Have you ever walked up to a bar and not known what to order? Or how about thrown a party and not had a clue which signature drink you should serve? For those who have been in these very real (very First World) dilemmas, fear no more! We asked some of the best restaurants and bars in the area for the “secret sauce” formula to their special drinks. It was hard work but someone had to do it. Enjoy!
Eleanor’s
Mockingbird
1 oz Leblon Cachaca
1 oz Capaletti
1 oz Yuzu
½ oz lemon
½ oz grapefruit lavender syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Directions: To make the grapefruit lavender syrup, first supreme grapefruits and cut them in half. Then add fresh lavender and macerate with raw sugar, fully covering the fruit and herbs. Let this sit until the sugar is dissolved and enough flavor is extracted from the lavender, approximately 4 hours. Pour into a mesh strainer and strain the liquid. For more yield and flavor, juice the macerated grapefruits and add to your syrup.
To make the cocktail, build all your ingredients, excluding the IPA, in a shaker. Shake with ice. Pour into a collins glass. Add ice and then top the cocktail with your favorite IPA. Garnish with a lemon twist or a lavender sprig.
C & S Seafood and Oyster bar
Jade Gimlet
4 pieces of fresh cucumber
1 large basil leaf
2 oz Right gin
1 oz fresh lime juice
Dash of simple syrup
Directions: Muddle 4 pieces of cucumber, 1 large basil leaf and a dash of simple syrup. Add 2 ounces of Right Gin, 1 ounce of lime juice. Shake vigorously. Strain and pour in a chilled martini glass.
Hook Line & Schooner
Cucumber Rose
1.5oz Absolut Vodka
Splash of Agave Nectar
.5oz Lemon Juice
.5oz Simple Syrup
2 Cucumbers
1 Sprig of Rosemary
Directions: Take two cucumbers and half of a sprig of rosemary and muddle in a glass with the agave nectar, lemon juice and simple syrup. Add ice, and top with Absolut vodka, then shake. Garnish with one slice of cucumber and one sprig of rosemary.
McCray’s Tavern
4500 W Village Pl,
MccraysTavern.com
Irish Trash Can
1oz Pinnacle Vodka
1oz Gin
1oz Rum
.5oz Peach Schnapps
.5oz Blue Curacao
.5oz Triple Sec
1 Can of Redbull
Directions: Fill a 20-oz. glass with ice, add vodka, gin, rum, peach schnapps, blue curacao and triple sec. Open RedBull and dump entire can into glass and ENJOY!!
Public House at Hotel Indigo (opening October 2015!)
Calidita Cocktail
1.5oz Patron Silver Tequila
.5oz Cointreau
.5oz Lime Juice
2oz Cranberry Juice
1oz Grapefruit Juice
.5oz Simple Syrup
Directions: Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. (Optional: salt rim of glass)