According to Nation’s Restaurant News, mixologists are at it again, attempting to find the next innovative cocktail to mix up and put on their menu. This time, bartenders are shaking up beer with just about anything they can find, from absinth to port to coffee, creating an entirely new breed of cocktail that appeals to the curious drinker.
The Muddy Puddle, a signature drink at JoeDoe in New York City, is made up of Old Pogue bourbon, iced espresso and simple syrup, shaken and poured over ice into a pilsner glass rimmed with crushed peanuts and topped off with Sierra Nevada stout. “It is one of our most popular drinks,” said Jill Schulster, co-owner and creator of the ten “prepared beers” on the drink menu. Each Muddy Puddle is priced at $12, and she sells about 100 a week.
Beer is no stranger to being part of a mixed cocktail. It is seen in the Black and Tan-stout plus lager or pale ale-as well as the Shandy-beer and lemonade. Mexico’s classic Michelada is a beer with lime, salt, picante sauce and often tomato juice, and is found in several American bars.
“Bartenders are always looking for different things to use,” said Philip Ward, mixologist and partner at Mayahuel, a Mexican restaurant in New York City. “Making beer itself is an art, and if you cross the at of beer with the art of cocktails, you can really have something special.”
David McAtee, bartender at Toronado in San Diego and Frankie Thaheld, mixologist at Alchemy and George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, aim to raise the beer cocktail beyond the traditional “workingman’s Boilermaker.”
“I’ve seen a great deal of focus on Prohibition-era cocktails, but no one really trying to expand the horizons,” said Thaled. “Beer is newfound territory. There are so many different beer flavors and styles, they just opened up a whole new can of oysters, if you will.”
