Bartenders' Croquet Tournament

A sunny afternoon of costumed and gin-fueled leisure sporting

While you were closing deals at your desk all afternoon, more than a dozen of New York's (and Philly's and Boston's) most notable bartenders were genteelly duking it out on the croquet field in Victorian (or ‘20s or Kentucky Derby-ish) costumes while drinking light summertime gin cocktails in the sunshine. The scene was set at the Elevated Acre—a mysterious outdoor acre of freakishly lush fake grass, halfway up a building in the Financial District—on the occasion of the second-annual Bartenders' Croquet Tournament, hosted by Hendrick's gin.

There were straw hats and cigars, seersucker suits and bowties, teacups and elaborate dresses, fake beards and a pirate costume. It was great. Also, it did a particularly good job of highlighting just how much more fun bartenders' lives are than our own. —Edith Zimmerman, Metromix

Photos by Sam Horine

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