File this under “I wish I’d written this.” If you care about classic cocktails, read Anthony Giglio’s sharp Boston Magazine portrayal of a gathering of some of the city’s best bartenders to debate the merits of the Boston-born Ward Eight cocktail: whiskey, lemon juice, grenadine (and sometimes orange juice, according to the article).
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“Diamond-studded martini runs a cool $3,000” is the headline of an Associated Press article that ran in the Boston Globe on April 15. Foxwoods casino’s new “signature” cocktail is called the Sapphire Martini and costs three grand. It’s an icky-sounding concoction — blue curacao, Bombay Sapphire gin, and a splash of dry vermouth in a martini glass whose rim is coated with blue sugar (what “signature” cocktail doesn’t come with a sugared rim these days?) — but that’s beside the point. You presumably won’t think about how this drink tastes when your Hummer-driving sugardaddy orders it for you. That’s because it’s garnished with a pair of custom-made blue sapphire and diamond earrings, set in a sterling silver pick.
The article explains, “With the unveiling of the four-digit cocktail, the casino’s new Mezz Ultra Lounge joins a growing list of bars and restaurants around the world offering pure decadence in a glass. Luxury trade experts attribute the rising popularity of premium cocktails to a greater number of educated drinkers of all ages and a wider variety of spirits and liqueurs.”
“Educated” isn’t the word I’d use to describe someone who goes to Foxwoods and spends $3,000 on a pair of earrings because they’re soaked in blue gin.
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Looking for a bar that serves an expertly made cocktail, a good selection of craft beers, or wines that don’t scream “expense account”? Think a great bartender deserves as much praise as a celebrated chef? Want to watch the game in a neighborhood watering hole instead of a tourist-filled sports bar? Drinkboston.com is here to help.
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"Lauren Clark takes readers on a supremely sudsy tour of New England ales, lagers, pilsners, and porters. This is the New England the Puritans warned everybody about, but few have chronicled."
– Wayne Curtis, And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails
Drink sites
For club kids
Friends
James Slaby (created for TV Diner cocktail contest)
1 1/2 oz Plymouth gin
3/4 oz Baines pacharin (a Spanish cordial)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz light cream
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 tsp Regan’s Orange Bitters
8 drops Fee’s Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
1 fresh, whole egg
Healthy grind of fresh black pepper
1 dried star anise
Pour liquids into shaker half-full of cracked ice. Add egg and fresh pepper. Shake vigorously for 60 seconds. Strain into a well-chilled sour glass or rocks glass. Float star anise on top. James calls this drink a “morning-after tonic.”