THE ULTIMATE TV AND MOVIE BAR CRAWL IN NYC

After a long day, one of our greatest modern comforts is watching your favorite shows while enjoying your favorite cocktail. drink. Seemingly its own character, alcohol has played a major role in a variety of TV shows and films. With St Patrick’s Day right around the corner, we’ve compiled the ultimate St Patrick’s Day bar crawl in New York for lovers of TV & Film.

Empire Hotel Bar

44 West 63rd Street

Featured in – “Gossip Girl”

What Drink to have- The signature Chuck Bass cocktail

Fun Facts-

• After fans swarmed the hotel, the bar at The Empire started serving Gossip Girl-themed cocktails, including an “XOXO” cocktail with secret ingredients that they’ll never tell.
• Westwick, who is British, modeled Chuck Bass’ American accent on the character Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• In the show, Chuck has a pet dog named Monkey. In the books, Chuck has an actual monkey for a pet.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

89 East 42nd Street

Featured in – “Mad Men”

Here is where Don Draper convinces his boss Roger to take part in a vodka and oyster binge just before Roger vomits on his incoming clients.

What Drink to have- A visit here wouldn’t be complete without a Martini

Fun Facts-

• Matthew Weiner dreamed up the idea for Mad Men while working as a writer on the Ted Danson sitcom Becker. He wrote the pilot in 1999.
• At least parts of Don Draper are based on a real person: Draper Daniels, the legendary Chicago ad man who, while creative head at Leo Burnett, invented the Marlboro Man. In 2009, Daniels’ wife even penned a piece for Chicago Magazine about the real-life Don Draper, noting that Weiner “acknowledged that he based his protagonist Don Draper in part on Draper Daniels, whom he called ‘one of the great copy guys.’
• Booze-swilling ad man Freddy Rumsen is played by Joel Murray, brother of Bill Murray.

Monkey Bar

60 East 54th Street

This is an old-fashioned, vintage bar that shows up in 3 shows.

Featured in – “Mad Men” “Gossip Girl” “Sex and the City”

What Drink to have- Park city old-fashioned

Fun Facts-

• The tutu Carrie wears during the opening sequence came from a bargain bin. It cost $5.
• Cynthia Nixon is naturally blonde. She dyed her hair ginger to play Miranda.
• Lots of the artwork in Aleksandr Petrovsky’s home actually belonged to the actor who played him, Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Madison Club Lounge

45 East 45th Street

Featured in – “Mad Men” 

This is where Don crashed after Betty kicked him out of the house

What Drink to have- “Dirty Mary” a modern twist on the Bloody Mary and the Dirty Martini.

Fun Facts-

• HBO passed on “Mad Men”.
• The writer’s room was dominated by women with 7 out of 9 writers on the show.
• The father of Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) is Richard Harris — the man who played the original Dumbledore.

McGee’s Pub aka MacLaren’s

240 West 55th Street

Featured in –“How I met your mother” 

Ted and the gang’s favorite bar in the show “How I met your mother”

What Drink to have- With specialty drinks like “The Naked Man” and “Slutty Pumpkin” you can’t go wrong.

Fun Facts- 

• After the show ended Josh Radnor kept the blue French horn, Neil Patrick Harris got the Playbook and the gang’s MacLaren’s booth, and the three yellow umbrellas now belong to director Pamela Fryman, as well as creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.
• Most of the websites featured in the show such as www.canadiansexacts.org and www.stinsonbreastreduction.com are real websites. www.lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com was created for charity and items from the show were auctioned off.
• The bar on the show is named after production assistant Carl MacLaren. The bar itself is based on the New York City bar McGee’s, where Bays and Thomas hung out during their time writing for Letterman.

Coyote Ugly Saloon

153 First Ave.

a classic dive bar/dirty saloon for cheap drinks and low-maintenance fun.

Featured in –“Coyote Ugly” 

This is where Piper Perabo gets her start in NYC, as a dancer/bartender at Coyote Ugly.

What Drink to have- With the Coyote Ugly Whisky & Anything combo you truly can’t go wrong.

Fun Facts-

• LeAnn Rimes did all of the vocals for Violet’s character.
• “Coyote ugly” wasn’t made up just for the movie, it’s an actual slang term (Google it…we’ll wait)
• “Coyote Ugly” is based on the same real person that Eat Pray Love is about.

Boiler Room

86 East 4th Street

An alternative, mellow lounge bar with cheap drinks

Featured in –“P.S. I Love You.”

Hilary Swank holds the funeral reception at the Boiler Room.

What Drink to have- For first timers the “Namie Taylor” is a great option.

Fun Facts-

• During the filming of a strip sequence, Gerard Butler’s suspenders hit Hilary Swank on the forehead. She received a cut and had to be taken to a hospital, where she received several stitches.
• The book is set entirely in Ireland, but in the movie, parts are filmed and take place in New York City.
• Lisa Kudrow’s character name is Denise and while she was in friends, in one of the episodes she talks about her roommate whose name is also Denise.

Turkey’s Nest 

Bedford Ave, Brooklyn

Featured in – Marvel’s “Daredevil” 

Josie’s Bar is actually this real-life Williamsburg watering hole, where you can drink 32-ounce servings of beer and frozen margaritas.

What Drink to have- After a long week of fighting the good fight a 32-ounce beer is a reward well deserved.

Fun Facts-

• Before Marvel came to Netflix it was going to be a movie reboot.
• The infamous hallway fight scene in season 1 of Daredevil was actually one take.
• Daredevil was a huge inspiration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic.

Irish Haven

5721 4th Ave, Brooklyn

Featured in –“The Departed” 

This is where Billy Costigan orders a cranberry juice. 

What Drink to have – Billy Costigan orders a cranberry juice here, but if you want something a little more on the adult drink side just add your spirit of choice!

Fun Facts –

• Twenty-two characters meet their fate over the course of The Departed, and in almost every instance, Scorsese had hidden the letter ‘X’ somewhere in the frame as a kind of foreshadowing.
• While filming “The Departed”, Nicholson demanded that all Celtics gear be banned from the set, as he is a huge Lakers fan. He also refused to wear a Boston Red Sox cap, explaining that “my Yanks, they came before the ­Lakers.”

The Campbell

15 Vanderbilt Ave

Featured in – “Gossip Girl” 

The elegant lounge where Serena van der Woodsen and Nate get intimate on the bar. A great place to enjoy old-fashioned cocktails in the swankiest of settings. 

What Drink to have- It wouldn’t be as scandalous without a GG Manhattan (Serena would be proud).

Fun Facts-

• Jan. 26 is officially “Gossip Girl Day” in New York, declared by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg who visited the set and praised how it showcased the city.
• Blake Lively was fitted for Serena’s wedding dress the day after her actual wedding to Ryan Reynolds.
• Gossip Girl was originally planned as a feature film with Lindsay Lohan to play Blair Waldorf.

7B Horseshoe Bar aka Vazacs

108 Avenue B.

Featured In –Marvel’s “Jessica Jones”  Known as the Luke Cage’s bar Also featured in “The Godfather II”

What Drink to have- If you’re a fan of “Jessica Jones” you can’t go wrong with a whiskey neat.

Fun Facts-

• In the “Godfather II,” the pre-revolutionary scenes were filmed in the Dominican Republic. Havana was substituted for Santo Domingo, the Islands capital and this is where Roth’s hotel is.
• ‘Jessica Jones’ Hired All Women Directors for Season 2
• Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Coppola, part of the famous Coppola film family he decided to change his name to Nicolas Cage drawing inspiration from one of his favorite comic book characters Luke Cage.