Small Hours
Sample price 9- verjus
- chamomile honey
- saline
- soda
Zero proof, full ceremony. Proper glass, proper ice, proper coaster. Nobody at the bar will know or care, which is rather the point.
First question
Evening. Leave the menu closed a minute. One question tells me more than that card ever will. Bitter or bright?
Bitter: second question
You said: Bitter.
Thought so. You came in like a Tuesday. Second question, last one. Stirred and short, or long with ice and nowhere to be?
Bright: second question
You said: Bright.
Good. There's still some evening left in you. Same second question we ask everyone: stirred and cold, or long and lively?
Your pour: Small Hours
You said: Soft tonight.
Respect. The best seat in the house has never once asked what's in your glass.
Your pour: The Second Shift
You said: Bitter.
You said: Stirred. Short.
Then we're done talking. This one is yours.
The Second Shift
Sample price 16- rye whiskey
- amaro [set your pour]
- sweet vermouth
- orange oil
Named for the hour the aprons come off. It drinks like a decision already made: dark fruit up front, gentian holding the door on the way out.
Your pour: Porchlight
You said: Bitter.
You said: Long. I'm staying.
Porchlight, then. Bitter and cold and in no hurry. Neither are you.
Porchlight
Sample price 14- amaro [set your pour]
- dry sparkling wine
- soda
- grapefruit peel
The drink equivalent of sitting outside until the streetlights come on. Low proof on purpose; the second one is part of the design.
Your pour: Hour of Pearl
You said: Bright.
You said: Stirred, please.
Hour of Pearl. Pale, precise, and colder than the walk over here.
Hour of Pearl
Sample price 17- gin
- blanc vermouth
- fino sherry
- lemon oil
Our quiet answer to the martini question. Sea air instead of brine, and it stays cold to the bottom because we keep the glasses in the freezer like we mean it.
Your pour: Paper Lantern
You said: Bright.
You said: Long and lively.
Paper Lantern. Bright all the way down, and it keeps its fizz to the last inch.
Paper Lantern
Sample price 15- gin
- lime leaf cordial
- verjus
- soda
Built tall so the ice does half the work and you do the rest. The lime leaf comes from a neighbor with a greenhouse and opinions.