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 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 Fernandito Cocktail

The cocktail for February 8 through the 11th is the Fernandito Cocktail, created by Gary Regan.

We chose this cocktail after searching for a better use for a common spirit: spiced rum. At Bryant's we are huge fans of rum. We use different varieties of rum in many, many of our cocktails. Light rum, dark rum, 151 rum, aged rum, Puerto Rican rum, Guatemalan rum, and yes, we even occasionally use coconut-flavored rum. The one rum we have found little use for is spiced rum. All of the Captain Morgan spiced rum we pour is mixed with coke. Not saying there is anything wrong with this, but there has to be a better use for spiced rum, right?

When someone wants a drink made with spiced rum, we find they will enjoy some of our house-made spiced drinks. The Navy Grog, the Fog Cutter, and the Scorpion are a few of the drinks we make with our own spice mixture. Personally, I feel these drinks blow any store bought spiced rum out of the water, but I may be a little biased. Or I may have had one too many Navy Grogs in my life (these drinks, by the way, are served in our ultra-cool skull mugs, which make them all the more mysterious).

For those of our guests who are not a fan of our house spice mix, we have finally found a cocktail that works well with store bought spiced rum. The Fernandito combines spiced rum (we are using Cruzan spiced rum, which has a heavy vanilla flavor), raspberry liqueur, lime juice, and orange juice.

The Fernandito has all the traits of a great cocktail- simple in ingredients, but complex in taste. It highlights the flavors of the spiced rum without being too boozy. This cocktail is so great, it will appeal to fans of rum and fans of spiced rum (yes, these are often two different groups of people).

Stop in during Old Fashioned Cocktail Hour this week and try the Fernandito for only $5. Follow it up with a Geronimo or a Hawaiian Eyes and make it a night!