Thrillist Issues a Martini Memo at Madame Geneva

Mondays are a hell of a lot better when you add a few martinis to the mix. Thankfully, leisure-enablers Thrillist got that memo, wetting everyone's whistle last night at NoHo cocktail lounge Madame Geneva with a couple complimentary Bombay Saphire and Grey Goose martinis. Well, not exactly everyone.

With an address on Bleeker but only accessible via the Bowery's Double Crown restaurant, Madame Geneva's inner sanctum is a hard space to infiltrate, while Thrillist's tight guest list ensured that only invitees got to quaff all the free martinis.

"We wanted to make it a very small event and invite only our friends and 30 of our readers who were actually able to enter a sweepstakes to win a ticket to come to the party," said Thrillist's French communications maven Flavie Bagnol while sipping a vodka martini and surveying the surroundings with an air of satisfaction.

"And we picked the place because its cozy, it's a winter night and they have very good cocktails here and very beautiful ladies," she added with a smile.

Considering that last night's party served as the official kick off for Martini week (a Thrillist initiative -- God bless ‘em), one can hardly fault the online urban guide for throwing an exclusive event.

From now through Sunday, 20 participating bars and restaurants will be dolling out discounted Martinis at $10 a pop (instead of the typical $20) between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. to all those who ask. Think of it like restaurant week but for aspirational alcoholics. Actually, all booze jibes aside, it’s the “aspire” part of that (totally awesome) joke that Thrillist would take offense to.

“We're not aspirational, we're actional. People come to our site, they see something they like, and they act upon it.” Here’s guessing parched, penny-pinching Manhattanites will be acting on those cheapo martinis all week.

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