word to your mom

1/2 oz Bols Genever
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and pour into a rocks glass. Top with 1-1 1/2 oz Pretty Things Jack D'Or beer, garnish with a cherry, and add straws.

Last Sunday night, Andrea and I decided to go to take a small tour of Somerville by visiting Trina's Starlite Lounge followed by Bergamot. The drink I asked bartender Emma Hollander to make me at Trina's was their play on the Last Word, namely the Word to Your Mom. Like the Latest Word variation at Craigie on Main, this one called for Bols Genever as the liquor component. And similar to the Final Word and the Eulogy, this version used lemon instead of lime and yellow instead of green Chartreuse, respectively. Moreover, the combination of Bols Genever and lemon juice did remind me of their Shaddock. The major twist that was added was a float of Pretty Things' Jack D'Or, a citrussy and spicy American Saison-style beer brewed here in Massachusetts. While I did not ask Emma for the back story on the drink, the City's Best website posted an interview a few days later with two of the owners of Trina's about the exegesis of this drink. I was slightly surprised that the drink was not created by Emma given her knack for catchy drink names like the One-Armed French Hooker.
The Word to Your Mom started with an aroma of lemon, yellow Chartreuse, and hops. The sip proved to be malty from the combination of Bols Genever and the beer and to be quite textural on the tongue from the beer's carbonation. Next, the swallow contained the lemon's crispness followed by the yellow Chartreuse and Maraschino notes on the finish. Of all the flavors, it was the malt and the Maraschino that really stood out the most, but it was the Saison-style beer and the Maraschino's funkiness that complemented each other the best. Overall, the drink was a little on the sweet side for me but the melting ice did help to alter the balance over time.