When Lucky Bee general manager James Wright graduated college with a degree in art during the height of the recession, he quickly found himself exploring possibilities within the hospitality world. “I got a job as a busser and barback at a bar in Park Slope, and I stayed just long enough to feel like I could fake my way into a bartending gig,” he says. His persuasion paid off, and soon enough he found his first behind the bar role at a gluten free Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side. “From there I continued to hustle my way though some of the city’s best cocktail bars, until one day I actually had all of the experience I was claiming to have all along,” he notes. He’s found currently at Lucky Bee, the Southeast Asian 'farm-to-table’ concept that touched down on the Lower East Side earlier this year. Here, Wright shares his go-to tropical fruit of the moment, where he’s kicking it on an off day, and why honey is garnering such a buzz lately.
BoozeMenus: How would you describe your approach behind the bar?
James Wright: I have always believed simpler is better. Clean, elegantly crafted cocktails that highlight fresh, high quality ingredients are what I look for. When creating a drink I will always try to eliminate as many ingredients as possible while still achieving the desired flavor profile.
BM: What is your favorite time of a shift?
JW: I like that moment when it first becomes really busy. On any given night people generally trickle in and fill up the tables gradually and then the bar fills up. Then there is this moment where what seemed like a pretty mellow night is now three deep at the bar. The music is pumping, the bar is jamming out drinks, and people are starting to vibe.
BM: What’s an ingredient, tool, or technique that you’ve been loving lately?
JW: We make a cocktail served in a whole fresh, young coconut shell using the fresh water from the coconuts. I put coconut water in everything now. The fresh stuff right out of the coconut is totally different than the stuff in the cardboard. It’s amazing.
BM: Can you tell us a bit about the Karma Cocktails - what inspired them?
JW: The Karma Cocktails are drinks made using locally made honey. One Dollar from each cocktail sold is donated to the New York Bee Keepers Association. They were conceived out of a desire to contribute to the neighborhood and community in a way that was a lot more meaningful than just food and beverage. Supporting local farmers and small businesses is a part of the restaurant concept, and we wanted to extend that to every aspect of our business.
BM: Why should more people be paying attention to honey right now?
JW: Honey and honey bees play such a huge role in agricultural ecosystems. These under-appreciated workers pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops, which constitute one third of everything we eat. The commitment to honey and honey bees falls in line with our commitment to supporting farmers and local agriculture.
BM: Which of the cocktails on the menu has been your favorite to create so far?
JW: The “Honey Bee My Baby” is one of my favorites. It’s made with matcha, fresh melon juice, chai infused local honey, and bee pollen with vodka. I like it because with all of the high quality ingredients we use, I can almost convince myself it’s actually good for me.
BM: What’s your favorite NYC neighborhood to spend a day in, and what are you doing?
JW: Chinatown, and I’m eating dim sum and drinking tea at Nom Wah Tea Parlor.
BM: What’s the last recipe you learned, and what compelled you to learn it?
JW: I just spent six months in Maui opening Oceanside restaurant with Chef Gary King. In Hawaii you have to have a Mai Thai on the menu, so I spent countless hours trying every variation of Mai Thais I could find to eventually come up with our house recipe.
BM: What’s the last cocktail you ordered when you were out? Where were you?
JW: I had a boilermaker at the Cobra Club on Sunday. For the uninitiated, the boilermaker is the original classic cocktail — a shot of whiskey followed by a beer. The Cobra Club is exactly the type of place where you would want to consume quite a few of them.
By Nicole Schnitzler
(Photos from left: Interior; James Wright courtesy of James Wright, photo by Jeffrey Kilmer; Cocktail)
