I’ll make this as simple as possible.
What to drink and where to drink it in the Cleveland area. Feel free to add your suggestions in comments.
I’m still in Summer mode, so these drinks are geared toward the refreshing and light side of things.
Cocktails:
Negroni – - Velvet Tango Room
(Equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari stirred over ice or served up.)
This cocktail is one of my favorites and is extra special when it is perfectly crafted by the VTR bartenders. It’s bitter, bright, a touch of balanced sweetness, and a beautiful array of herbal spiciness that causes an upheaval of the senses. One of these is usually not enough, but you might want to stop and savor the lingering effects when you’re done.
Moscow Mule / Dark and Stormy – - Dragonfly
(Moscow Mule: One part Vodka, one part lime juice, three parts ginger beer served on the rocks in a copper mug.)
(Dark and Stormy: Goslings Dark Rum drizzled into Ginger beer over ice with lime.)
These are summer time favorites that are as fun and easy to drink as they are refreshing. Mike at Dragonfly has a very approachable and drinkable cocktail list. Everything on it is a modernized classic and truly compliments the West 25th street attitude: a nod to the new and old.
Irish Godfather – - Duck Island Club
(2oz. of Jameson’s Irish Whisky over ice in a rocks glass, splash of Amaretto, several dashes of bitters)
This drink has been a staple of the Duck Island Club since Andy Long took it over last October. The three flavors blend together to make this drink bittersweet and potent.
Beer:
Buckeye Brewing Ho Ho Ho – - Buckeye Beer Engine
The Buckeye Beer Engine is a well known beer mecca in the middle of Lakewood. It’s also known (as its name suggests) for its cask offerings. A beer engine is a pump that is traditionally used to bring beer from a cask in a pub’s basement up to the bar. Buckeye’s beer engine brings up a rotating cast of beers that tend to enter the glass a little more intensely flavored and slightly less carbonated. Buckeye’s own beer, Ho Ho Ho, is a winter seasonal that I was lucky enough to taste in the cask in July. A little more time in the cask integrated the spiced flavors and brought out a generous but pleasing sourness.
More of What to Drink and Where to Drink It coming soon . . .
Love Margueritas at Momocho!