Three reasons to go to Drink

Drink is without a doubt my favorite bar in Boston. The cocktails are fantastic, the bartenders are deeply knowlegeable and serious about their craft, and the bar has an artistic, industrial elegance befitting a place in the Fort Point neighborhood. It is a short walk from South Station, and an evening there often results in a cab ride home, since last call happens after the T stops running.

The greatest thing about Drink is that the bartenders are happy to share their carefully crafted recipes with their customers. All they want is for the general public to enjoy more great cocktails -- whether at Drink, or at home. And the cocktails are so unique and memorable that there's a huge thread on Chowhound where satisfied patrons record what they drank at Drink.

Here are 3 formulas I've particularly enjoyed at Drink, courtesy of John Gertsen and Scott Marshall. John even took the time to dictate a recipe over the phone when we called one night, desperate for a coffee flip and unable to get it right on our own.

Irma La Douce

• 1.5 Hendrick's gin
• .5 Green Chartreuse
• .5 cucumber puree
• .5 lemon juice
• .5 grapefruit juice
• .25 simple syrup
• Garnish: thin cucumber slice

Maxmillian Affair

• 1 Milagro
• 1 St. Germain
• .5 Punt e Mes
• .5 lemon juice
• Garnish: None (!)

Coffee Flip

• Muddle 10 espresso beans
• 2 Old Monk rum
• .5 St. Germain
• .25 simple syrup
• 1 large egg, don't use the whole white (it adds too much volume)
• Shake 15 seconds without ice, then 1 minute with ice
• Garnish: 3 espresso beans

Happy New Year from all of us at If You Mix It!

Mai Tai

The Pegu Blog has a nice post about the hotly contested origin of the Mai Tai. At the time, I was more interested in consuming one than learning about the drink's rich and fabled history, so I went for the easy-to-assemble Trader Vic's Modern recipe:

• 1 oz gold rum (Bacardi)
• 1 oz dark rum (Meyer's)
• 1 oz triple sec
• 1/2 oz lime juice (freshly sqeezed, of course)
• 1/2 oz Orgeat syrup 
• pineapple garnish

This is simpler than the Trader Vic's original 1944 recipe, and was quite refreshing and delicious. Lest you think there is only one way to make a Mai Tai, check out a list of 10(!) here.