1. NYC’s Oldest Bartender Hoy Wong
New York’s oldest bartender, with 58 years of experience. 30 of those were spent at the Algonquin Hotel where he worked from 1979 to 2009 when he retired at the ripe old age of 93. Wong, or Mr. Hoy has served drinks to all the famous celebrities from Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, to the Duke of Windsor.
Born in Hong Kong, Wong served in the US Air Force from 1943 to 1946, stationed in China and India. Afterwards, he moved to New York City and got a job as a bartender at a small, Chinese restaurant in 1948. After finding a home at the Algonquin, he hasn’t seemed to miss a day of work. In 2006, on the celebration of Wong’s 90th birthday, the general manager Bill Liles explained that Wong “never misses a day. If the weather’s bad he shows up early.” Now that’s commitment.
He can still recall the drink orders of the some of the most famous celebrities. He explained to the Washington Post that Marilyn Monroe came in on Wednesdays for lunch and ordered a Beefeater Martini, very dry, and Judy Garland sat in a corner drinking Johnnie Walker Red. His proudest moment though was making a drink for the Duke of Windsor in 1961. He asked for a House of Lords Martini in and out on toast. Wong knew exactly what it was (martini with a lemon twist ignited with a match, of course), to which the Duke asked for a second.