Try – or make – these seasonal cocktails from local bartenders
When the temperatures are sky high, we head to the bar, and in Baltimore, there’s never a shortage of options. We checked in with local bartenders to find out the creative ways they’re beating the heat. Some are reimagining classics, while others are combining unexpected flavors and working with ingredients that resonate personally.
Regardless of the inspiration, when it’s time to cool off, consider these cocktails (or try to make some for yourself at home).
The Liberty Risk
At the Ready Room, the new cocktail bar inside the Old Line Spirits distillery, drinks are named after Navy references and colloquialisms, including the Liberty Risk ($14), which describes a sailor at port who might find too much fun in his free time. The tropical drink is a take on the zombie, a classic tiki cocktail, said bar director Steve Lamb. With the use of two high-proof rums, the drink is alcohol-forward, so the Ready Room limits it to one per customer — which has helped make it the menu’s most popular item. “People see that and go, ‘Well, we’ll
Baltimore Cup
A play on a classic Pimm’s Cup, this new cocktail by B&O’s Brendan Dorr adds a sweet and fruity twist with the inclusion of a house-made strawberry shrub. (To make at home, macerate strawberries in sugar to create a syrup and then mix with Champagne vinegar, Dorr said.) The Baltimore Cup ($11) also uses fresh lemon juice and ginger beer. The local nod in the name comes from the Baltimore Whiskey Co. Shot Tower Gin. The result is an update on a traditional drink that tastes refreshing in the hot months — just like the original.
1 1/4 oz. Pimm’s No. 1
3/4 oz. Baltimore Whiskey Co. Shot Tower Gin
3/4 oz. strawberry shrub
1/4 oz. lemon juice
3 oz. ginger beer
Bitter lemon soda water to top off
Build in an ice-filled highball glass and top with bitter lemon-flavored soda water. Lightly stir to mix. Garnish with a sliced strawberry skewer and mint sprig.
De Peche Mode
The Brewer’s Art (1106 N. Charles St., Mount Vernon; 410-547-6925,
Around Baltimore, the Brewer’s Art is synonymous with quality craft beer — and rightfully so — but the Mount Vernon staple serves unfussy, smartly constructed cocktails, too. That includes De Peche Mode ($12), head bartender Barri Yanowitz’s playful take on a whiskey sour. With Old Overholt Rye whiskey as the base, her version includes the aperitif wine Lillet Blanc, lemon juice and Mathilde Peche, a French peach liqueur and the main reason for the name’s ’80s-band-referencing pun. The motivation was simple: “We wanted to come up with something that was a refreshing whiskey cocktail for summer,” said general manager Matt Murphy.
Lazy Afternoon
The drinking clientele at Cava Mezze tend to gravitate toward fruit flavors, said beverage director Casey Hristakos, which inspired this Bulleit Bourbon-based cocktail. He went with a housemade strawberry tonic cordial, made with lemongrass puree and fresh basil. The St. Germain elderflower liqueur and soda water round out the cocktail. Hristakos is a big whiskey fan, so the aim was to create a refreshing drink that could serve as an accessible point for those unsure if they even like the spirit. The final product is deliberately easy-drinking. “I want people to have one or two to get their day started,” Hristakos said.
The Noble Englishman
Inside the kitchen of Magdalena, many staff members were enthralled by the World Cup, said bartender Nick Scott. So he decided to not just cheer for England, but to make a tribute cocktail called the Noble Englishman ($17). Using St. George’s Dry Rye Gin as a base, the cocktail uses other English flavors like rhubarb and ginger (from a liqueur made by Edinburgh Gin) to rosemary (from a house-made syrup). An egg white adds a stiffer texture on top of the drink, which allows Scott to add a final visual element: He re-creates the England flag with creole bitters, using a dropper to form the red St. George’s Cross.
2 oz. St. George Dry Rye Gin
1 oz. Edinburgh Rhubarb and Ginger Gin Liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. rosemary syrup (Combine six large sprigs of rosemary, broken in half, with equal parts sugar and near-boiling water. Allow to cool and then place in refrigerator. When ready to use, strain the rosemary from the syrup.)
Egg white
Put an egg white in a cocktail shaker first and then add rest of the ingredients. Shake without ice, then add ice and shake again. Strain into a martini glass and then use a dropper of creole bitters to place 10 drops on top of the contents (four drops down, six across should work well). Take a toothpick to draw the lines of the England flag.
That Old Black Magic
Located inside Pen & Quill’s event space, The Island Room is a pop-up bar collaboration between the Baltimore Whiskey Co. and St. Michaels’ Lyon Distilling Co. open through Sunday. Filled with greenery and island music, the bar also serves cocktails to fit the setting, including That Old Black Magic ($12). The cocktail features Lyon’s black rum and BWC’s coffee amaro, along with Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum, lime juice and vanilla-honey simple syrup. Visitors may expect a “cloying” drink, bar manager Naomi Karzai said, but the cocktail is more bitter than sweet because of the coffee flavor. “You’re expecting one thing and you get another, but I still think it’s a pleasant experience,” Karzai said.
2 oz. Lyon Black Rum
1 oz. Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum
1 oz. Baltimore Whiskey Co. Baltamaro V3: Coffee Amaro
1 oz. lime juice
1 1/2 oz. vanilla honey simple syrup (Combine 1 cup honey, 1 cup water and one vanilla bean sliced lengthwise. Simmer until honey is dissolved, then strain and cool.)
1 oz. cold-brew coffee
Shake and strain all ingredients, except coffee, into a snifter over crushed ice. Add cold brew to shaker with spent ice, and then shake and top cocktail with the coffee. Garnish with an orange peel.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Named after Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 song and poem, this new cocktail ($12) at the modern soul food restaurant Ida B’s Table puts an Asian spin on a classic daiquiri, said bartender Alex Dang. The cocktail’s foundation is familiar: spiced rum (Dang uses the Cotton & Reed brand) and lime juice. Dang, who is Vietnamese, adds his own flair with a strawberry Thai basil shrub and housemade lemongrass syrup — flavors “really close to my upbringing,” he said.
Snack Shack Privileges
The theme for R. Bar’s current seasonal menu is summer camp, and while other bartenders found inspiration in movies and TV shows, Josiah Dells was more interested in tapping into a feeling. Determined to re-create s’mores in drink form, he came up with Snack Shack Privileges ($11), a dessert, Old Overholt Rye whiskey-based drink made with Averna Amaro, chocolate bitters and the sweet liqueur Crème de Cacao. While the additions of housemade marshmallow fluff, shaved chocolate and graham cracker should please a customer’s eyes, the use of Ardbeg Scotch to instill the smoky campfire flavor shows off Dells’ technique. Beverage director Amie Ward said she appreciated the sentimental inspiration. “He went with something that was more familial and that drummed up a memory for him,” Ward said. “He went with an actual feeling.”
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
