Reception Drink Reviews

Reception Drink Reviews.
A committed lecture attendee and seasoned drinker reviews the weekly drink choice at YSOA’s lecture reception.

FIXING ERRORS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN
09/19/2024

After an hour of Francesca Hughes enumerating the many circular intersections of architecture and computation with highly precise, technical, and very British vocabulary, there was a tangible relief when Deborah turned to the language we all understand: alcohol. “Error Message,” a reinterpretation of the Negroni Sbagliato - made famous a few years back by a few other Brits - let us clear our heads after the lecture, and while it didn’t erase the imprecision and error present in the architecture school, it did allow a few more people to try their hand at impersonation, misquoting and remembering the viral video of two years ago. A now-familiar, always classic drink, the “Error Message” was certainly an easy crowd pleaser, and with an afters triumph for the Gryphons camp, cheap drinks kept the night going late. After waking up and experiencing the full meaning behind the drink’s name, I give this week’s drink 3 stars.

DEAN BERKE, TEAR DOWN THAT FENCE
09/26/2024

To celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the Dwight Neighborhood Plan and by extension the Urban Design Workshop as a whole, this week’s drink and accompanying lecture emphasized re-establishing community relationships, student governance, and town-gown relationships. Keystoned by Deborah’s modeling of the iconic Yale Fence Footballers portraits, the explanation of the drink also included a call-out of the absent mixologist, Andrew Benner, who mysteriously reappeared later at reception (how does one even get to reception if they haven’t attended lecture?). The “Yale Fence”, a lost old-school cocktail from the early 1900’s, is reinterpreted here as the hopeful but naive “Good Neighbor” cocktail - replacing apple brandy with local CT apple cider and using Bulldog gin to represent bridging the town and the gown. While folks were excited for an autumnal flavor profile, by subbing fresh cider for its bottled counterpart the flavor was overwhelmed with the bitters and gin combination - resulting in a very liquor-forward experience. Overall, the drink and its name reflect a sentiment felt but rarely acted upon at YSOA, that of appreciating New Haven outside of the university - a 5 star feeling with a 1 star follow-through.