Connoisseur: Steven Grasse
Steven Grasse. Photography by Courtney Apple.
The founder of ad agency Quaker City Mercantile has long been involved in Philly’s booming spirits scene, but now he’s adding a twist by partnering with Kensington’s New Liberty Distillery on new liquors and turning his Old City boutique, Art in the Age, into a booze-and-barware-only spot.
At Home
Photography by Courtney Apple.
On my desk: “Many old, arcane history books, from which I pull ideas for new brands.”
Hours I sleep: “I religiously go to bed at 9 p.m. and get up at 4:30 a.m. — even on weekends.”
On my nightstand: Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Currently binge-watching: Taboo on FX, starring Tom Hardy.
Prized possession: “Furniture and quilts that my mother and father, both artisans, made for me.”
DIY cocktail: The Double Dutch Quaker City Wide. “It’s a shot of New Liberty Distillery’s Pennsylvania Dutch Malt Whiskey and a can of our new Quaker City Malt Old Dutch Hard Birch Beer.”
Favorite Things
Collection: Antiques from the Federal period.
Must-have accessory: Fitbit. “I must walk at least 16,000 steps a day or I get really grumpy.”
Musician: “David Bowie and everything in his orbit.”
Photo by Courtney Apple. Morimoto via Starr Restaurant Organization.
Bar essentials: “I use tools from Art in the Age. We teamed up with Jinxed and receive vintage barware from them on a weekly basis that we sell at the store.”
Entertainment: Any movie at the Ritz.
Go-to restaurant: Morimoto in Washington Square West. “Stephen Starr should really issue frequent-buyer cards, because my family spends way too much money at his restaurants.”
On His Calendar
Last trip: “We go on a big family adventure every year. This year, it was Thailand.”
Field trip: Old City’s new Museum of the American Revolution.
Photo by Courtney Apple Bhutan via iStockphoto.
Working on: “The follow-up to my history and cocktail book, Colonial Spirits.”
Next trip: Bhutan. “While I’m there, I want to drink tongba, which is a fermented millet drink. I used to drink it when I lived in Kathmandu.”
Summer getaway: “Our farm in New Hampshire.”
Photography by Courtney Apple.
Recent release: “We just launched two new spirits, Blue Lion Chicorée Liqueur and Von Humboldt’s Natur Wasser Turmeric Cordial.”
