Cheers

www.cheersonline.com 39 MAY 2014 | served over a cube made with sweet vermouth and maraschino liqueur in a four to one ratio. Because these cubes contain no water, the drink actually gains potency as it's sipped. Second Home Kitchen + Bar, an 100-seat modern American restaurant in Denver, offers a cocktail called e Grapefruit- A-Go-Go ($11). A top-selling cocktail for several years, the Grapefruit-A-Go-Go is made with Absolut vodka, St. Germaine, honey syrup and prosecco, and served over small, round ice cubes made with grapefruit juice and water: It changes from a sweet vodka Martini to a riff on the Greyhound. "We wanted to create an exciting cocktail that would please all of our guests, be fun to drink and a great conversation piece," says Second Home general manager Megan McGinness. She encourages operators to have fun with the concept, and explore different shapes and flavors to find what best fits in with a bar or restaurant's brand. McGinness is experimenting with a moonshine- and lemonade-based cocktail with blackberry moonshine ice cubes, as well as freezing different varieties of tea to serve in lemonade-based refreshers—a unique twist on the Arnold Palmer. MORPHING MADNESS Morphing cocktails have their challenges—as well as their detractors. Chauncey Scates, lead bartender at the 56-seat modern urban restaurant Square 1682 in Philadelphia, was excited to experiment with this style of drink. She recently created different ice cube infusions that would coax out the complex aromas and flavors of six high-end tequilas sipped solo. Scates's enthusiasm quickly waned, however, when her results were less than satisfactory. "After running extensive testing and sampling, I found that the morphing element—though fun and kind of cool—didn't really enhance the experience in a way in which I was proud of, and actually worked contrary to the experience," she says. Kachina's Lewis admits that morphing cocktails aren't a fit for all concepts or guests. "Depending on how quickly or slowly they drink, it may not turn out to be the experience they are looking for." He recommends that staff prepare to articulate to patrons the purpose of the kicked-up ice, and what to expect as they sit and enjoy the libation. Ergys has some advice for those wishing to successfully incorporate these metamorphosing libations. "Carefully choose the ingredients, because it might start right and change into something bad." And he and Lewis both agree that ongoing taste testing during the experimentation process is key. "When creating this type of cocktail, bartenders need to taste the cocktail at the beginning, and all the way through, to make sure the drink is not changing into something undesirable." Kelly Magyarics, DWS, is a wine and spirits writer and wine educator in the Washington, D.C. area. She can be reached by her website, www.kellymagyarics.com, or on Twitter and Instagram @ kmagyarics. I Scream, You Scream For Boozy Frozen Treats The founders of BuzzBar were inspired to create their boozy treats-on-a-stick as a way for guests to easily enjoy a spirited ice cream or sorbet at a show, club or event. The resultant ice cream bars are made with all-natural ice cream, organic dairy and whole food ingredients, and just the right amount of spirited kick. The Los Angeles-based company currently offers six flavors, including Bourbon St. Chocolate, with chocolate ice cream and whiskey, and Citrus Berry Drop, with raspberry lemon drop sorbet and lemon vodka. Four additional sorbets will launch this summer, including Mango Tequila Margarita and a sugar-free wine sorbet. The bars retail for $7 each, and are sold in shops as well as hotels including the Mondrian and the Clevelander, both in Miami's South Beach. "We believe it is a new food category that has not been marketed to the masses in a bar or stick form," says BuzzBar's director of marketing Amy Freeman. "We are surprised by how easy it has been to convey our company message of fun and natural products with alcohol."—KAM 36-39 morphing summer cocktails CH0514.indd 39 5/7/14 10:21 AM

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