Boozy, juicy and the ultimate exercise in escapism, tiki cocktails are appearing (and staying) on menus across town. Giving winter a defiant one-finger salute, Ben Bauer at The Libertine launched the Tiki Attack menu in February.
Rum, mezcal and house-made infusions run through the menu in drinks ranging in flavor from sweet and juicy to dry and heady. With a dozen diverse choices, here are three tropical tipples to get you started.
1. Angostura Phosphate: This slightly fizzy cocktail comes with a side that puts the pine in pineapple. A slice of the tropical fruit compressed with rosemary complements the spicy nose, sweet, juicy and lightly herbaceous drink that ends with a pleasantly dry, tropical finish.
2. A Study of Madness in Blue: For this happy libation, Bauer swaps out gin for rum then adds house made blue curaçao and fresh pineapple juice, then floats a dash of merlot on top, resulting in an herbaceous, sweet and tart sip that is pleasantly acidic yet not astringent.
3. Kerouac’s Idea of Moderation: Featuring soursop (a viscous, melon-strawberry flavored fruit juice), this juicy tiki starts with sweetness but finishes clean, with a depth of flavor courtesy of wormwood bitters.
This article appears in March 2016.