red lion

1 1/2 oz. Plymouth gin
3/4 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. lemon juice
dash of house-made grenadine

Shake with ice, decant into a cocktail glass.

By my third drink at Rialto last night, I felt completely at home. Todd Maul was an excellent host. He graciously wrote down the recipes for me on a piece of paper since my iPhone was behaving strangely. He took out his own iPhone and showed us pictures of his lovely wife and utterly adorable 5 month-old son. And when it became apparent to him that Nicole and I were fellow cocktail geeks, he brought out his favorite vintage cocktail book: his 1951 edition of The Bartender's Book by Jack Townsend and Tom Moore McBride. He pointed out the Red Lion recipe in this book as a likely precursor to the ubiquitous (and corrupted) Cosmopolitan.

Though intrigued by it, Nicole wasn't sure having another cocktail would help her bicyle commute back to Belmont. So, I offered to split this cocktail with her. It was tinted a delicate peach-pink, but in all other respects it put the Cosmo to shame. It was nicely balanced with only a breath of sweetness - a perfect ending to the night.

One thing I'm happy to note. When we mentioned to Todd that we missed taking some of our now-non-drinking friends out to cocktail bars, he told us that in the next couple of weeks he'll be adding some non-alcoholic cocktails to Rialto's menu. This is great news for our friends who are abstaining from alcohol for religious, health, or baby-related reasons. We are great proponents of having fun, sophisticated beverages for everyone.