Karla Alindahao | Nov 12, 2020
My partner and I established a sanity-saving tradition early on in the pandemic: We made it a point to set aside a good chunk of our late afternoons to enjoy happy hour together—with absolutely zero regard for the President’s tweets, the onslaught of work emails, or the blitzkrieg of bad news on CNN and every other news network.
In my mind, this daily (and highly restorative) ritual is all about focusing on ourselves and having a good chat about the ups and downs of the day. A sort of centering, if you will.
But after more than half a year of living in Covidland, we needed something new in terms of libations. One can only have so many by-the book margaritas or martinis or Negronis. So, I decided to reach out to some of America’s finest bartenders for inspiration—and they, of course, delivered.
My ask was simple: The recipes needed to be easy but not necessarily “quick.” They had to use six or fewer ingredients and they had to deliver us from our cocktail rut. And by that I meant they needed to be unusual and creative. So without fail, every single spirits professional delivered: Tamari, rice wine vinegar, mustard seeds, gochujang, and vegetable ash are never the norm when it comes to cocktail making—but the simple recipes below are more than stellar and most certainly worth a shot.
The Most Offbeat and Unusual Cocktails You Can Make at Home Right Now
WELLINGTON-HARRINGTON
“This cocktail is inspired by my neighborhood (Wellington-Harrington) in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I have now lived for over a decade. It’s a melting pot of Brazilian, Polish, and Italian heritage with bakeries serving pao de queijo a few doors down from ones slinging cannolis. It is a neighborhood where private clubs still abound and the restaurant owners grew up down the street. It is my community that I love and this cocktail exemplifies how something so wonderful can come from disparate cultures and ingredients melding together.” —Naomi Levy, bar manager and acting general manager at Variety Bar, Cambridge, MA
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Novo Fogo Silver Caçhaca
0.5 oz. Campari
0.75 oz. beet syrup**
0.75 oz. lime juice
1 sprig parsley, garnish
**Beet Syrup: Combine ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 oz. water, and ½ cup roasted beets in a blender. (I buy the beets pre-roasted from Love Beets or you can roast your own.) Blend ingredients until smooth. Strain through mesh strainer (optional, but recommended).
Method: Combine all ingredients and shake. Strain into a coupe and garnish with a parsley leaf.
16 Unusual Cocktail Recipes For Adventurous Drinkers
Forbes | Nov 12, 2020
