french armada

4 oz Mandrin Au Sapin Saison Beer
1/2 oz Brugal Añejo Rum
1/2 oz Plantation Barbados Rum
1/2 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
2 dash Fee's Cranberry Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass.
For my third drink at Clio, bartender Todd Maul was very excited about a beer cocktail he created. When he tasted Mandrin Au Sapin, a French Saison brewed with pine needles, he knew that he had to create a drink around it. The beer was funky and fruity like a Flemish Sour with hints of pine on the swallow. In the drink, Todd supplemented this fruity note with sloe gin and cranberry bitters. The French Armada started with a cranberry aroma coupled with the sour elements of the beer. This cranberry note in the nose was mirrored by the beer's pine and fruit elements and the sloe gin's berry on the sip. Todd explained that the pine notes worked to wipe the palate clean with a citrus finish and functioned very much like a vermouth. Moreover, the beer was meant to be rather forward in the drink and the spirits were there to support its flavor profile. Indeed, the French Armada had a very autumnal feel to it that will help to solidify Clio's fall cocktail menu.