You can expect three things when Trio’s Restaurant rolls out a new cocktail menu: a tiki drink, well-crafted originals, and that one cocktail you can’t find elsewhere in the Rock.
Barman Merrick Fagan has definitely delivered on his latest Spring Cocktail menu, which has a little bit of something for everyone.
First up is Cassandra’s Journey, a cocktail that definitely packs on the flavor. The combination of Schizandra berry-infused vodka paired with lapsang souchang syrup and lemon makes a well-rounded drink.
Fagan says, “The Schizandra berry is five flavor berry – it’s sweet, sour, savory, bitter, and spicy. Lapsang is a Chinese black tea that’s smokey and woodsy – it’s exactly what the berry needs to round it out.”
Drink this one slowly to catch all of the flavor notes – it’s simple, but complex.
If you’re in the mood for a more tropical drink, check out the Channel Surfer – the Tiki star of the menu. The name itself is a pun – gin is English and cognac is French, so you have the “Channel Surfer” – an ode to the English Channel.
Gin, brandy, curaçao, Benedictine, passionfruit, lime and orgeat come together for “a not-too-sweet tropical treat.” Fagan explains, “Gin and brandy are the unsung heroes of tiki – people think tiki and they think rum, … but a lot of it is also gin and brandy, especially in unison.”
For those that would rather have some bubbles in their drink, try the Figgedaboutit. Think El Dorado 3 Rum, House-Made Fig Syrup, Lemon and Bubbles. He says, “I’ve had the name picked out for a while, but it took a long time to figure out the configuration of this fig cocktail. Plus, when we got local figs in, I knew it was time.”
Fagan’s motivation for combining the rum and champagne is to open people up to new spirits that they might not otherwise try. Enjoy one or more of these light, effervescent, and completely refreshing beverages.
For those of you who just want to be completely serious about your drink, don’t miss the Vieja Cuadra – a take on a Vieux Carre. Fagan originally created the drink for a special dinner, but didn’t have everything quite worked out. “I was experimenting and I just made it the way I would have made a Vieux Carre but it was awful,” he explains, “but I just left the glass sitting out for an hour and … it just tastes better not cold.”
It’s true. This room-temperature cocktail is a treat for the seasoned cocktailian and those who are just getting their feet wet.
Be sure to try the Jaded Rosie, a sweet floral vodka-based drink named for a Trio’s regular as well as the El Conde – a take on the classic Negroni.
New this time around – Fagan has added a “Modern Classics” section to the drink menu. He says, “We’re trying to just increase the overall ambience of cocktails here.”
Peruse the menu yourself here, and then head out to Trio’s to get your drink on.
