Skip to main content

Help Change the World by Drinking: Nonprofit Pop-Up Bar Coup Opens in NYC

coup bar
Image used with permission by copyright holder
For many, it’s been a turbulent time since the US presidential elections in November. For even more people, turbulent doesn’t even begin to describe what it has been like. As certain people have come into power, social, economic, environmental, and human rights organizations have been severely undermined. Funding has been cut or dissolved and voices that previously were able to speak on issues have been silenced. This was too much for Ravi DeRossi, Sother Teague, and Max Green, the founders of Coup, a new bar in New York City that will donate 100-percent of its profits to charities impacted by the current administration.

“The idea behind a [namesake] coup is that the people create change with their own hands by coming together to accomplish one community goal and that is what we hope to do here. To put the ability to affect change right at our guests’ fingertips,” DeRossi said.

The community involved in Coup will not only be the owners and patrons, but a series of guest bartenders who will be donating their time and creativity to the bar’s efforts. On the list already are the likes of Alton Brown (on practically everything on Food Network), Dave Wondrich (cocktail historian), Jim Meehan (PDT), Dave Kaplan and Alex Day (Death & Co., Walker Inn), Ivy Mix (Leyanda, Speed Rack), and Erick Castro (Polite Provisions).

Guest bartenders will contributes one to three cocktails on their given nights in addition to the ten classic cocktails that will comprise the bulk of the menu. Currently on the list are the Martini, the Eastside, the Dark & Stormy, and others. Cocktails are $20 (and beer and wine range from $15 to $20), but the price includes tax and gratuity, as well as the opportunity to donate to a charity.

Once a drink is purchased, guests will be given a wooden token. They will then be able to put these tokens in any of the vases located around the bar, each of which will be marked with the name of a charity. There will be six rotating charities patrons can choose from and on nights that there are guest bartenders, the guest bartender can choose to donate to the six organizations Coup has chosen or an organization of their own choosing. The opening weekend and week charities are planned parenthood, ACLU, ASPCA, HRC, NRDC, and Human Rights Watch, but will change weekly after that.

“We’ve created is a cocktail bar that encourages discussion, love, respect, acceptance, and above all, creates a community where we turn our angst and despair into something beautiful and positive,” DeRossi said.

Located at 64 Cooper Square (the site of DeRossi’s former seafood restaurant Bergen Hill), Coup opened on April 14 and capacity is 80 people. Reservations are not currently being taken, as the owners’ hope is to encourage mixing and mingling among patrons.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Forget wine — Beer and cheese is an unbeatable combination
Put the corkscrew away and crack open a cold one
Beer and cheese

When one hears the term cheese pairings, wine is the beverage that most often comes to mind, we'd wager. Because, of course, it is. The pairing of wine and cheese is as classic a coupling as peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, or chocolate and strawberries. They're meant to be together. But that certainly doesn't mean that wine is the only adult beverage that can dance an alluring tango alongside everyone's favorite dairy product. Beer, as humble as its reputation can be, is also a beautiful balance to cheese's immense offering of flavors. While some may think of beer as not being as multi-dimensional and varied in its palate-pleasing capabilities as wine, this is not the case - especially now that we live in a world with so many exquisite craft beers, stouts, and lagers.
Of course, another classic accompaniment to cheese is bread or crackers. Why might that be, one might ask. Is it because we're simply in need of a starchy vessel to usher the cheese into our mouths? The answer is actually a bit deeper than that. Starches like bread and crackers are made from the same yeasty ingredients as beer, so their pairing makes perfect culinary sense.
This isn't to say, though, that one can simply pick up a hunk of cheddar and crack open a Budweiser and expect culinary artistry. The science is a bit more nuanced than that, so we're here to help you find the best pairings for your favorite beers and cheeses.

How to pair beer and cheese

Read more
Mijenta has a new cristalino tequila — here’s why bourbon fans will love it
Mijenta has a cristalino tequila perfect for bourbon drinkers
Mijenta Cristalino

If you’re new to tequila, you might not know all the terms. Even if you’re just a beginner, you probably know all about blanco, reposado, añejo, and maybe even joven. But chances are, you’re not familiar with Cristalino tequila. This reasonably contemporary style is simply añejo tequila that’s been charcoal filtered to remove its natural caramel color and various impurities.

The style is more than just a little popular. It’s actually the fastest growing style of tequila according to Nielsen data. The newest brand to get in on the Cristalino trend is Mijenta.

Read more
You may not dislike IPAs as much as you think — you’ve just tried the wrong type
There's much more to the IPA than bitter hop bombs
Beer

The IPA has been described as the cilantro of the beer world. It’s assumed by some novice drinkers that you either love it or hate it. On one hand, it’s one of the most popular beer styles in the American craft world. It’s loved by many drinkers for its liberal use of hops and fresh, crushable flavor profile.

But haters of the style dislike it because they have an assumption that all IPA beers are aggressively hopped and uncomfortably bitter. While there are IPAs that fit that criterion (and fans of that style can’t get enough of them), there are also a handful of other types of IPAs to fit any palate.
The IPA stigma

Read more