The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-04-10
NEW YORK'SBIG DRINK BILL
Some Well.Known Bars Whose Daily
Receipts Average from $500 to $500.
Wines that Sell from Ten 10 Twenty Dollars
o BOttle-Chsrscteristics of the Drink
Traffic in Several Prominent Hotels

NEW YORK, April Eve carry q stock
of wines and liquors in the cellars of this
hotel alone Of from $1,000 to $50, 600. Our
daily bar receipts average about $500 per
day."
Thus spoke Mr.. Bernor. head man of the
wine cellars of the Hoffman House.
A little further inquiry among some OF
the leading hotels of New York gives some
insight into the daily consumption OF wines
and liquors. The figures. making due allow
ance for overstatements, arc astonishing
The simple statement of the daily average Of
a single bar is in itself surprisingito most
people-a quarter of q million dollars q
year. When we add the daily average of
vino consumption at the same hOtel-S500 o
day-it opens up a liquid vista of New
York life that can scarcely be filled out by
the most VIVID imagination. The amount
of stock carried In the Hoffman House cell
lars seems unnecessarily great until the
consumption Is duly considered. This
stock fuotuates between $4,000 and $780,
600. in round numbers. Besides this, the
wine cellars of the two down. town HOtf-
man cafes usually carry each from $4,000
to $40, 600 in stock.
There is not so much wine drunk over
the bar nowadays" continued Mr.. Bernor.
and considerably more Is consumed in the
cafe restaurant and dining. rooms and at
private dinner parties. Like all the lead
our clarets. white wines, brandies, etc. The
principal demand Is for good clarets. next
Burgundies. then Rhine wines. and, fourth.
champaRnes. The highest priced and best
all the way from 81 to $40 bottle. We
have several customers who habitually
drink ten and twelve dollar wines.
They are the exceptions, 1t is true.
but there are plenty of men
can afford to drink beer. The prlce of still
wines depends large upon the age. No
claret should be drunk before 1t ia four
years old, though usually put ont at two.
AS o general rule. not to be too exact.
in value about as fast as money at CON-
pound interest. We classify them. Clsret
worth 50 per bottle this year L. ad-
yanced In price next year. and, in
ten years, the same wine Is worth more
than double that per bottle. Yes. con-
siderable champagne is consumed-always
will Debut wine experts connoisseurs.
will almost invariably prefer good still
wines. We sell more sherry now than we
used to sell, and the demand for q good
sherry may be said to have increased. /
don't know, however. but that some other
wines keep relatively ahead of it. The en-
tire wine consumption has grown, SO far as
the better and more expensive wines are
nothing is too good for them. An effort
has been made to push native wines. but
they don't go with our custom. They may
60 elsevhere-Im only making this state
mont on our own trade"
DRINKS AT THE FIFTH AVENUE.
Across the way is the Fifth avenue II otel.
marble palace. with q wine-cellar cover
ing almost half the area on which it stands
This hotel is of q radiealIy different type
from the Hoffman, and is patronlzed by An
entirely different class of people. The
Hoffman stands quite alone in the charac-
ter of Its ciientship. being the rendezvous
of the higher class of sporting men. of reck-
less swella. of the Democratic political
leaders and of the rich bourgeois-s motley
collection. The Fifth-avenue is the only
purely American hotel of Importance in
New York; is the resort of both State and
national Republican leaders. and is also
the home of the retired merchant and
highly respectable quiet gentlemen of vari-
Gus business pursuits. This explanation Is
necessary to give due meaning to the char
aoter of its wine-cellsr and bar. They
usually carry about $4,000 in wines and
liquors. The consumption of wines 10 prob
ably lower than that OF the smaller but
swell European houses, and would not av-
erage more than $3.50 per day. and the bar
not moro than $3.50. On stirring political
occasions however. the latter runs up to
o phenomenal figure. and has taken in az
largely on its own account, like the rest,
and gets five hundred cases of wine In q
single consignment. Most of the wine con-
sumed on great occasions Is champagne.
fer the American style of table d'hOte. and
o straight price per day. and this is not con-
ducive to wine-drlnking. Men do not crowd
it's fine bar-room at night to drink and
smoke as they do the art gallery across
the way, and other European hotels, and
small wine parties or outside diners prefer
other places for similar reasons of con-
genIality.
TEN DOLLARS BOTTLE.
From the old to the new leads us to the
Hotel Imperial. q small. clean, quiet aris-
tocratic looking place. with its onyx bar
room almost deserted by day. and its luxu-
rious and sombre leather-lined smoking
room fairly alive at night. Yet over this
bar is taken an average. am told. of $500
q day, and the wine consumption of cafe
and restaurant is from S4oO to $500 per day.
In the cellar Is from S4OO to $50 600 worth
of stock. The restaurant is about the most
expensive one in New York, and a few dol
lars more or less for wines is of no conse.
Press Club dined recently, and drank
wine costing $40 bottle. There
were ten different kinds of glasses at
each plate, In which the ten different kinds
of wine were served. and one of the wines
cost SO bottle.
"Our custom demands good deal of fine
Rhine wines and sherries" said Mr.. Palmer.
the man in charge of that department.. The
price is not so much of an object among peo-
pie of fine tastes as the quality and the
service. If any mistake is made in the
service it invariably spoils the effect of the
best wine. if the error is not such as to
inure the wine itself. Wine must be
coddled and humored just like baby.
One kind must be served ice cold. another
just chilled, another milk warm. Served
just right the effect upon c0Dnoisseur JIG
to grapple him to you with hooks of steel
ever afterwards. A few mon and women
serve to fix reputation for q honse-do
Won ever think of that They can make i,
| or unmake 1t. The good opinion of expert
wine-driukers 10 worth no end of effort in
| New York. where SO much wine is con-
dinner parties and o long list of friend:
and personal admirers in their train. A
| trifiDg mistake or bit of carelesenes!
may cost a house thousands of dollars.
| I'VE probably sell more champagne. from
sle kind Of wine. good many S ladies' ' com,
here with the swells. you know, and ladie
always prefer champagne. No. don't know
why. We have ciarets at So per bottle
| .Rothschild'- and sherry at S10-'PalmI
FiDa.' With the connOisseur champagne Il
wholly q side issue We import our owl
still wines. Yes. there's pile of none,
spent for wines. and the number of gOo'
judges are greatly multiplied from year 4
| year. There are customers of ours VIII
cannot only tell the brand. but tn