When we we first went to Back Forty, Avenue B was uncharted territory for us. Now it feels like many of our favorite restaurants are in Alphabet City, and dinner on the patio at Back Forty during the summer was a regular occurance. We were craving burgers for dinner last week and so, naturally, Back Forty came to mind. We thought we’d first get drinks at the bar, then go to the table, but we had such a nice time up there that we ended up just eating at the bar: first pork jowels with pepper jelly, then mushroom and egg flatbread with crispy pancetta, followed by burgers, and finally, donuts. But what started the fun were the two amazing drinks we began with, The Back Forty, and the Losaida Sling. The latter is made with Cachaça, ginger beer, and chipotle, and Ashley always thinks it is her favorite until she tries mine, a combination of George Dickel Whisky, maple syrup, and lemon and lime juice—essentially a whiskey sour brought to absolute perfection.

We chatted with the bartender about the various merits of American Rye vs bourbon—after which I couldn’t help but have a taste test. I compared George Dickel bourbon to Buffalo Trace Sazerac (the whiskey, not the cocktail). It was hard to tell which one I liked more, I just kept sipping one after the other and before you knew it they were both gone. If pressed, I might choose the Sazerac for its slightly more complex flavors. I admired the numerous other smokey-red bottles, gently back-lit behind the bar, but I knew they would have to wait for another time.