Agonizing over having to choose between wine and liquor
tonight? Yes, yes, it’s a tough problem to have. Wine is more appropriate with
dinner, whereas cocktails can be more adventurous … a torturous decision
indeed. Clearly, cocktails made with wine are the perfect solution.
This isn’t reinventing the wheel, kids — mixing wine with fruit
juice, spices, herbs, other booze … it’s all been done for ages, with all
varieties of vino. To what extent? Glad you asked. A.J. Rathbun’s new book, the
aptly named Wine Cocktails, is an A-to-Zinfandel guide to
mixing and appreciating cocktails that show off any vintage of red, white,
blush, or bubbly. Jammed with recipes and booze-soaked anecdotes, the book is a
witty and funny celebration of libations from across the nation (and other
things that rhyme). We’re especially intrigued by the “Rosé Squirt,” made with
dry rosé and maraschino liqueur, because it sounds both incredibly refreshing
and incredibly naughty. Visit www.ajrathbun.com for more delicious info on the
man and the manuscript.
Of course, not everyone’s a DIY kind of drinker. Thankfully,
there are wine cocktails aplenty at your favorite bars. Check out the Poire Boy
($11) at OM (92 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, 617.576.2800);
it’s made with pear brandy, Mathilde Pear liqueur, and Dubonnet Rouge, an herby
wine-based aperitif. The drink is sweetly heady, ripe with luscious pear
flavor, and perfect for sipping on the OM patio, which overlooks one of the quaintest
side streets in Cambridge.
Sangria is clearly a given here. Wine plus liquor plus fruit
juices equals the ultimate wine cocktail, no? Summertime drink menus are
brimming with nouveau renditions of this classic Spanish punch, but our new
favorite? The Blackberry Sangria ($13) at Sensing (5 Battery Street,
Boston, 617.994.9001) features red wine with Pisco, fresh blackberries,
pomegranate juice, agave, and cinnamon.
Of course, you could always rendezvous over at, um, Rendezvous
(502 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617.576.1900) with a head-spinning Safe
Harbor ($10), a glorious concoction of Cognac, orange juice, grenadine, and
white port that will, at the very least, offer you welcome refuge from
sobriety. Anchors away, winos!
