Five decades ago, Governor Carl Sanders famously said, "The University of Georgia School of Law is . . . to be one of such excellence that no citizen of Georgia need ever leave his state because a superior legal education is available elsewhere."

While Governor Sanders’s vision for the University has been fulfilled, by the law school and by many of the institution’s other schools and colleges, a number of citizens of Georgia nevertheless have chosen to leave the state for reasons other than educational excellence, and more than a few of them have chosen to move from one Empire State to the other.

According to the New York City Chapter of the University of Georgia Alumni Association (better known as the "NYC DAWGS"), in fact, over 6,000 graduates who attained their degrees in the Classic City live in the immediate vicinity of the Big Apple. There would appear to be a problem, though: Where are all these folks supposed to watch a football game when they live more than 800 miles from Sanford Stadium?

As difficult as it may be to believe, this is not an issue, as New York City offers what is arguably the best and most energetic venue outside the state of Georgia, and perhaps even outside of Athens itself, in which to watch the Bulldogs play. Northeastern native and New York bar owner Kevin Hooshangi makes such a strong statement when he states, "This is the best experience to watch a University of Georgia football game outside of Sanford Stadium. I don't care, I'll go against bars in Athens, I'll go against bars in Atlanta, and this is the best. Between the heart we put into it, how precise we are in creating this atmosphere, how much we care, and how much we invest in these game watches every year, this is the best place to come to watch a Georgia game."

The two-story tribute to Southern culture that is able to make, and back up, Kevin’s bold claim is a bar called (with elegant simplicity) American Whiskey, located at 247 West 30th Street in the heart of Midtown New York. Because the bar is next to Penn Station and the PATH Line, American Whiskey is easily and quickly accessible for Bulldog fans from Long Island and New Jersey.

The American Whiskey story starts in Downtown Manhattan, at an establishment called the Village Pourhouse. The Pourhouse was then owned by Kevin, who hired a University of Georgia graduate, Robbie York, to manage that bar. Thanks to Kevin’s and Robbie’s efforts, the Pourhouse became the home to the Georgia faithful in New York, but Bulldog fans initially had to share the premises with Auburn boosters (and, later, with Virginia Tech supporters) on autumn Saturdays.

This swiftly became a problem, and not just because it’s a bad idea to put Auburn fans and Georgia fans in proximity to alcohol, football, and one another simultaneously. Although three fan bases converged on the Village Pourhouse on game days, more than half of the fans present were representatives of Bulldog Nation. The Red and Black faithful were spilling out into the bar’s hallways and adjoining rooms, ultimately leading the Georgia fans to open negotiations with the Pourhouse about securing priority of placement for the Bulldog backers.

Although the Pourhouse balked at this suggestion, all was not lost. At about that same time, Kevin and Robbie left that establishment to open American Whiskey, and they reached out to Matt Schiavone, who was then the president of the NYC DAWGS. Their promise was a straightforward one: If Big Apple Bulldog backers would cut ties with the Village Pourhouse, the bar Kevin and Robbie were building would become the exclusive year-round home of Georgia fans in New York. That promise was kept, and it has become a win-win situation for all concerned.

"We had to say, ‘If you have faith in us, we will deliver’," Robbie explains, "and that's a two-way street, a sign of good faith on both parts, and we knew if we provided the authentic experience to the Georgia fans we would get the crowds that we have. I am a die-hard Georgia man, I live and die with the ‘Dawgs, so the authenticity of the party and bringing Athens to New York, and for us to have been able to deliver on this, has been the most gratifying experience since we have been open." Kevin concurs, calling Georgia fans "the most important client of the year" and "the people that are intrinsically part of our brand." Once "the Rangers and Knicks are eliminated from the playoffs at MSG in the spring," Kevin says, "everything we do is geared towards that first Georgia Saturday in the fall and the Saturdays thereafter."

Toward that end, American Whiskey is hospitable to incoming Southerners, from the interior designed to look like a rustic bar from our native region to the downstairs men’s room sign that reads "Dawgs" during football season. In addition to boasting a menu that includes French-infused Southern American delicacies and modern twists on standard pub fare, the bar (as its name implies) serves only American whiskeys. Thanks to bartenders who go up against their peers in mixing competitions, American Whiskey is the place to go for whiskey in Midtown, period. With a selection of over 200 whiskeys, the beverage options are plentiful any time you might choose to visit.

As Robbie points out, the bar "isn’t just Georgia’s home during the football season, but 365 days a year", yet the best time for a Georgia fan to drop by American Whiskey is during the fall, which is as eagerly anticipated on West 30th Street as it is on Broad Street. Kevin says that, at American Whiskey, as at Dawg Sports, "‘Is it football season yet?’ is the running joke on the staff until the kickoff on that first Georgia Saturday." The quality of the game day atmosphere is, in fact, a Bulldog point of pride, as Robbie explains: "Honestly, when we started American Whiskey, Georgia alumni in the city wanted their own bar that could compete with the Alabama bar. And this coincides with the competition between the east and the west in the SEC."

At New York’s "Georgia first" citadel, game day begins at 11:00 a.m. sharp, Athens standard time, when the bartenders (all clad in Red and Black apparel) welcome the early crowd with bloody Marys, coffee, and mimosas. (Arriving early is a good idea, as American Whiskey often hosts a capacity crowd on fall Saturdays, with two levels of Georgia fans filling the available space to cheer on the ‘Dawgs.) The game day menus feature Georgia- and Southern-themed promotional items, and Kevin promises "very deep discounts during the Georgia games," because he realizes that "a lot of the people who come here are only two or three years out of school."

Prior to kickoff and during halftime, country music and songs by Athens bands play inside the bar, and recordings of Redcoat Band standards are broadcast over the loudspeakers during the game to match the anthems being played in the stadium. Not only do the members of the wait staff raise four fingers to the sky during the playing of "Krypton Fanfare" to start the fourth quarter, but a Redcoat alum stands atop the second-story balcony and plays "The Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation" before the contest begins.

Scoreboard-style videos shown on the bar’s 40 television screens are a part of the festivities, as well, from Larry Munson vocals over historic Georgia images to an annual custom video mixing UGA history with NYC landmarks crafted with care by Matt Schiavone, who was part of creating the happy marriage between the area Alumni Association and American Whiskey. The Sanford Stadium experience is simulated in other ways, as well, complete with the real-time honoring of all of our favorite Bulldog traditions, and you can even commemorate your visit by buying an American Whiskey/NYC DAWGS T-shirt, including a limited edition version produced specially for each year’s football season at the bar.

New York City Alumni Association board member Katie Greene, who maintains the group’s social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, says, "It’s all-around pretty fantastic and definitely the closest experience to Athens we can get up here." Current NYC DAWGS president Emily Hammond Cook, a 2015 UGA "40 Under 40" honoree, concurs, promising "that watching games at American Whiskey is about as close to being in Athens as you can get. The atmosphere is electric and it always shocks people who are in town visiting when they walk into our bar and see how many ‘Dawgs fans are in this great city of ours."

If you find yourself in the New York area in this or any future football season, or at any time of year, American Whiskey is the place you need to be to find Bulldog Nation’s home away from home in the City That Never Sleeps. Given everything I’ve heard about the atmosphere Kevin and Robbie have created there, in fact, I’m thinking a Goat Roast road trip might be in order in 2016. I’m just sayin’.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Bulldog artwork appearing in this article is the handiwork of the talented artist Dusty Higgins, whose courtesy in allowing us to share his work with a larger audience is greatly appreciated.

My special thanks go out to Joshua Johns, loyal Bulldog fan, proud University of Georgia graduate, faithful Dawg Sports reader, New York resident, and New York City Alumni Association board member and event planner, for making me aware of this outpost of Bulldog Nation.

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