Cocktail of the Week: Lapham Punch

There are several secrets that surround Bryant's Cocktail Lounge.

Some secrets are known by regular customers and those who have frequented Bryant's for years. For example, if you want a good cocktail, just tell the barman what you are looking for and trust that he will deliver.

Other secrets are known by just the staff. For example, what gives the Black Magic that magical taste that leaves you wanting more.

Still other secrets are even better kept and are known only to two or three people. One of these secrets is the ingredients in Pat's punches.

Pat, the second owner of Bryant's Cocktail Lounge, became somewhat well know for his boozy punch concoctions that would be sold around special occasions- the most popular of which was the Holiday Punch, which we still serve from Thanksgiving to New Years. These punches pack a kick that helps fuel Holiday revelry and are sweet enough to go down like candy.

Many people have tasted the Holiday Punch, but not many have tried the other punches that were served back in the day. One of the most obscure is the Lapham Punch, which was primarily sold around St. Patrick's Day and has a limey, whiskey fueled taste. This punch hasn't been mixed in years and years, but is available this week at Bryant's as the Cocktail of the Week.

If you are a fan of the Holiday Punch, you will most certainly like the Lapham Punch. Stop in during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour to try this well kept secret for only $5 a glass. Plus, as usual, it is available for only $5 all night on Sunday.

Cocktail of the Week: The Daiquiri Cocktail

Did you know that April 20th is National Look Alike Day?

You can celebrate by dressing like your best friend, dressing your dog like your cat, or sitting around watching the Patty Duke show- a TV comedy about two identical cousins who get involved in all sorts of hijinks.  Cathy Lane, played by Patty Duke, is the refined cousin; raised in a cultured world of travel and minuets.  Patty Lane, also played by Patty Duke, is a Brooklyn Heights girl who loses control over rock and roll and hotdogs.

In celebration of National Look Alike Day, we really wanted to feature a drink of the week that looks identical to another cocktail, but tastes entirely different.  This, of course, is an easy task.  A Forever Amber looks an awful lot like a Briar Patch, though they taste quite different.  The Forever Amber tastes like strawberry, while the Briar Patch tastes like raspberry.  A Manhattan looks like Franks Drink, a Tornado looks like a Rat Pack, and a vodka tonic looks identical to a gin and tonic.

Instead, we decided to challenge ourselves by featuring a cocktail that has an identical name to another cocktails, but is entirely different.  Sounds confusing, but it really isn't.  There are two cocktails, both named "Daiquiri".  Much like Patty and her cousin Cathy, these cocktails are identical in name, just like two matching bookends, but they are different as night and day.

Our featured cocktail this week is the original Daiquiri Cocktail.  About 75% of people equate a Daiquiri with a blended icy drink that tastes like lime or strawberry or maybe raspberry.  It may be blue or purple or red, and it may or may not be made with rum.  At Bryant's Cocktail Lounge, in general, we are a fan of blended cocktails, but the Daiquiri is an exception.  Why?  Because the original, un-basterdised Daiquiri Cocktail is so darn good.

The original Daiquiri Cocktail, as we understand it, is quite simple.  Rum, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup- shaken and strained in to a cocktail glass.  The rum plays with the lime, and the lime plays with the sugar, and the sugar plays with the rum.  It's like a playground in your mouth- a playground made of booze!

This original concoction can also be blended, as it was at the Floridita in Cuba, where Ernest Hemingway hung is hat.  However, we don't recommend it.  Just try it in it's pure form.

This week we want you to find out for yourself why the original Daiquiri is so much better than the blended Daiquiri of the 1980s.  The Daiquiri Cocktail is only $5 during Old Fashioned Happy Hour, which takes place from 5 to 9, Tuesday through Friday.  In addition, we will be offering the Daiquiri Cocktail for only $5 all night on Sunday!  How can you go wrong?

As an added bonus, we have some delicious Fish House Punch, which is a potent and delicious rum punch.  The predominant flavors are lemon-lime, with a hint of vanilla.  Try this after your Daiquiri Cocktail for only $5 for a big glass.

Cocktail of the Week: The Income Tax Cocktail

The Income Tax Cocktail

Yes, it is that time again.  Tax Day.

In case you didn't know (and expect a cocktail lounge's blog to tell you) your taxes are due on April 18th this year.  So, this week, make sure to gather your W-2s, un-crumple your receipts, and prepare to fill in the little boxes answering confusing, "shouldn't there be a comma there", questions.

But first, stop by Bryant's for this weeks Cocktail of the Week: The Income Tax Cocktail.  The Income Tax Cocktail is a pre-prohibition cocktail that is remarkably similar to the classic Bronx- a cocktail that has been a long-time favorite at Bryant's.  The Bronx is a classic mix of gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, and fresh orange juice.  The difference between a Bronx and The Income Tax Cocktail?  A shake of bitters.

Now, we can only assume that the cocktail mixers of yore had a sense of humor.  This is most likely one of those times when a witty barman created a cocktail to make a point.  Even though the bitters do add a touch of complexity, they also make the cocktail a little more bitter- just like doing your taxes.

Want to try it yourself?  Stop down this week when The Income Tax Cocktail is only $5 during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour, Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 9.  Also, it will be $5 all night on Sunday, April 17th.  The day before your taxes are due.

After sipping on this delicious cocktail, you can rest assured that your bitterness has been shared by generations of Americans who begrudgingly fill out their taxes every year and find that they need a tasty cocktail to help them forget.  Now, where is that recipe for the 4868 Extension to File Cocktail?

Cocktail of the Week: The Velvet Touch

The Velvet Touch

The drink of the week for April 5th through April 10th comes from the Bryant's recipe vault- a dark, secure place, full of cocktail recipes not seen in 5, 10, or even 20 years. We are slowly bringing these recipes out in to the light of day, to once again be enjoyed by our guests.

The Velvet Touch (not to be mistaken for the Velvet Hammer, which is an ice cream drink), is a rum-based cocktail, with hints of almond and strawberry. It is served in a squall glass over ice and is delicious. Like many Bryant's drinks, this cocktail is deceivingly strong and covers the taste of the booze quite well- so well that it is worthy of the name "Velvet Touch".

Don't spend April waiting for Spring to arrive, drink it in a glass! This week only, the Velvet Touch cocktail is only $5 during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour (Tuesday through Friday, from 5PM to 9PM) and all night on Sunday April 10th!

(Unfortunately, we can not combine offers so we will not be able to accept Groupons as payment for any Cocktail Hour cocktail.)

Cocktail of the Week: The Glamour Shot

The cocktail of the week for March 29th through April 3rd is the Glamour Shot. As we move away from the wintery weather of March in to the spring of April (hopefully), we start to move away from brown and bitter in to light clear spirited cocktails.

The Glamour Shot is the perfect cocktail to bridge the two seasons. Created by our excellent bartender Emily Evans, the Glamour Shot is a well balanced mix of Plymouth Gin, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquor, Cynar, and lime. This is definitely a spiritous gin cocktail, but it has some of the bitter elements one expects in a well-crafted Manhattan.

Stop in this week during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour and try a Glamour Shot for only $5. In addition, we will be offering this drink for $5 all night this Sunday, April 27th. A true bargain for such an exceptional cocktail!

A brand new old postcard.

We take our image pretty seriously here at Bryant's. Any ad, website, blog, or advertising has to fit our image as a historic cocktail lounge. Especially important are the take-aways for customers. The stickers, t-shirts, and postcards say a lot about us as a lounge and a piece of Milwaukee history. The most important of these takeaways are the postcards we give to our customers. We love our postcards for many reasons. We love that people mail them to their friends, fasten them to their refrigerator, and use them to jot down notes about their visit to Milwaukee.

For the last three years, the Whipped Cream Girl postcard has been the postcard of choice. We absolutely love this postcard, which is a recreation of Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream and Other Delights", an iconic album cover from the 1960s. Our good friend and fabulous Milwaukee photographer Daniel Bishop created this postcard from scratch, including photographing our own Whipped Cream Girl in the Velvet Lounge, drawing the font, and recreating the feel of the original album cover. Truly an amazing piece of work!

Our original intention was to change the Bryant's postcard every year, but the Whipped Cream Girl postcard was so good, we decided not to replace it- until now.

Finally, we have a new postcard that is worthy of representing Bryant's. Based on the historic postcards that have advertised the classiest of restaurants and bars over the years, such as this historic postcard from the former Picadilly Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge on Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee:

These collage style postcards have a unique layout and "feeling" and generally include two to five drawings or photographs of the establishment and a prominent logo. One thing we have noticed is that there are rarely people in the pictures, instead treating the spaces almost like works of art that belong in a museum. Most modern marketers discourage this, but we like it for its historic value and, quite frankly, most of these spaces could be in museums.

Our new collage postcard features four photos of Bryant's (which were again taken by Dan Bishop), and the familiar Bryant's script in the lower left hand corner:

Similar to the historic postcards we used as models, there are no noticeable people in the images, instead focusing on the drinks and the spaces. The back of the postcard is simple and features a Bryant's description that should be familiar to customers of the past:

"Milwaukee's Oldest Cocktail Lounge, open since 1938. Everyone enjoys the two floors of atmosphere, swinging sounds, and unmatched cocktails at Bryant's Cocktail Lounge"

This was taken directly from the copy of one of Bryant's historic radio commercials from the 1960s and we think it is still relevant today! See/hear for yourself:

We hope you will love our new old postcard as much as we do. Next time you are at Bryant's, pick up a few and give them to your friends and family! And, we promise we will occasionally bring back the Whipped Cream Girl postcards- they are just too good to retire altogether!

Valentine's Day is our St. Patrick's Day

If there is one thing at Bryant's as consistent as the delicious cocktails, it's love.

Unlike most modern bars, Bryant's was built for love. The cozy dark lighting and cozy booths create the perfect environment for gazing in to the eyes of your beloved. There are no TVs to distract your gaze, no dance floor to break up the space, no pool tables and no bar games- when you come toBryant's it's about you and your companion. Conversation, laughter, and heady drinks mix to create the perfect environment for love.

Is Bryant's the perfect place for a first date? Probably not, especially if you don't know the person. If the date goes wrong (and let's face it, it may), the quiet music and lack of distraction will quickly highlight the awkwardness. Personally, I would say Bryant's is the perfect place for a second date. If you know you have a connection with your date, bring them to Bryant's for some serious one on one.

Why Bryant's? Ask your grandparents: Bryant's is a proven place for love. I have met dozens of people who say they dated at Bryant's, their parents/grandparents dated at Bryant's, or they got engaged at Bryant's. I even met one fellow named Bryant whose parents loved Bryant's so much, they named their child after the lounge. Now, that's love.

Probably the most famous Bryant's couple, long gone from the memory of most Bryant's patrons, were Bryant and Edna Sharp. This couple created and owned Bryant's for nearly 20 years. It was their vision to create a space full of romantic music and delicious cocktails; a special place, closed off and separate from the everyday world. The separation from the outside world was especially important in the late 1930's. America was just coming out of the Great Depression and just entering a World War. Life was hard and people appreciated a romantic place to get away from the everyday.

Unfortunately, we don't know a lot about Bryant or his wife Edna. However, we did find a memorial to Bryant that was quite telling of the couple and their love for each other:

Personally, I never met Bryant, but I am sure he would be happy to know that Milwaukee is still enjoying the lounge he created over 70 years ago. If only he could see that couples still get a glimmer in their eye when they mention their special times at Bryant's. I'm sure he would be proud to have his name on the most romantic spot in town.

This weekend we are celebrating Valentine's Day at Bryant's. We will be making the best cocktails in town, plus we will be serving Pat's Valentine's Day punch and the Defrongue. Here are our hours, hope you can stop by:

Friday, February 11 5PM-2:30AM Velvet Lounge 10PM-1AM

Saturday, February 12 5PM-2:30AM Velvet Lounge 8PM-1AM

Sunday, February 13 8PM-2AM

Monday, February 14 7PM-2AM