ShareThisToo often vacations are so full of activity that there's no time for relaxation. So on a recent visit to Boston, a city where I tend to pack in too much, I combined my sightseeing with lolling away the hours in some of the city's best cocktail bars.
Boston is one of America's best cities to drink in, so I used word-of-mouth, past visits, blogs and bartenders to figure out where to go.
From the sidewalk outside Drink, one of Boston's newest, most-talked-about bars, a row of long windows gives passers-by a bird's-eye view of the subterranean room. Brick walls and exposed pipes add a speakeasy-style mystique. A bar made from polished oak is set up in three U-shapes, maximizing seating while breaking customers up into smaller groups.
Drink has no drink list, and for the most part all cocktails are $10. (Some drinks that require a lot of extra labor such as homemade infusions will be $11-$12.) You order by having a conversation with your bartender. The idea is to encourage patrons to try something new and take advantage of the encyclopedic-like knowledge of the bartenders, as well as the amazing variety of house-made liqueurs, infusions, ginger beer and freshly squeezed everything.
Tell your bartender that you like whiskey and you may be offered the Fort Point (named for the neighborhood), a variation on a Manhattan, made from Rittenhouse rye whiskey, the bittersweet Italian vermouth Punt E Mes and the cognac-based herbal liqueur Benedictine. (A classic Manhattan is made with rye, sweet vermouth and angostura bitters.)
"Thwack!" Scott Marshal, our bartender for the evening, uses a bar spoon to crack ice against his palm, already making the first drink as he quizzes my neighbor on her preferences for the evening. "Something with lemon" yielded a Bee's Knees, a glowing yellow Prohibition-era concoction made from gin, lemon and honey syrup.
Since Drink is a Barbara Lynch project, and Barbara Lynch is first and foremost an extraordinary chef and restaurateur, there is a short list of frequently changing small bites like tiny sweet bay scallops, paired with small chunks of sweet potato and sprinkled with house-made bacon bits (three skewers for $10).
Steak tartare served on brioche toasts (three for $10) inspired Marshal to offer his variation of a Bone Crusher, a drink originally inspired by acclaimed cocktail writer David Wondrich's Bone cocktail made from rye whiskey, lime juice, sugar and a few dashes of Tabasco. Here, this spicy, earthy, smoky drink was made from Del Maguey's Single Village Mezcal (Minero), El Tesoro Reposado Tequila, demerara sugar simple syrup, lime and Tabasco.
Bartenders are a gregarious lot, and great ones recommend other notable spots in town. So off we went the following afternoon to Eastern Standard, the bar and restaurant where cocktail geeks and Red Sox fans gather. (Fenway Park is within spitting distance.)
Here you'll find something that looks like a menu, but that communicates style more than ingredients. With entries such as Alpine Cocktail: Aromatics in Thin Air and Vieux Carre: Pride of the Hotel Monteleone, it's wise to snag a friendly bartender. Maybe after a few drinks those descriptions will even start to mean something.
Although sorely tempted by the Periodista (rum for the intrepid reporter), I stuck to the Culinaire section of the menu, recommended by Marshal.
The Mot Chaud ($10), inspired by that cocktail classic the Last Word, is made from house-infused vegetable vodka, fresh lime juice, Luxardo maraschino liquor, cayenne simple syrup, muddled cucumbers, celery bitters and salt -- a veritable gazpacho in a cocktail glass, similar to a Bloody Mary but with a far more vibrant profile.
Such culinary drinks inspire food pairings from Eastern Standard's extensive menu, with its mix of seafood, charcuterie and brasserie-style fare. Here your bartender will come in handy as well. "Perhaps the beet salad with the Russian Tea Room (Christiania Vodka infused with roasted red beets and combined with orange juice, tarragon and spicy Greek yogurt, $10)?" I queried. "Too much beet" he advised. "I'd recommend the oysters." Quite a new spin on afternoon tea.
Among other hot spots, few restaurant drink lists attract the kind of attention garnered by the beloved Craigie Street Bistro. When it moved to a new space in Cambridge, it became Craigie on Main and had room for a full bar.
Bar manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, previously of Eastern Standard, has done a fantastic job of creating drinks that have a point of view and match well with chef/owner Tony Maws' French- and market-inspired menus that emphasize a style Maws describes as "refined rusticity."
At the bar you'll find a few classics such as the Kir Royale ($11) as well as Schlesinger-Guidelli's own creations. The Northern Lights ($10) is a complex, crisp concoction. Smoke-tinged scotch and Douglas Fir Eau De Vie play dominant roles, tamed by lemon and orange juice, Demerara sugar simple syrup and St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, with the tiniest hint of warming spices contributed by Bittermens 'Elemakule Tiki Bitters.
(China Millman can be reached at cmillman(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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