adriatic yacht club

1 oz House Rum Blend (*)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Housemade Falernum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass. Fill with crushed ice and garnish with mint and grated nutmeg.
(*) A mix of 4 rums: Plantation Dark and Three Star Rums, and Hamilton Jamaican and 151 Proof Demerara Rums.

A few Wednesdays ago, Andrea and I had dinner at Sarma. For a first drink, I asked bartender Brandon Rucker for the Adriatic Yacht Club. I recognized it as an Amaro Montenegro riff on the early 20th century Royal Bermuda Yacht Club that I first had at Island Creek Oyster Bar; I had done a similar swap with elderflower liqueur in the Hold the Line over the summer. This particular variation turned out to be Brandon's, and his pedigree from ICOB perhaps explained his interest in that classic.
Instead of the cocktail glass format of the Royal Bermuda, the Adriatic variation went in the direction of tall with crushed ice and garnished accordingly. Once assembled, it gave forth mint and nutmeg notes on the nose. Lime with a decent mouthfeel on the sip led into rum, orange, clove, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a spice-driven finish.

pugilist

1 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Cardamom Syrup
6-8 leaf Mint
2 wedge Lemon

Muddle lemon wedges and mint, add rest of ingredients, and shake without ice. Strain into a rocks glass, fill with crushed ice, garnish with mint sprigs, and add straws.

Two Wednesdays ago, I paid a visit to Sarma just as the dinner crowds had begun to subside. There, I was greeted by bar manager Vikram Hedge who was surprised to see me in Boston instead of New Orleans and was glad to make me a drink. The cocktail that caught my eye was the Pugilist which seemed like a take on Nick Jarrett's Prizefighter. Vik supported my assumption and described how he wanted to craft a variation that was less Fernet Branca forward than the original.
The Pugilist's mint garnish contributed greatly to the drink's bouquet. A fruit-driven lemon and grape sip gave way to a more complex bitter, herbal, mint, and spice swallow. Indeed, the Pugilist was less controlled by the Fernet Branca for the other ingredients rounded out the flavor profile.

tamboo

1 oz St. George Terroir Gin
1 oz Sutton Cellars Brown Label Vermouth
1 oz Elcano Fino Sherry
1 dash Celery Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with an olive and twist an orange peel over the top.

For my first cocktail at Sarma, I asked bartender Vikram Hedge for the Tamboo. I figured at first that the name was a hybrid of Terroir Gin and the classic aperitify Bamboo Cocktail, but I was curious for I know Vik is a bit craftier than that. I discovered that the tamboo bamboo is a precursor of the steelpan drum invented in the Caribbean, and while it is antiquated, it still gets use in Trinidad at carnival. It was originally created to get around the European colonizers' ban on drumming, and bamboo of different lengths and hence pitches are thumped against the ground to generate the notes.
The Tamboo's orange oils contributed greatly to the nose. A white grape sip shared hints of citrus and savory flavors, and the swallow offered the gin tempered by the savory grape notes. Even with the addition of the gin, the Tamboo still worked perfectly as an aperitif.

aslan's reviver

1 oz Raki
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
3 oz Yogurt Syrup (*)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glas. Fill with ice, add a straw, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) 2 parts yogurt, 1 part simple syrup. 6 drops orange blossom water per cup.

Two weeks ago, we ventured down the street to Sarma where we found seats at the bar in front of Vikram Hedge. For a first libation, Andrea requested the Aslan's Reviver. Perhaps she was drawn to the novel ingredients or perhaps the C.S. Lewis reference. Vik described how the recipe was crafted by Maxine Sharkey Giammo, and he passed the drink order on to her to make.
The orange twist's oils brightened the yogurt driven aroma. A creamy yogurt sip led into an herbal and anise finish. Andrea described the Aslan's Reviver aptly as "it's like a grown-up lassi."

xocula

1 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1 dash Mole Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Add straws and garnish with an orange twist.

The other drink I had at Sarma was another of bartender Vikram Hedge's creations called Xocula. The recipe started as a Negroni variation and he had to switch the proportions from an equal parts one to an amaro-forward 3:2:1 one to make it work. When Vik tested this recipe and others out during a guest night at the Hawthorne, he provided Jackson Cannon with this name; Jackson replied by putting as a subtitle on the menu something along the lines of "now you're just making things up" since he did not understand the reference. Vik explained that while the Negroni is named after Count Camillo Negroni, this one is named after his favorite count -- the cereal one.
The Xocula began with an orange oil and smokey agave aroma. The grape from the sherry filled the sip, and the swallow began with the mezcal and ended with nutty, herbal, chocolate, and orange notes.

novara fresco

1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Top with 2-3 oz Casteller Cava and twist a lemon peel over the top.

Two Tuesdays ago, we traveled down the street to visit Sarma which has taken over the old Paddock space in Gilman Square (Winter Hill), Somerville. It was rather amazing to see what they had done with the locale, and when we found seats at the bar, it was surreal to think that we sat in that exact area last time we were there at a table right next to the place were local crooners were doing karaoke. But we were not there to marvel at the decor, but to try the food from the kitchen of Oleana's sister establishment and the drink from Island Creek Oyster Bar alum Vikram Hedge and his crew.
For a first libation, I asked Vik for the Novara Fresco -- a sparkling cocktail that was named as a reference to where Campari was invented in Italy in 1860. Once mixed, Campari and citrus notes filled the nose. A carbonated lemon and grape sip led into a swallow that began with Campari's complex flavors. Finally, the swallow finished with a delightful combination of pineapple and white wine notes.