Royalton's Forty Four Bar to Open Oct. 1

After a delay of a couple weeks, in which bartenders were brought up to speed and menus were tinkered with, Forty Four, the reincarnation of the lobby bar at midtown Manhattan's Royalton Hotel, will open for business.

Expect to see one or more of the serious-looking, ice-kicking dudes (and dudette) to the right on hand this weekend. They make up The Cocktail Collective, the group that was put together in the wake of this year's Tales of the Cocktail to created Forty Four's menu. As reported earlier, they Richard Boccato from Dutch Kills in New York City (the man holding the block of ice); John Lermayer from the Florida Room in Miami Beach, and Woodward in Boston (shaker in hand); Simon Ford, a former London bartender, and now a global cocktail ambassador employed by Pernod Ricard USA (the man top right who looks like he just got off a cross-country flight, which he probably did); Willy Shine, one of the founders of Contemporary Cocktails, a prominent cocktail consultancy based in New York City (saw in hand, looking like a butcher); Misty Kalkofen, who tends bar at Drink in Boston (guess); and Eric Alperin, head bartender at the Varnish in Los Angeles (tall and vested).

That's one cool photo. Some sort of theme song, along the lines "The Magnificent Seven," should play whenever those guys enter the room.

The menu will feature classic drinks created at great hotels of the past, some served up classically, some with a modern twist.