Sweetest Day

Did you know Sweetest Day is this Saturday?

For those of you outside the Great Lakes Region, you may have no idea what I'm talking about.  For those of you from the upper Midwest, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.  Whether you are looking forward to the other Valentines Day, or whether you grumbling about the "Hallmark Holiday" that has no real meaning, there is no question that the day is celebrated by many here in Milwaukee.

While it is true that Sweetest Day was an 'invented' holiday that was used to sell candy in the 1920s, the fact is that many of the holidays we celebrate today were promoted or created by a commercial business.  Do you think the Christmas Card or the turkey dinner on Thanksgiving would be what they are without the Hallmark or Butterballs of the world?

Maybe it is time we change our perception of sweetest day.  After all, it is a retro holiday with a unique beginning.  Imagine all the flappers and dapper celebrities handing out candy in Cleveland in the 1920s.  Imagine the candy they were handing out!  It was probably an awesome treat that tastes nothing like what we have today.  Back in those days, candy making was an art, similar to mixology or bread making.  It was such a celebrated craft that they could have just as easily called Sweetest Day "Artisan Chocolate Day", but this, of course, would not have the sensual connotations that sweetest has.

This year at Bryant's, we are bringing back the roots of the holiday.  We are working with Atomic Chocolates, a local artisan chocolate maker, to provide a free chocolate to the first 100 guests on Saturday.  Unlike the store bought candies you often see on Sweetest Day, these chocolates are the real deal, made with fresh ingredients and rich cocoa.  We like to think these are similar to the chocolates that were given out back in the 1920s, before corn syrup and artificial flavors became standard ingredients in candy.

We hope that even those of you who hate the idea of sweetest day will join us this weekend for a cocktail and celebration of the sweet thing we sometimes take for granted.  Whether you decide to bring your sweet thing is entirely up to you.

We open at 5PM on Saturday with the Velvet Lounge opening at 8PM.

Cocktail of the Month: The Rob Roy

There is a simplicity to cocktails that is often overlooked.  This is especially true in the days of complex craft cocktails, where bartenders are striving to carve a niche in the cocktail world by using obscure ingredients and methodologies.  Not saying we have a problem with flamed Truffula Fruit or fresh squeezed Tomacco Juice, but here at Bryant's we believe there is a classic value in simple, spirit-forward cocktails.  

These are the cocktails that aren't meant to fool a gin-hating cocktail drinkers into enjoying gin; rather, these are the cocktails that make a gin lover love gin even more.  Spirit forward classics include the much loved martini, manhattan, and negronis of the the world, along with our cocktail of the month, The Rob Roy.

The Rob Roy is a scotch-based drink that is, in essence, a manhattan in which scotch is used instead of rye or bourbon.  Wait a minute- you may be wondering how a bartender can change one single ingredient in a cocktail and claim it as their creation- isn't that cheating?  Remember, these are simple, spirit forward cocktails that are minimalist and well-balanced, where changing even one ingredient completely changes the cocktail.

Similar to knowing the subtle differences between the Cosby Show introductions in season 6 and 7, the bartender who invented the Rob Roy in 1894 knew that substituting scotch for whiskey would change the manhattan in to an entirely different cocktail.  Indeed, adding scotch changed it from a sophisticated, whiskey tipple to a sword-wielding scotch-drink, capable of satisfying the most adamant scotch lover who, as you may know, generally prefers scotch on its own.

The Rob Roy mingled vermouth with scotch whiskey so well that it was named after the scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor, who was a well-loved swordsman and cattle man who fought heroically against William of Orange and the Campbell Clan.  

Want to taste for yourself?  Stop by Bryant's Cocktail Lounge during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour where we will be offering our Rob Roy for only $5 during the entire month of October.  Additionally, this scotch classic will be only $5 every Sunday in October.   Can you think of a better way to celebrate Scotchtoberfest?

Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour
Tuesday through Friday
5 to 9