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Cocktail Specialists Launch Summer Pop-Up Bar at Sunnyside Eatery

 Behind the Wood, a beverage consulting company, will be taking over the bar at Venturo on weekends.
Behind the Wood, a beverage consulting company, will be taking over the bar at Venturo on weekends.
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Ethan Covey

SUNNYSIDE — A company that specializes in mixing up craft cocktails will be taking over the bar at Italian eatery Venturo each weekend this summer, where they'll be serving up drinks made with homemade ingredients.

Behind the Wood, a beverage consulting company whose founders have run the bars at spots like SoHo House and Lexington Brass, will be taking over the bar at the Queens Boulevard restaurant after dinner service ends on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Just a little something different for the neighborhood," said Behind the Wood co-founder Scott Scaffidi, who trained the bar staff at Venturo. He said its owners first approached him with the pop-up bar concept, looking to offer another late-night option in an area populated by mainly Irish pubs.

Behind the Wood will start serving cocktails at the restaurant's bar on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., with a menu of summer-inspired cocktails.

"We juice everything in-house," said Scaffidi, who said they also make their own cordials and shrubs (vinegar or fruit-based cocktail syrups.)

The menu includes cocktails like the "Summer Lovin'" which is made with tequila, fire-roasted jalapeños, cucumbers, lime juice and agave for $12. The "Cherry Bomb" is a rye-based drink mixed with a cherry balsamic shrub, lemon, maraschino liqueur and cherry bitters, also for $12.

There's also a "basics" menu of simpler cocktails for $10, like "rickeys" made with your choice of liquor, soda water and lime, or $10 "bucks" made with your choice of spirit and house-made ginger beer.

The bar will also serve cheeses and charcuterie, Scaffidi said.

While the current cocktail menu is being offered until the end of summer, he said they are planning to continue the weekend pop-up bar through the fall, when the menu will change. There is also a possibility for a holiday-themed menu through the winter, he said.

Behind the Wood's pop-up bar will be at Venturo Osteria, at 44-07 Queens Blvd., on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. through the end of summer. For more information visit their website.