last pontoon

1 1/2 oz Remy Martin 1738 Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/4 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal (Banhez)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, top with 3/4 oz IPA (Sierra Nevada Atomic Torpedo), and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Fridays ago, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database when I came across an intriguing beer cocktail called the Last Pontoon. The drink was created by Chaim Dauermann at The Up & Up in Manhattan circa 2015 as his update on the classic Japanese Cocktail and published in Saveur. The Pedro Ximenez sherry accents to the orgeat here reminded me of how well the combination worked in the Kartini and Sherry Mai Tai. Using the West Coast-style IPA from Sierra Nevada that I had on hand, the Last Pontoon welcomed the nose with grapefruit, caramel, and raisin aromas. Next, a creamy, molasses, and dried fruit sip paddled into Cognac, raisin, nutty almond, grapefruit, and pine flavors on the swallow with a hint of smoke.

boilermaker

Two Mondays ago, I hosted a post-Speed Rack charity event at Silvertown in downtown Boston. The idea started when a few of my Angel's Envy crew were in town during the first week of February to observe me giving my first staff trainings and running my first events. Before one of my staff trainings, we were at Silvertone enjoying a round of Angel's Envy Rye while bouncing ideas off of each other for events. When the topic of Speed Rack came up, I mentioned that this spot is where I frequently found myself after working the event as a volunteer every year. One person proposed a fancy cocktail special idea, and I rebutted that this is Silvertone -- we need to drink like they drink here especially when it is busy: a beer and a shot. The idea came to be, and our afterparty raised money per boilermaker drank and raffle ticket sold; in the end, we donated over $200 to the Ellie Fund. After the long day of volunteering, hosting, and imbibing, it was almost 3 am when I got home and I was in no mood to make a cocktail for the blog, so I figured that I would later mull over the idea the boilermaker for a post.
A boilermaker is essentially a beer and a shot of spirit which is often whiskey. However, the "beer" could be a cider or even a wine, and the spirit can be anything from rum to Calvados. In traditional form, each is sipped as desired with the malt's (apple's or grape's) sweetness helping to cut the alcohol's burn. In college, we assumed that the shot was dropped into the glass, but to me, that is more of a Depth Charge than a boilermaker. The origins of the name related to the early-mid 19th century when the workmen who built and maintained boilers for ships, trains, and industry would order these side-by-side combos after a long day of labor. Wondrich even suggests that the idea  but not the name itself dates back to the 17th century in Europe. Noah Rothman in the DailyBeast pointed out the connection of whiskey starting as unhopped beer before distillation, and Wondrich noted that whisk(e)y cultures of Scotland and Ireland frequently drank them together as early as 1605. America might have lagged behind since a lot of our drinking culture was inherited from the British who were not big whiskey drinkers. In the modern day, like the boiler men, bartenders have latched on to the order; after a long shift, they might not have a lot of time until last call to get things done, and ordering this double is a rather non-fussy ordeal for the staff manning that industry bar.

Given that the craft cocktail bar movement has encouraged figuring out the best ingredients for a drink down to Audrey Saunders testing out every gin on her shelves to find the optimal recipe, the boilermaker has seen new light in the last decade. Some bars like the Automatic in Cambridge have boilermaker sections on the menu to guide their guests from basic to higher end and synergistic pairings at a wide range of price points. Others have taken it up another notch by making it into a competition; Erick Castro spoke of the "Big Baller, Shot Caller" event where bartenders provided judges with their favorite twosomes. Others still keep it on the humbler side. In my first trip to Louisville in 2016, I decided to only drink bonded Bourbons and frequently paired them with a local beer (unless I was in a cocktail bar or brewery taproom of course). My thought was that I would rather spent $13-15 on a whiskey and craft beer than spend that sum on a single whiskey order; since many bonded Bourbons and regional craft beers there do not leave Kentucky, it doubled my exposure to the state's nectars. Moreover, I have found myself ordering boilermakers on random Friday nights off when I decided to go to a friend's busy bar for it did not take much of their time to get both pours in front of me, and I have found it a great choice on slower nights at random bars not known for their cocktails.

The Angel's Envy website has a section on Angels and Ales, their name for the pairing. In one post on their blog, they discussed their favorite pairings with their Bourbon finished in port casks. For pilsners and lagers, the clean, crisp aspect brings out vanilla sweetness, port notes, and a caramel finish. For IPAs, there is a lot more variety in the results given the citrus, grassy, and other aspects of the hops; moreover, I have found that certain IPAs like Bell's Two Hearted have a great amber malt backbone that synergizes with the charred oak aging of said whiskey. And finally, they mention porters with their chocolate and coffee notes that bring out honey sweetness and a warm finish from the Bourbon. Those three are only the beginning, for I have found great results in Belgian-style beers like Fat Tire, and classic Americana ones like Anchor Steam due to that amber malt character I mentioned with the Bell's.
David Wondrich has spoken about the problem with beer sizes to match a two ounce or so pour of spirit. He finds that a pint is too large, and many bars will not veer from charging the full price even if they give him half. He also knows himself well enough that if he is given a full pint, he will drink it. Some bars like Lily P's pictured above do half pours for the same volumetric pricing as the full pour; I find it unfortunate when bars gouge the half pour pricing to almost discourage it. Almost every place that I have worked did not have half-sized pricing, but given that most POS systems have an "open beer" button, I could get it done with some first or second grade math. Wondrich is also a big proponent of the beer being a draft beer for a boilermaker; however, there are a few beers like Miller High Life that come in 7 ounce pony bottles that are the perfect sized accompaniment to a whiskey dram. Otherwise, the only way to best utilize a twelve or sixteen ounce bottle or can is to ask for two glasses to share with a friend. And at home, I lack a kegerator, so all my pairings are from packaged goods.

As I mentioned above, beer and whiskey are not the only options. My favorite boilermaker of 2017 was experienced at the end of Tales of the Cocktail at a small gathering hosted by Haus Alpenz's Jake Parrott. There, I was sipping on a 2006 I Clivi wine called Galea where its citrus, almond, and mineral notes worked rather stunning with a copita of Del Maguey Tobala that Misty Kalkofen brought to the soirée and poured me half way through my glass. I wrote, "It was magical, and I'm not even a big wine drinker." Given that a bar tab for that duo would be in the range of $40, it is not an every day occurrence to pamper myself like that. Magic can be found at half that, and just plain comfort at about a third.

black mass

1 oz Compass Box Artist's Blend Scotch
1/2 oz Compass Box Peat Monster
1 oz Averna
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a large coupe or rocks glass (rocks glass), top with 1 oz Founders Porter, and garnish with lime oil from a twist.

For a second drink at Carlo Caroscio's guest shift at the Hawthorne, I selected the Black Mass from his collection of Compass Box cocktail offerings. Carlo described how this was created a while ago at Backbar, and despite not being on the menu any more there, people still request it (I neglected to ask if he crafted it around the time that the movie with the same name came out). The conversation shifted to how beer cocktails were rather popular in Boston between 2011 and 2014, but they are not frequently seen these days on drink lists. Also, I commented about how the Black Mass' combination of Averna and maple made me think of the Debbie, Don't.
The Black Mass preached to the nose with lime oil, caramel, and maple notes. Next, a lime and caramel sip praised the coming of a smoky, maple, and dark herbal swallow.

fade to black

1 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a Collins glass, and top with Negro Modelo beer (~8 oz Trader José's Dark Lager).

Two Sundays ago, I added a Negro Modelo beer to my shopping list to finally make the Fade to Black that appeared in Ron Cooper's Finding Mezcal book. The recipe was crafted by Jeremy Oertel at Death & Co., and he was influenced by his time spent at Phil Ward's agave bar Mayahuel. While in Trader Joe's where I had previously spotted single bottles of Negro Modelo, I found that they only had Modelo's regular pale lager. Andrea pointed out that they did have a house brand dark lager that I ended up purchasing. Luckily, I found that the Trader José brand brought more to the table with a delightful wood smoke nose complementary to the mezcal's aromas that is absent in Negro Modelo itself.
Overall, the style reminded me of the Pop-In -- an old style of drink that began as a shot in a beer (opposed to the classic Boilermaker which is a shot beside a beer). Will Thompson at Drink was the first to introduce it to me after he learned about it at Dead Rabbits in Manhattan, and their version was spirits, sweetener, and whole egg that was lightened by beer. Here, the spirits were mezcal and a hint of funky Jamaican rum and the sweetener was a dark amaro. Once prepared, the Fade to Black greeted the senses with a caramel and smoke-filled nose. Next, a creamy and caramel sip gave way to agave, wood smoke, and chocolate flavors on the swallow. The Smith & Cross' contribution was not especially apparent in the mix, but as Jim Romdall pointed out, rum funk is the seasoning of cocktails to provide depth of flavor, and many cocktails would be flatter without it.

bohemian rhapsody

1/2 oz Plymouth Gin (Tanqueray)
1 oz Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a Highball glass with crushed ice, and top with Pilsner Urquel (2 oz). Garnish with nutmeg, mint, and citrus (lemon wheel).

Two Wednesdays ago, I delved into the Queen (the band) cocktail biopic on the Alcohol Professor site that my King of the Impossible appeared in. The first recipe that called out to me was Johnny Swet's Bohemian Rhapsody that he crafted at the Grand Republic Cocktail Club in Brooklyn. Johnny's thinking was that utilizing British gin would be "a nod to the Queen (of England)" and the Pilsner was a tribute to the Bohemian people. The concept reminded me of some of the beer cocktails that we created for a Mixology Monday back in the day, so I was curious to try this one out.
The Bohemian Rhapsody welcomed the nose with woody spice, ginger, lemon, and mint aromas. Next, a carbonated sip offered citrus and malt notes, and the swallow showcased the gin's piny juniper and citrussy botanicals along with the liqueur's ginger and finished with a woody flavor perhaps from the beer interacting with the ginger.

a few dollars more

1 oz Cabrito Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Syrup (1:1)
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice, strain into a Highball glass with 8-9 oz of Ithaca Flower Power IPA.
Two Wednesdays ago, I stopped into Green Street and asked bartender Zoard Wells Tyeklar for the A Few Dollars More from the smaller cocktail menu. Since IPA-style beers work well with tequila such as in the End of Days and the Zimmermann Telegram, I was excited to give this one a try. Once prepared, the A Few Dollars More offered an orange aroma that preceded a citrus and malt sip. Next, tequila mingled with grapefruit, orange, and lime notes on the swallow with a bitter hops finish.

andy shandy

1 oz Gin (Hayman's Royal Dock)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake once without and once with ice, strain into a Fizz glass (with 2 oz Two Roads Ok2berfest beer), and top with amber ale (1/2 oz more). I added a lemon twist as garnish.

Two Fridays ago, I opened up A Spot at the Bar and happened upon the Andy Shandy in the beer section of the book. The recipe was crafted by Alastair Walker at the Everleigh in Melbourne, and it reminded me of a Skip & Go Naked with egg white in the mix. I learned about that classic when I crafted a beer-for-Champagne French 75 that I dubbed the Dutch 75; I called it that for I used left over Heineken Light for the impoverished-thinking Mixology Monday 36 "Hard Drinks for Hard Times," and Dagreb alerted me to the similarity. Instead of the lager in the Skip & Go Naked, Walker called for an amber ale, and I answered that request with a local amber Oktoberfest-style beer.
The Andy Shandy gave forth a lemon and floral aroma. Next, a creamy sip shared lemon and malt notes, and the swallow presented juniper blending into hops and a sour grain note from the beer.

route 287

2 oz Tequila
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a Highball glass, and top with ~4 oz IPA beer. Gently stir, garnish with a pineapple wedge-grapefruit slice flag, and add a straw.
After Yvonne's, I made my way over to Stoddard's where I found a seat in front of bartender Tony Iamunno. For a drink, I asked for the Route 287 which was Tony's tribute to perhaps the north-south highway that runs through Texas. Once prepared and served, the Route 287 gave forth pineapple and grapefruit notes to the nose from the garnish. Next, a malty and pineapple sip slid into tequila on the swallow with a cinnamon and grapefruit finish.

:: when good beer goes bad ::

I began Friday morning at Tales of the Cocktail with a talk on beer flaws that was moderated by Elayne Duff (Global Manager of Training at InBev, prev. Diageo head mixologist) along with presenters Mirella Amato (Global Director of Beer Knowledge at InBev, master cicerone, and author of Beerology) and Steve Riley (founder of BetterBeer.com, certified cicerone).

The seminar discussed the many reasons why beer goes bad. Beer unlike spirits is a delicate beverage. Even if it was perfectly brewed, mishandling will change its aroma and flavors, and these new notes are called "off flavors." Learning to identify these off flavors are useful in addressing customer complaints (or using them to detect them before they get into the hands of customers). Beer has four major enemies: time, heat, oxygen, and light. In addition, bacteria such as those that break down sugars into lactic acid are an enemy as well.

To demonstrate three flaws, Budweiser was spiked with lab samples of off flavors with a sample of pure Budweiser offered as a control to determine baseline notes. The first off flavor was T2N (trans-2-nonenal) which provided no aroma but came across as a flat taste of wet cardboard, dusty books, and old (or Dollar Store) lipstick. The causes of this flaw are oxygen, and these oxidative flavors are precipitated by both heat and oxygen. For a light lager, these notes can develop in a few months, and more complex beers can mask these notes. Storing beer cold will help to delay this change; always store the beer colder than the temperature at which it was fermented. Moreover, always check the expiration date on beer when it is delivered and practice FIFO (first in, first out) inventory rotation. In unopened beer, this is often a packaging error at the brewery. For keg beer, some bars still use air compressors instead of CO2 of N2 tanks, and this fills the keg with oxygen; while frequent in the past, these units are rare but still in the market. In comparing beer to fortified wines, liqueurs, and spirits, oxygen and heat will cause color changes in St. Germain, give off flavors in gin, and decrease the creaminess of whiskey. However, oxygen is useful in developing flavors like rancio, the nutty flavor in Cognac that appears after a decade or so in barrels, as well as the nutty flavors in some aromatized wines like Spanish vermouth. In fact, there are a few beers that are stored with oxygen to generate madeira and sherry-like notes.

The second off flavor was mercaptan which is known as lightstruck. This flavor is the reaction of hop's bittering compounds and ultraviolet light that quickly occurs in clear and green bottles, slowly in brown bottles, and not at all in cans. This aroma is reminiscent of skunk, cat litter, and sewer gas, and it is generated when ultraviolet light triggers alpha-acids (bittering agents in hops) to break off a free radical that combines with a sulfur compound in beer to make a chemical that is close to that found in a skunk's glands. Miller High Life gets around this problem by using hop extracts that are isomerized to deliver bitterness while being light insensitive. On premise places can get sleeves to go over their fluorescent light bulbs to block out some of the UV. While incandescent and LED lights have little effect, daylight can effect the beer in as little as 5 minutes. Light can also change spirits such as whiskeys losing their color which can effect perception by consumer. The panel could not come up with any positive uses of ultraviolet light exposure.

The third off flavor was diacetyl that comes across like buttered popcorn, smells like the bar the morning after, and offers a slick mouthfeel; the butter and creaminess was compared to a Werther's candy. The issue is generally attributed to dirty beer lines that contain anaerobic bacteria such as lactobacillus and pediococcus. However, diacetyl can also be a byproduct of fermentation that is generated by the yeast themselves. One major difference is that yeast do not add a sour note, while these bacteria do, so buttery + no acid stems from a brewery issue, and buttery + acid stems from the bar's equipment and maintenance. These bacteria can be prevented by being mindful when changing kegs, visually inspecting and cleaning the coupler every keg change, never resting the coupler on the floor, and wiping the faucet with hot water to clean off bacteria. Line cleanings generally take a minimum of an hour to clean 10 lines properly, so if your service is faster than that, it is probably incomplete.

Not all lactic acid bacteria are bad for it can be utilized in the ferment to control the growth of other bacteria and it can create the proper pH for yeast to work such as in sour mash in whiskey. It can also be used in rum such Jamaican ones where the backset in dunder contains lactic acid bacteria to create a more flavorful product. Finally, certain German beer styles such as gose and Berliner weisse utilize these microbes to good effect.

A longer list of flaws and their descriptions can be found here as well as in many beer books.

The final point that was brought up was glassware and how to improve cleanliness. A clean beer glass will have CO2 gas bubbles cascading up to make a head on the beer that lasts, and after each sip, the head will leave lacing on the glass. A dirty glass will have large fisheye bubbles, lose carbonation and head, and will have bubbles stuck to the glass' wall. Some frequent causes are finger print oil from the "spider-carry", dairy (such as when the staff uses that glassware for coffee), sugar resin from soft drinks, and oils from greasy silverware and napkins being jammed in during a table clearing. Three compartment sinks are not efficient at cleaning off oils, and a pub scrub such as KissKlean can be utilized to remove grease. Finally, frozen glassware will create flat tasting beer akin to sticking a beer can in the freezer.

christmas in prison

2 oz Laird's Apple Brandy
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a 10 oz beer glass with 4 oz Coors Banquet Beer. Top with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

After my stop at Rye, I continued on to the Silver Dollar in Butchertown. When I had asked the bartender at Rye how much a two bedroom apartment runs in Louisville, he gave the highs and lows and told me that he paid around $800 for a place in Butchertown, and he was lucky for the wind blew the right way. In the mile and a quarter walk to the Silver Dollar, I quickly understood what he meant for the neighborhood's name reflects the present, not just the past. While the Highlands were the "Keep Louisville Weird" section, the Butchertown bars had a similar but very different comfortable vibe; it was more of a neighborhood and industry-friendly part of town.
For a first drink, I asked the bartender for the Christmas in Prison. When I inquired about the recipe, I was greeted with the statement that it was "in her contract not to tell the recipes." This took me back for a second, but I had already watched her jigger the drink and was confident that my taste buds and drink-building sense could confirm or approximate the amounts. For example, the allspice dram and vanilla both were partial fills on a 1/2 oz jigger and I figured that this was akin to Don's Spice #2. In the glass, the lemon twist provided most of the aroma, and the sip was carbonated and malty with a hint of citrus. Finally, the swallow was apple, allspice, and vanilla flavors. For my next round, I requested a local porter and a Heaven's Hill Bonded pour; I was alerted that the Bourbon special of the night was $3 for a J.T.S. Brown bonded pour. Yes, indeed. And in homage to the aromas on the walk over (and not the staff), "That'll do pig, that'll do."

black flip

2 oz Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (Stone Xocoveza Stout)
1 1/2 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
1 Whole Egg

Swirl to de-gas the beer, shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a Fizz glass (rocks glass), and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Two Fridays ago, I was opening a stout beer, so I saved some to make Jim Meehan's circa 2007 Black Flip from the P.D.T. Cocktail Book. I had been kicking myself when I had spotted the recipe a few days ago, for I had just unknowingly drank the one Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout that I had bought; instead, I made this recipe with a different dark beer in my refrigerator. Meehan created this recipe after being inspired by Wayne Curtis' chapter on Flips in And A Bottle Of Rum. While I have had other dark beer Flips such as the Black Cadillac, Rumbustion Flip, and Breakfast of Champions, I still felt it was important to try the drink that pre-dated all of them by a few years or more. Moreover, the recipe reminded me of Meehan's Great Pumpkin which is an epic autumnal beer-egg drink.
The Black Flip shared a nutmeg aroma with dark notes from either the beer or the black strap rum. Next, a creamy caramel sip gave way to molasses, coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla notes on the swallow.

hoptimum pine

1 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
3/4 oz Pineapple Shrub
1/2 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with 2-3 oz Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Fill with crushed ice, add a straw, and garnish with a pineapple fruit leaf.
Two Wednesday ago, we headed down to Firebrand Saints for dinner. For a drink, Andrea asked bartender Dave Erickson for the Hoptimum Pine that he credited Ashley Ruest as the creator. In the glass, this beer cocktail generated a lemon and pineapple bouquet. Next, the creamy, carbonated lemon sip was followed by pine, pineapple, almond, and tart lemon flavors on the swallow.

breakfast of champions

2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
2 oz Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
2 dash Mole Bitters
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a tulip beer glass, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Two Thursdays ago, I found myself in Central Square and in need of a nightcap. Therefore, I ventured over to Craigie on Main and found a seat in front of bartender Rob Ficks. The Breakfast of Champions created by Matt Baber called out to me as it reminded me of the Rumbustion and the Black Cadillac Flips as well as the still carbonated Five Points Pop-In Fizz.
The Breakfast of Champions shared a nutmeg nose that preceded a creamy, caramel sip. Next, the swallow offered molasses, chocolate, and vanilla flavors.

flip cup

1 1/2 oz Pimm's No. 1
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a tall glass with ice. Top with 2-3 oz Newburyport Belgian-style Wit Beer. Garnish with a cucumber slice and add a straw.

At Eastern Standard, Andrea asked bartender Tom Mahne for the Flip Cup which was their Pimm's Cup variation. Instead of ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, this version called for beer as the carbonation akin to the Somerville Cup. Their beer choice was a Belgian white; while the menu said Blanche de Bruxelles, we were definitely not disappointed when local Newburyport's Plum Island wit beer was used in its place.
Once mixed, it offered a cucumber and malty aroma. Next, the sip offered lemon, berry, and malt, and the swallow shared tart and sour lemon grain notes from the beer. Overall, the sourness of the beer worked well with the citrus component in the drink like it did in the Prison Nickname.

arrowhead limited

1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Montelobos)
1/2 oz Campari

Build in a Highball glass filled with ice. Add 3-4 oz IPA (Founder's All Day) and garnish with grapefruit slices.
A few Fridays ago, I turned to a beer cocktail recipe that I had spotted on the PunchDrink site called the Arrowhead Limited. Damon Boelte crafted this mezcal Negroni riff at the Grand Army Bar in Brooklyn, and he named it after a train that used to run from Minnesota to Wisconsin several decades ago. Once prepared, the Arrowhead Limited shared with the senses a grapefruit aroma with hints of malt. On the palate, dry malt and grape notes on the sip gave way to mezcal, herbal, and citrus flavors on the swallow. Finally, the swallow ended with a smoke finish with lingering bitter notes. The drink overall reminded me of the more citrus juice-driven End of Days

strange brew

2 oz Tanqueray 10 Gin (regular Tanqueray)
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a pilsner glass (Highball) filled with crushed ice. Top with Green Flash's West Coast IPA (2 1/2 oz Founder's All Day IPA), garnish with mint (lemon twist instead), and add a straw.

Two Saturdays ago, I was working my way through reading the Death & Co. Cocktail Book when I spotted the Strange Brew, a curious Tiki-beer cocktail, for the second time in the text. The recipe was attributed to Thomas Waugh back in 2008, and the concept stemmed from the idea of mixing beer with fresh fruit like the Germans do with their radlers. Thomas' favorite combination was pineapple and IPA which inspired this drink. For a name, he dubbed it Strange Brew after the B-side of EMF's "Unbelievable" single (instead of the original version performed by Cream).
After a bit of shaking, straining, and prep work, it was time to taste. The Strange Brew offered a lemon oil nose instead of the mint one via the prescribed garnish; this aroma actually worked rather well with the sip which was fruity with a touch of malt. The swallow was rather complex with pineapple, juniper, grapefruit, lime, and clove notes; indeed, I was impressed at the bounty of citrus flavors here from the beer's hops, the falernum's lime, the gin's botanicals, and of course the two juices.

further moore

1 1/2 oz El Buho Mezcal
3/4 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with 2 oz Jack's Abby Jabby Brau Lager and add a straw.
A few Wednesdays ago, I paid a visit to Viale when bar manager Patrick Gaggiano was at the stick. I was quite curious about their beer cocktail, the Further Moore, on the menu both as a drink and about its name. Patrick explained that the Moore in question was the one who turned Pat on to Cardamaro. I commented that Cardamaro was not the easiest ingredient to mix with, and Pat agreed; his recipe did remind me a little of the Sacrilege with the lemon and honey to sooth the sharper notes of Cardamaro. In the glass, the Further Moore, gave forth a lemon and lightly herbal aroma. A lemon, honey, and malty sip transitioned well into a smoky mezcal and herbal swallow.

holy diver

2 oz Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Beer Syrup (*)
1/2 oz Coconut Cream
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Add a straw.
(*) Here prepared à la minute with 1 part sugar dissolved in 1 part Anderson Valley Summer Solstice beer (both by volume). Not sure if the way Drink does it for Tiki Sundays involves boiling it down; previously, they made their Guinness syrup by reducing 12 oz of beer to 8 oz and dissolving in 8 oz sugar.

Two Mondays ago, after attending the Improper Bostonian party for the bartender issue somewhere near the aquarium, Andrea and I decided to escape to quieter quarters at Drink. There, we found seats at Palmer Matthews section, and for a libation, he suggested a vestige of Tiki Sundays called the Holy Diver. Palmer based his original off of the Skin Diver that appears in Beachbum Berry's Remixed. The Skin Diver was created by J. "Popo" Galsini in the late 1960s at the Outrigger in Laguna, and he based it off of Donn the Beachcomber's Pearl Diver. Or possibly Palmer utilized Donn's 1930s recipe for I did not write down which Diver was his inspiration and he might have mentioned both. When I inquired about the beer syrup, Palmer explained that he found that the syrup's hops were a natural pairing to spice rum.
Once shaken, the drink was strained into a Tanuki Tiki mug; Tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog that in literature is a mischievious master of disguise and shapeshifting. When I made a comment about the mug's nipples, it was quickly pointed out that it was a male; apparently Japanese school children sing a song that alludes to the raccoon dog's size, "'Tan-tan-tan,' Tanuki's bollocks ring: The wind's stopped blowing, but they swing-swing-swing!" Moving on to the drink itself, the Holy Diver shared a light citrus aroma. A creamy lemon sip led into an orange and rum-filled swallow. Finally, the swallow finished off with the rum and bitters' spice and the beer's hops.

category 1

3/4 oz Batavia Arrack
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Campari
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice and strain into a Highball glass filled with ice and 2-3 oz of Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey IPA. Garnish with a lime wheel and a dash of Angostura Bitters, and add a straw.

Two Mondays ago, we paid a visit to Estragon for dinner. For a first libation, I asked bartender Sahil Mehta if I could try his submission recipe for the Tales of the Cocktail "Taming the Hurricane" competition. His reinvention used Batavia Arrack as the rum and added Campari and English-style IPA flavors to the mix. Moreover, I was interested in revisiting the Campari-passion fruit combination that worked so well in the Novara and Antoine's Demise.
The lime wheel and Angostura Bitters garnishes contributed fresh citrus aromas and spice to the nose. A carbonated lime, passion fruit, and malt sip gave way to the Batavia Arrack, more passion fruit, and bitter notes from the Campari and hops on the swallow. The beer worked rather well to dry out the drink, and the pinch of salt seemed to mellow out any rough edges.

apparition

3/4 oz Cold River Gin
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Earl Grey Tea Syrup
1/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass. Top with ~3 oz Lambise Belgian Lambic.
A few Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I were in Central Square, and we headed over to Craigie on Main for a nightcap where bartenders Ann Thompson and Jack Styczynski were behind the bar. For a drink, I asked Ann for the Apparition, a beer cocktail created by beverage director Jared Sadoian. Once prepared, it offered juniper and bergamot aromas from the gin and Earl Grey tea syrup, respectively; over time, the nose gained funk notes from the beer that worked rather well with the orangy ones from the tea. Next, the sip shared carbonated caramel and malty flavors with a lot of body and mouthfeel, and the swallow began with gin followed by herbal notes and a bergamot finish.