Smoked Pineapple Shrub

American history is replete with alcohol lore. Sea-going pilgrims needed their beer for the trip across the ocean to protect from microbes in their freshwater stores. Before they became (in)famous for disappearing completely, Roanoke colony was brewing with corn by 1584. Our founding fathers and mothers, including Benjamin Franklin, preserved their fruit supplies by converting them to vinegars and alcohols (and combining them!). It is said that John Adams drank a tankard-full of hard cider nearly daily; he lived to the ripe age of 90!

Aperol Spritz

Unusual heat has hit in the Firewater Lounge, so we have already traded our spring cocktails for our summer ones. We picked up some cans of Bollicini, sparkling wine in aluminum, obviously marketed toward the picnicking or convenience-conscious American. We bought two kinds, the cuvée and rosé. The cuvée’s nose out of the can is full of sweaty-gym shoe, the flavor is sour apple and pear. Not exactly something that I’d drink from the can. The rosé’s nose is much more pleasing, like light grapes and berries. The rosé is sharply sour. It goes without saying these little wines were meant to be chilled cold in a cooler for a backyard game of bags.

I’d much rather cocktail the Bollicinis with an inexpensive improvement to develop their flavor. Aperol, given its cost-effectiveness and availability, will fill the bill. One of the world’s best late afternoon drinks is the Aperol Spritz, considered one of Italy’s most popular aperitivos. Since the Spritz calls for sparking wine, it is just the drink I’m looking for. The classic recipe is easy to remember because its a 3-2-1.

Aperol Spritz
3 parts Bollicini sparkling wine (or prosecco)
2 parts Aperol
1 part soda water


Chill your Aperol in freezer for several hours. Refrigerate your Bollicinis and a can of soda water. Mix all ingredients in the proper proportion in a wine glass. If you like, you can build the ingredients on ice in a double-old fashioned glass and garnish with a orange wheel. This classic presentation is known specifically as a Spritz Veneziano

Green House Gin

Madison has never been the best place to buy liquor. Wisconsin is a beer-dominated place for so long, domestic and otherwise, that typically, if a Lounge Lizard wanted to get his booze on, he or she would have two main options for variety- Woodman’s or the internet. That has changed with the grand opening of Total Wines at West Towne Mall. Now, this liquor store is not quite on par with the southern Mecca that is Specs, but its selection is still impressive. Madison’s Total Wines shines most in its whiskey offerings, doubling Woodman’s stock of both bourbon and scotch. It’s thinnest at rum, however it is the only place in the area that carries Diplomatico, the Lounge’s favorite mid-priced rum. 

Since we are approaching the warmer months, we are still drinking gin in the Lounge, waiting for the mint to cast its broadest leaves. Our first purchase from Total Wines-West Towne was Green House Artisan Gin from Dallas, Texas. Right out of the bottle, this gin is elegantly perfumed with juniper, rose, and red berries. It makes a great sipper; the flavor is very sweet, with acai and raspberry coming out strong, followed by citrus with cucumber and a late kiss of juniper in the background.

If you would like to try Green House in a cocktail, our recommendation is to amplify its bergamot with a curacao or triple sec. Here is how we did it-

Green House Spiced Cocktail

2 ounces of Green House Gin

Juice of one medium blood orange

½ ounce of dry curacao (we used Pierre Fernand)

1 dropper of Bittercube Jamaican #2 bitters

Place all ingredients in an iced stirring vessel. Stir vigorously until chilled. Strain into a coupe. Garnish with mint if desired.