pre-Game." Something I've been doing in New York, since 1983. Yes, I'm usually ahead of the curve. On many things. I started drinking Negroni's way back in the Summer of 1985, a good 30 plus years before most Americans discovered the famous Italian cocktail, and it became all the rage in New York and all over America. But I knew about them 33 years before they became the rage. Same thing with Cubano Sandwiches, and the Aperol Spritz, I discovered them many years before the rest of America finally caught up. Brag? No, just facts. I'm usually ahead of the curve. Anyway?
So, as I've said, a cheap Dive Bar is a good Pre-Game option to pregaming at home. There are a few Dive Bars in New York where you can still get a beer for only $4. So with a dollar tip, you can have a Beer for just $5. Dive Bars are my favorite places to drink in New York, because it's all about the company, the people you are with. I can go to my favorite dive bar, hang with my friend (friends) and have 3 beers, and get out for $20 or less, which is less than one drink at some "Over Priced" Cocktail Joint.
MY FAVORITE NEW YORK CITY DIVE BARS
MILANO'S ... East Houston Street, New York NY (Noho)
7B - aka The HORSESHOE BAR ... Avenue B at East 7th Street, NY NY
BLUE & GOD BAR - 79 East 7th Street, Eat Village, NYC
You can get a Beer for just $4 (as of 2026) at all the Above Dive Bars.
"Thank God" !
by Daniel Bellino Zwicke - NYC
WHY PEOPLE PREGAME
- Financial constraints: High costs of bar tabs and alcohol in licensed venues.
- Socializing: A more intimate opportunity to catch up with friends compared to loud venues.
- Camaraderie: Building solidarity and confidence among the group before entering a high-energy environment.
A NEGRONI COCKTAIL
HOW to MAKE a NEGRONI
Ingredients :
CAMPARI
GIN
SWEET VERMOUTH
ICE
Fresh ORANGE Slices
Fill a Rock Glass with Ice. Add equal parts of Campari, Gin, & Sweet Vermouth. Garnish with a slice of Orange.
Serve.
Note : Most people probably don't have Rock Glasses. You can make the drink using a wine glass instead.
An APEROL SPRITZ
HOW to MAKE an "APEROL SPRITZ"
INGREDIENTS :
APEROL
PROSECCO
CLUB SODA
ICE
ORANGE Slices
1 & 1/2 ounces Aperol
3 & 1/2 ounces Prosecco
1 ounce Club Soda
Ice
Orange Slice
Fill a wine glass with Ice. Add the Aperol, then the Prosecco, and top with the club soda. Stir, and add a fresh Orange slice.
Serve and Enjoy.
ALSO -
The 3-2-1 RULE for making an APEROL SPRITZ
To make a classic Aperol Spritz, use the 3-2-1 rule: combine 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, and 1 part soda water in a wine glass filled with ice. Garnish with a fresh orange slice for a refreshing, bittersweet, and bubbly cocktail
CLASSIC COKTAILS
FRANK SINATRA
SINATRA SAUCE
The COOKBOOK
COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK
"COCKTAILS TOO"
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