Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
Icing up: The Sagamore and Dunham’s Bay, Adk. Brewery and Cirelli’s
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Ice is cool again. And ice bars are hot.
The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, Dunham’s Bay Resort overlooking Lake George, Cirelli’s Osteria in South Glens Falls, and now the Adirondack Pub and Brewery in Lake George Village: This year all four will offer outdoor bars carved from massive blocks of ice.
Typically each has themed hot and cold drinks, outdoor fire pits, and a built-in party atmosphere.
Why do it? “Last year those were the three busiest days we had all winter,” says Osteria owner Michael Cirelli. “It was unbelievable.”
It started here three years ago with the Sagamore Resort.
Sagamore director of sales Lori Rehm says this year’s third annual Glacier Ice Bar will be three times the size of last year: “It needs to be that big to serve everyone.”
This year’s attraction — Fridays to Sundays, Jan. 22 to 31, will be carved from 18,000 pounds of ice, they promote.
“We have a lot more people coming every year,” Ms. Rehm said. “It was so many last year, it was crazy.”
She said more people are taking rooms at the Sagamore during the two Ice Bar weekends, too.
“We’ve had to bring in extra staff,” she said. “Everyone pitches in — sales staff who would normally be laid off during the winter will come in to work the attraction.”
She said the Sagamore will have more interactive ice sculptures this year as well — ice tables, seating and photo-op carvings. They’ll move the fire pit and s’mores station down a level on the grounds to encourage people to “mill around,” she said, in a bigger space between the lake and the hotel’s back lobby entrance.
The theme is “Fire and Ice,” with indoor offerings in the Caldwell Lounge as well.
Cirelli’s in SGF opens tonight
Cirelli’s Osteria in South Glens Falls opens its ice bar tonight, Thursday, Jan. 21, through Saturday, Jan. 23, 4 to 9 p.m.
This year, they’ll have more interactive ice sculptures and carved ice lounge seating, owner Mike Cirelli says. Sponsor Heaven Hill Distillery will offer samples of its Cold Spell mint whiskey.
Adk. Brewery goes ‘funky’
The newest ice bar entry is the Adirondack Pub and Brewery in Lake George Village. “We put our own spin on it,” general manager James McReynolds said.
“We have a lot of success with our Festival of Barrels, which is the following weekend (January 30),” Mr. McReynolds says. “There’s not enough going on in Lake George in January. We’re doing things like this so eventually, there’s no off-season in lake George. There’s just summer, and winter. Lake George could get to be known as the place to see ice bars. We’ll be the starters.”
He said, “The Sagamore is doing just an amazing job with its Fire and Ice in Bolton. We said, let’s give it a shot in Lake George. We don’t want to take the glory from the Sagamore. Our event is a little more funky, because we’re a little funkier. It fits our vibe better.”
They plan a playable “ice piano,” an electronic keyboard embedded in an ice sculpture. There will be a DJ spinning vinyl records (bring yours to share, they say), a five-foot disco ball and themed cocktails featuring their own beers, local spirits from Spring Brook Hollow and Lake George Distilleries, and wines from Adirondack Winery.
“We’ll have Old Fashioneds, for example, where the flavoring is in the ice cubes, playing with the ice theme.”
Artist Kirk Sheloski is sculpting two six-foot ice bars and other attractions.
Dunham’s Bay, in February
Dunham’s Bay plans its ice bar on President’s weekend, Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 18 to 20.
The ice bar will be larger than last year, general manager Matthew Taormino said.
“It went well for us last year.”
Charles “The Ice Man” Jones builds the ice bar for Dunham’s Bay and Cirelli’s, as well as others around the Capital Region.
“Chef Charles is so great at what he does,” Mr. Taormino said. “It’s great to showcase him with this backdrop.”
Mr. Taormino adds, “It’s an elegant setting, here. It doesn’t make us a ton of money. It’s just something nice to do, to be different and make something happen in the winter. I like doing events like that for the community.”
Our Cathy at the ice bars last year
Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: Purely in the interest of research, and at the risk of freezing her ears and fingers off, your Chronicle reporter checked out all three ice bars in our region last year. (This year there are four.)
On tap: Drinks with hot chocolate, coffee or warm cider; others featuring frozen pears, maple bourbon or toasted marshmallows; citrus-infused lemon-vodka shots; peppermint and whipped cream cocktails; ice-cold beer.
Each venue has its own flair.
The Sagamore goes upscale, no surprise. Fur coats and outlandish lumberjack hats or pom-pommed creations were the “it” thing, though thick down coats and ski sweaters had their places too.
The Sagamore drew a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. It was the “in” place to be, all the buzz. The crowd seemed equally divided between locals from Lake George-Glens Falls and visitors from the Capital Region drawn by the lure of drinks in extreme cold with a view to Dome Island.
Cirelli’s Osteria in South Glens Falls had a party-and-a-fire backyard vibe on its stone patio, with live music inside and offerings such as lemon-vodka shots served in glasses carved from ice.
Dunham’s Bay Resort’s own chill-fest overlooks Lake George, too, though the crowd was more subdued. The twilight view of ice fishermen cold at work got strangers swapping stories around the fire pit about their own on-ice outdoor adventures, past and recent.
One thing is — everybody smiles, even if it’s through teeth gritted against the cold.
We’re in it for the sheer madness of the experience, was the feel. Let’s be crazy, share a s’mores stick, freeze our hands off holding onto that fast-cooling hot chocolate laced with Bailey’s (or not).
It’s an instant talking point, and people were as connected, one party to another, as I’ve seen in any social setting between strangers out on the town.
2016 Ice bar stats
Here are details for the four ice bars in our region. Let us know if there are others!
- Cirelli’s Osteria, South Glens Falls: Thursday to Saturday, Jan. 21 to 23. 4 to 9 p.m. Info: 636-5090 or at cirellisosteria.com.
- Sagamore Resort, Bolton Landing: Fridays to Sundays, Jan. 22-24 and Jan. 29-31. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Friday, Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Info: 644-9400 or www.thesagamore.com.
- Adirondack Pub and Brewery, Lake George Village: Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 22 and 23, 4-9 p.m. Pub open noon to 10 p.m. daily. Info: 668-0002 or www.adkbrewery.com.
- Dunham’s Bay Resort on Lake George: Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 18 to 20, 4 to 8 p.m. The View restaurant open for dining. Info: 656-9242 or at dunhamsbay.com.
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