::Preparing to swell into an Etta James chorus::
Atttt laaaaaaaaaaast, my cocktail place has come along.
Sorry, that was embarrassing.
In my few months living here in Cambridge, my experiences with cocktails thus far have left me... depressed. A friend (also new to Cambridge... let's call her Drinky McGee*) and I have had many sad conversations about how we miss our gin joints from our respective cities, and can't understand why it's so difficult to find a well-mixed drink here.
Acting on a tip from one of Drinky's friends, she traveled one late Saturday night to Brick and Mortar. Awakened from my slumber at 11 pm (I'm an old lady, what can I say?), I received a text saying that the secret bar above Central Kitchen is amazing and it's everything we miss about Philly, DC, and NYC.
If I weren't so snug in my bed, I would have gone then and there. Yeah, my fleece snow flake pajamas are THAT cool. But I waited a few days to go for a proper date night with my husband. Oh, it was worth it.
The atmosphere is low-lit, wooden/brick (go figure), and cozy. The bartenders were friendly and clearly knew what they were doing. AND THEY SERVED MOST OF THEIR DRINKS IN COUPES! IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! (guy across the bar who asked for his second Manhattan to be served in an old-fashioned glass instead of a coup, I'm judging you... unless you're just prone to spilling. Then it's ok. Coupes for everyone!!!)
Onto the drinks
- Sister Mary (Tequila, St. Germain, Aperol, Grapefruit) Delicious and smooth. At the end it settled into something a bit too syrupy, but otherwise, enjoyable. I might ask for something similar next time, made with an Islay scotch rather than tequila, to give a bit more of a smokey kick and avoid the syrupy aspect.
- 4, 5, 6 (a Scotch-based drink with bitters, can't remember the other ingredients) Had a good taste, again, a bit too heavy and syrupy towards the end. Similar to the Sister Mary, a stronger alcoholic taste would balance it more.
- Frequent Flyer (I think this was the name? ginger beer, dark rum, all spice dram, bitters) an interesting blend of ginger and bitters, and the all spice dram cut through to bring everything together nicely.
- River Bottom Porter. Yum.
We also got a half dozen oysters, because that's how we roll. Glancing around at the food others were ordering, everything looked really good. Especially the hamburgers served next to us - they came out cooked perfectly (we could see this because they requested it cut in half, and we were drooling over redness of the meat. Sorry if this creeped you out, people next to us).
We will be back. Oh yes, we will be back.
*names have been changed to protect the innocent read more