Key West, Florida

Time to take the Around America Series as far south as humanly possible and crash Ernest Hemingway's haunts in Key West. Although the author has been dead for more than sixty years, both his home and his cocktails still hold sway over the island. 

Minute Before Midnight

One of our favorite amari in the Lounge is CioCiaro, a bitter-sweet digestif created by Vincenzo Paolucci in 1873 in central Italy. For those Lounge Lizards not fortunate to have had the experience of CioCiaro, its aroma is full of light cola and citrus peels. This amaro tastes like it smells, with cola and oranges upfront, clove in the middle, bitter lemon peels and a bit of anise as an afterthought.

Because of its cola and citrus flavors, CioCiaro is pure joy when paired with coffee in cocktails before dinner and chocolate in cocktails after dinner. Knowing that people are at home with their liquor right now, we encourage that you branch out and buy this very versatile amaro.

For a cocktail recipe, we’d recommend a new classic that riffs from a creation from Misty Kalkofen of Boston’s famous cocktail bar Drink. This sophisticated little number marries CioCiaro with the smokiness of mezcal and the fruity elderflower of St-Germain which brings out the lemony quality of the amaro. The name of the drink is 11:59 p.m. which is a mouthful, so I call it a Minute Before Midnight.

11:59 p.m.

Classic Series

2 ounces mezcal

1 ½ ounces St-Germain

½ ounce CioCiaro amaro

Combine all ingredients in an iced stirring vessel. Stir for 40 revolutions evenly to keep the smoothness of the cocktail. Strain into a chilled coupe, cocktail glass or Nick and Nora glass. Drink slowly to lengthen the flavor on the tongue.

Oklahoma City, Part 2

Last time we introduced you to Oklahoma City’s best-kept secret, the Bricktown neighborhood, starting with Bricktown Brewery. Continuing down Sheridan Avenue, you will encounter a myriad of restaurants and tap rooms including the titan-sized Spaghetti Warehouse, the swanky TapWerks Ale House, the tagged-up Crabtown and its watering hole, the down-home Wormy Dog Saloon, and the burlesque lounge Dollhouse.

Already full from our meal, Cindy and I avoided the dance and food vibe of Sheridan and walked down to the southern border of Bricktown, Reno Avenue. There we stumbled upon blaze-red fronted Whiskey Chicks Parlor, fully prepared to quench an Oklahoma summer thirst. Immediately we were greeted by Elizabeth Haden, a tatted spitfire in daisy dukes who guided us to a table and a drink menu. A look around the bar’s decor which alternated between suicide girls’ boudoir and bourbon distillery, which obviously speaks to guys, but the bartender skill and wait staff enthusiasm keeps you coming back to the cocktails. Our first round were Whiskey Chick creations; here are our recreations of both.

Black-Eyed Susan

Unfortunately, the Preakness is somewhat the ugly step-sister of the Triple Crown races- its in the middle, doesn’t have the tradition of the Kentucky Derby, and doesn’t have the million eyes on it if there is a possible Triple Crown winner like New York’s Belmont Stakes does. However, Maryland does have one thing going for it- they know how to drink. The only state whose college students routinely top Wisconsin college students in binge drinking, Maryland has the liver for the Preakness to live up to. Hence, the Preakness offers the Black-Eyed Susan.

George Stark, Needful Thing

The second of our Stephen King cocktails feature characters from back-to-back novels written from 1989 to 1991. The first we named after The Dark Half villain, the hard-drinking George Stark. The George Stark is a riff off the very-manly Sazerac. The difference is the homemade peppermint-horehound syrup. While you don’t have to be a diabolical killer to enjoy these two cocktails, it helps.

Holly's Originals, Acrophobia

The classic martini is a wonderfully elegant drink - crisp and clean, simple and great with the smoky smoothness of Marlboro cigarettes.

Classic Pours: Songbird

The Tantris Sidecar reminded me that I haven't poured one of the classics in a while; the tested and true standbys of our grandfathers' days. It would be remiss of me, though, to go without acknowledging some of the classic pours already at the Lounge, so that you can have a head start in enjoying some of these favorites right away as we add more - they include the Aviation, the Filmograph, the Grasshopper, the Honeymoon, the Imperial Fizz, the Monkey Gland, and the Curled Satan's Whiskers.