AS MOST native New Englanders will tell you, the cranberry is a funny little fruit that's dear to our hearts. Southeastern Massachusetts is crammed with thousands of acres of cranberry bogs - crimson wetlands swimming with crisp, tart berries. Autumn is prime harvest season for cranberries, and just in time, because no Thanksgiving table is complete without a plate piled with ridged, can-shaped slices of quivering cranberry jelly. Tons of classic cocktails - including the Seabreeze, Sex on the Beach, and the ubiquitous Cosmopolitan - are made with cranberry juice, and now the sweet-tart mixer is turning up in all kinds of unexpected flavor combinations. These drinks are the perfect refreshers for blustery autumn nights.
Vodka goes well with just about anything. Good vodka, anyway. And nobody in Boston knows this better than the folks at the Good Life (28 Kingston Street, Boston, 617.451.2622), where the basement-level lounge is stocked floor-to-ceiling with a vast selection of premium vodkas from all over the globe. It's also one of the best places in town to sample cranberry vodka on the rocks. A sensible place to start is with the gourd-shaped bottle that has real cranberries floating inside: 267 Cranberry Vodka ($8). This award-winning infusion blushes pink while fruit bobs at the top, begging to be fished out and plopped into your drink. If you want to keep things super-local, try Triple Eight Cranberry Vodka ($8), which is distilled on Nantucket using locally harvested organic cranberries. Both of these vodkas feature a smooth flavor that stands strong on its own, no mixing required.
Of course, not everyone likes spirits on the rocks, and there are plenty of creative cranberry cocktails to pucker your palate while keeping it excited. Whet your appetite for tartness with the 28 Kingston ($10), a tribute to the Good Life's address. In it, cranberry juice adds a tart kick to Grey Goose vodka and pineapple juice.
Over at the Foundation Lounge (500 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.859.9900), the Cranberry Apple Martini ($10) is a terrific ode to fall. Made with Skyy Citrus, sour-apple liqueur, Sprite, and cranberry juice, this martini is as uniquely classy as the lounge itself.
Wanna party like a rock star? Revolution Rock Bar (200 High Street, Boston, 617.261.4200) is the place to do it. You can drink like one, too, with cocktails that will get your ass shaking. Take, for example, the Purple Haze ($10), featuring cranberry juice with Stoli Razberi, Chambord, and Champagne; the Effen Rockstar ($10), with cranberry juice, Effen Raspberry Vodka, and Rockstar Energy Drink; and the Blaze of Glory ($10), a triumphant mix of cranberry juice with Effen Black Cherry Vodka, Chambord, sour mix, and triple sec. Just try to sit still after one of these bad boys.
Over in the heart of Harvard Square, where things are a little less wild but partygoers find their own brand of dignified fun, lies Z Square (14 JFK Street, Cambridge, 617.576.0101), a welcome addition to Cambridge that serves satisfying and creative twists on American comfort foods. Putting Triple Eight Cranberry to good use is the Crimson ($9), surely an homage to Harvard but, in our opinion, also to the color of our favorite tart fruit. The Crimson mixes cranberry vodkawith crème de cassis and fresh lime juice; it's reminiscent of a rickey, but with the same innovation that makes Z Square's menu so inviting.
For something really special, try a bottle of cranberry wine or, better yet, mead. Mead is made from fermented honey and is subtly sweet, with a sneaky afterbite. Don't let the sweetness fool you, though - this stuff is knock-you-on-your-ass potent. In the Finger Lakes wine region, Cascata Winery (3651 State Route 14, Watkins Glen, New York, 607.535.8000) bottles a Cranberry Bog Mead ($15.95) that can be enjoyed cold or by the steaming mug-full. Mull it with cloves and cinnamon sticks for a cozy night in with someone equally hot and sweet. Of course, who has time to drive out to New York just to pick up some booze? Cascata wines can be ordered online at www.cascatawinery.com, or give them a call. They'll ship immediately so you can sip immediately.
Sweet and tart and smooth all over? Sounds like the perfect recipe for a wild Saturday night - whether it's your date or your drink that makes your lips pucker. @
[Photo by Joel Veak]
