Cocktails at Marliave

Toto, we're not in Sanibel anymore. It is with a bit of culture shock that I made my way through day one back in the office and 30 degree city streets. It is no wonder I ended up at a bar Downtown after work sipping strong cocktails filled with the likes of Abslout and Makers Mark. 

Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

No more Yuengling, Key Lime Martinis or Agave Margaritas for this girl. 

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They pour to a different drum up here in Boston, and rightly so. (Yuengling on tap really wouldn't hurt our cause, but then, it might not be such a special treat to drink it down South!) Anyways, I met up with pals Rachel and Christine at a crowded Marliave on Wednesday evening. We caught up over the latest "Smashes, Slings, Mules, Dasies, and Royales."I'm not sure which is what, but here is what I do know: their cocktails are enough to make you forgoe the pain and agony of returning to harsh winter temperatures from a land of summer sun. They remind me why I love this city and the bardenders who pour here. Why I live in a place where I get to experience the seasons, and the brilliance of fall and winter cocktail menus. Where the bars are of simple black and white elegance, with marble countertops and white globe lighting. I'll soon get used to the cold and I'll get through yet another winter, as long as I have libations like the ones served here to impress me. The drinks (and their fantastic garnish counterparts) at Marliave are as fantastic as they are photogenic. 

W.C. Fields ($10) Pimm's No. 1, Absolut Vodka, Cucumber, Lemon

The Professor ($10) Makers Mark, Cote de Rhone, Lemon, Maraschino

At Marliave, they craft their cocktails the old fashioned way; using ice and mixers. I noticed immediately how huge and perfectly square their ice cubes were. I learned they invested in a specialty top of the line ice machine which makes the cubes from distilled water and of large proportion. This insures your cubes stay frozen longer, melting at not even close to the rate of crushed or smaller ice pellets. The result, in the end, is a stronger and colder drink. As far as the mixers are concerned, they believe shortcut preparations like soda guns produce an inferior product which in turn ruins the quality of the top shelf liquors. I wanted to sample the entire libations menu, not to mention some of their delicious smelling food. Instead I saved my pennies and ate boring old pasta at home. That's the thing with vacations, they tend to have you spending freely without a care in the world. Back to reality, time to pay off that credit card...