We’ve covered a few novelty cocktails over the years—the Tinder Date at Via, where a weight-lifting Casanova emerged as we sipped; the Smoking Humidor at Heirloom, where a slab of cherrywood was torched to the point of glowing red; the Notorious P.I.G. (well, the non-alcoholic version) at Olives & Oil, with its floating rubber piggie.
A few days ago, I went searching for a few more. I started back at Via, where the Smokeshow ($15.50) offered just that with a lit sage blunt smoldering on the rim of the glass. I waited for the burn to ebb, then went in for the real show: a light pink drink whose ingredients were folded beautifully together. The jalapeño-infused tequila gave it backbone and a steady, restrained heat; the prosecco and triple sec provided fizzy citric character supported by the lime juice; and the prickly pear-infused simple syrup leavened it all into an easy crushable package I nonetheless took my time savoring. You expect fun from a novelty cocktail, but you don’t expect refinement, especially when there’s a mock blunt over the top. This one, mixed by co-bar manager Lucas Oliveira—who credited his whole team for contributing to the recipe and execution—had both to spare.
Mecha’s Island in the Sun ($14) proved that novelty can spring from a constellation of factors, in this case a showy three-part garnish of purple orchid, dehydrated orange and pineapple fronds, a bright green bendy straw tied into a knot and a matte green liquid that reminded me of Nickelodeon slime. But there was one more reason to consider this cocktail made from rum, mizu green tea, coconut, pandan, Thai basil and lime a novelty: It tasted like nothing else I’ve had. It was round yet fruity, coconutty yet tart, with a dimension I couldn’t easily place, and that has to be the pandan: an exotically “nutty, creamy” Southeast Asian flavor, bartender Bekah Calderon noted—a flavor I wasn’t quite sure I liked until a few sips in, when I found myself craving it.
My last stop was The Anchor Spa, where, in the hands of bartender Brandon McCall, the Warp Speed Mr. Spock ($18) offered a novel finishing touch: absinthe sprayed through a torch, showering the drink in bursts of fire like, say, rocket exhaust. Even without this “flamed absinthe,” the cocktail might qualify as a novelty for its boozy audacity, mixing 10-year scotch, green Chartreuse, St. Germain and sherry with lemon juice, peach bitters and oregano. Somehow, a drink that was smoky and herbal was also smooth, invoking the future with classic ingredients, which, if you think about it, is exactly what Star Trek did.
And with five different liquors and only lemon juice to cut them, warp speed is right.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims.
