Monday, December 22, 2014

Our Quest for Christmas Spirit in a Beverage Part II

“The Christmas spirit is alive and well in the beverages of LFK!” declares our Larryville Artists food critic.  In part II of our series, we report on findings when our critic posed the challenge to Downtown baristas and bartenders, “Give us your best Christmas drink.”

Refuting recent debate that connoisseurship is simply junk science, our critic slowly and carefully sipped and searched for nuances in each distict drink.  Our persnickety critic recorded impressions for the benefit of the LFK public.  Here are the findings. 

Look for Part I of our series herehttp://larryvilleartists.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-quest-for-christmas-spirit-in_21.html

Merchants' Old Leather Couch

Brittany at Merchants
Merchants
Our bartender Brittany’s Old Leather Couch is a manly man’s drink. The straight-forward OLC comes in a slick martini glass with a twist of orange peel. Stellar ingredients include Tomatin single malt scotch, Gran Marnier, Alcemy cold brew, all spice dram and an orange peel. It’s stout and foamy. It’s orangey scotchy with slight hints of licorice. Each sip brings different notes. The first sip was a shock; the second sip a revelation; the third sip was satori.  We loved OLC so much, we shared with others around us.  Old Leather Couch is $7.00.  


Noah at Henry's

Pepperming Mocha


Henry’s
Noah suggested the Peppermint Mocha. With peppermint, chocolate, creamy Southpaw espresso and steamed milk topped with whipped cream, it makes an excellent Christmas coffee drink.   A combination of mint mixed with slight sweet, this hot beverage is strong with pronounced notes of whipped cream.  Exactly what Santa drinks as he loads his sleigh.  A perfect warm-up after ice skating  with Rudolph.  Peppermint Mocha is $3.50.


Thad of Frank's North Star

Hot Toddy with a cinnamon stick


Frank's North Star
We were enchanted with Thad's choice of an up-front hot toddy made with rye whiskey, cloved lemon, honey, hot water, lemon peel, and cinnamon stick. This hot goodness came in a whimsical hip New York, New York cup. We gave extra points for Thad's presentation of this warming drink, and promise to give him our recent copy of Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane.  Thad's hot toddy is a sure cure for chilled bones.


In the end, LFK's bartenders and baristas came through and gave us liquid Christmas miracles.  We hope Santa is extra good to them this year.  

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