Boston cocktails

A Rose by Any Other Name and Jalapeno Margarita at Savant Project

2009-10-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Rose by Any Other Name

3 oz rose infused bourbon
1/2 oz Frenette
1/2 oz St. Germaine
Splash Mathilde Peach
Splash Lemon Juice
Shake and Strain into Martini glass
Garnish with a Cherry that has been dehydrated then rehydrated in bourbon

Jalapeno Margarita

3 oz Jalapeno infused Tequila
1 oz Orange curacao
Pour over ice fill with sour mix
Garnish with lime and salted rim

As a Mission Hill resident, when I am faced with the decision of which neighborhood establishment to visit for a quiet night out, I typically choose The Savant Project. Savant is the only bar in the area that responds to a request for a drink list with a physical menu, rather than a gesture towards the line of taps. Savant has a relatively young bar staff, but they seem to have evolved beyond the tap-pulling gorillas at competing neighborhood bars. The Savant project is a cordial bar, (having a cordial license requires the liquors behind the bar to adhere to a certain sugar content). This can be off putting at first, but after tasting a couple of their cocktails you will quickly realize there is no cause for concern. The cordial license is received as a challenge and forces the staff to make imaginative infusions and inspires interesting flavor twists on classic cocktails. The bar manager of Savant is Maureen, and I was lucky enough to have her as my bartender on my most recent visit. The original cocktail she coined as "A rose by any other name" was a great floral answer to the classic Manhattan. The second cocktail was a brutally spicy Jalapeno margarita. It had a great flavor, but was not easy on the stomach. If you can accept the fact that you can't order a Tanqueray and tonic without lychee infusion and forgive the occasional Pabst pounding, barely post pubescent hipster infestation, Savant is a great place to stop for an after work drink. I'll be there scarfing the $5 nacho plate.

John's Judo Surprise and classic Sidecar at the Alchemist

2009-10-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

John's Judo Surprise

3 oz Canton Ginger Liqueur

3 oz St. Germain Elderyberry Liqueur

Splash Pomegranate Juice

Splash Lemon Juice

Shaken and served into a martini glass

Garnish with sugar rim and lemon twist

Alchemist Side Car

4 oz Hennesy Cognac

2 oz GranGala triple orange liqueur

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Squeeze of fresh orange

Shake and serve in Martini Glass

Garnish with Sugar rim and lemon twist

Jamaica Plain is definitely a section of Boston which relishes in the dive bar. From Costello's to Midway Cafe to the Behan, as an ex JP resident I have traveled to all of these sorrow drowning watering holes. The one thing they have in common, aside from the scent of stale tears and urinal cakes, is a blanketed ignorance towards all things shaken, muddled or stirred. The shining exception to this trend in the J.P. bar scene is the Alchemist, located on the intersection of Moraine, South Huntington, Boylston and Centre. The Alchemist, home of huge martinis, and even larger bartenders is where I visit when thirsty in J.P. When I took my seat at the bar John (you'll recogonize him as the bartender with arms the width of your torso) made me an unnamed drink that is going to be on the Alchemist's new upcoming drink list. Whether my wrist felt limp due to the size of the martini glass or the color of the drink has yet to be decided, but I assure you, his full bodied answer to the watery pomegrenate martini is the way a cocktail should taste. The cocktail was well thought out and put its vodka wreaking half sweet compatriot to shame. The other drink was a traditional side car, made with fresh fruit and GranGala liqueur rather than Triple sec. The GranGala was a brilliant addition to the cocktail and made it peach schnapps smooth. If you are ever in the area, the Alchemist is an interesting blend of Irish pub, concert venue, and minimalist art gallery. It's a great place to visit and a better place to frequent.

Whiskey Smash and Old Cuban at Eastern Standard

2009-09-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Whiskey Smash

1/2 a sliced lemon

pinch of mint

Lightly muddled

1 oz simple syrup

2 oz William Larue Weller 7yr American Mash

Lightly shake to integrate

Double strain to remove pulp

Pour over crushed ice

Garnish with mint

Old Cuban

3/4 oz of lime juice

1 oz simple syrup

1 1/2 oz Barban Court aged rum

Pinch of mint

2 dashes of bitters

Shake and double strain into Martini glass

Float 1 oz sparkling wine

Garnish with mint

For my second update I decided to venture out to Kenmore square, home of The Eastern Standard. This is a bar that needs little introduction, to put it simply if cocktails were a religion in Boston (which it very well may be) Eastern Standard would be the Cardinal of the Archdiocese. That being said I was not greeted in the manner of previous visits. After asking the Amazonian looking bartender for a drink suggestion she flung a drink menu in front and walked to the other end of the bar. Apparently my request for a suggestion made me some kind of strange animal that required a special kind of handler. After exchanging words with the female bartender, Kit walked down bar and arrived in front of me.
Kit was much more helpful and suggested Eastern Standard's most popular cocktail the whiskey smash, (which they have served of 25,000 of to date). This was more than acceptable as I happen to be a huge fan of the cocktail, and as is to be expected from E.S. it was the best smash I've had to date. I will be returning for another soon. The second cocktail Kit suggested was the Old Cuban. I am generally not a fan of rum cocktails but this was certainly the exception to my rule. The Old Cuban is a light refreshing cocktail that I wish I had thought to order earlier in the summer. Overall Easter Standard is juxtaposed to the "Yo sully" and "Ya dude"ery of the Fenway area, and it's a refreshing contrast to the stale sports bar montage found elsewhere in the Fens. Not to mention the cocktails are amazing.

Tiramisu and Bourbon Espresso Martinis at the Charles' Mark

2009-09-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Tiramisu Martini

1 Part Patron Cafe

1 Part Godiva Dark

1/2 Shot of Espresso

Splash Amaretto

Shake until chilled, strain into martini glass Garnish with shaved cinnamon and whipped cream.

Jefferson's Bourbon Espresso Martini

1 Part Jefferson's small batch bourbon

1 Part Godiva Dark

1/2 shot of espresso

Shake until chilled, strain into martini glass

To start my adventure into Boston's bar culture I decided to stop at a truly unique hotel bar, the Charles' Mark. The Charles' Mark Hotel bar and lounge is located at 655 Boylston Street, directly across from the Boston Public Library. I am aware of the PBR chugging, Car bomb dropping, P-funk smoking crowd that frequents this street, but the Charles Mark is a chic, clean, sophisticated bar and a refreshing oasis from the tired aesthetic of the college bar scene.
From the straight-edged, utilitarian black and white decor to the frosted tap to the well thought out drink list, The Charles Mark is a welcomed post-conflict wrap up to the coming of age novel that is Boylston street, which starts at the sweat-stained, acne-ridden Pour House and slowly comes to grips with itself down the strip.
Upon walking in, I was greeted by my favorite Back Bay Bartender, the always perky and friendly Vanessa. Upon explaining my mission for the night she enthusiaistcly mixed and shook two incredible espresso based cocktails. The first was the Tiramisu martini, a clean, attractive and delicious dessert drink with the added benefit of caffeine. I was extremely satisfied with the first of my cocktail duet and was not dissappointed by the second. Jefferson's Bourbon espresso martini is an adult alternative to the Jager bombs exploding in almost every other area bar. This cocktail features a healthy pour of bourbon, Patron cafe topped off with a half ounce of espresso. Shave your chin beard and take out your eyebrow ring, you can still catch a buzz and stay up without having to make (as well as be) a mess.

Boston cocktails is born.

2009-09-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

The plan behind the creation of this blog is to visit random bars throughout Boston and interview Bartenders, have them make and share the recipe of their favorite cocktail, photograph it, and share it with the wide open internet. I will also be "tweeting" about said events http://twitter.com/BostonCocktails