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cocktail log: message in a bottle

this is a recipe i deconstructed from a historical menu at one of my favourite cocktail bars, clive's classic lounge*.

2.00 oz tequila
1.00 oz vanilla liqueur
1.00 oz lime juice
0.50 oz simple syrup
a dash of peychauds bitters

combine tequila, vanilla liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup. hake well with ice, then strain into a coupe. then add a dash of cocktail bitters, or don't.

review

an incredibly forgiving drink. i've made it with blanco and reposado tequilas. i've even used an amaro instead of vanilla liqueur in the past. i've dropped the bitters entirely. but no matter what variant there's somethng here that is... irresistably drinkable. something about it transforms your kitchen counter into a legendary, historied bar.

footnotes

in 2020, clive's owners brought in a new head bar-person–one who has earned a name for himself in our province's bar industry. while i hope for the best, i still fear for clive's future; it was a silly, parody of a hotel bar. if you sat at the bar, you'd have a conversation with a professional bartender who was passionate about their craft and was forunate anough to receive extended health benefits as part of their employment at clive's. if you sat at a table, you'd feel like you were inside of a buick with laminate, walnut interior.

what was special about pre-2020 clive's classic lounge? in addition to its constantly-updated feature cocktail menu, it had a very long menu of original cocktails with at least one drink suitable for any person who wandered in. will it remain a place that bartenders feel passionate about? will it remain kitschy and silly? are hotel bars actually allowed to be silly outside of clive's? it remains to be seen.