A newsletter for the industry pro (or aspiring pro).

What We’re Into Right Now

A monthly installment covering what, where and how the editors of PUNCH are drinking. This month: gose Micheladas, a superior Tuxedo cocktail, chile vodka and more.

tuxedo cocktail the bar four seasons

Each month, we pull together a selection of drinking-related items that have, for one reason or another, grabbed the attention of PUNCH’s editors, who spend pretty much all day, every day surrounded by booze. Here’s what we’re into right now.

Gose Michelada | Jon Bonné, Senior Contributing Editor
Weirdly, the New York weather hasn’t even been particularly Michelada-worthy, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And this month the heart has wanted a lot of these, with whatever beer has been in our house. Which has mostly been Sixpoint’s Jammer gose—not, perhaps, with the same shit-beer cred as Tecate, but kind of a classic gose at a time when that category is getting played out. (Love you Anderson Valley, but G&T?) Turns out the salt and acid of that style calls for a bit less lime and a bit more Worcestershire and hot sauce. The net result is bracing, and prone to being drunk way too fast.

The Bar’s Tuxedo Cocktail | Talia Baiocchi, Editor in Chief
I am not unfamiliar with the joys of the Tuxedo cocktail—a classic Martini riff that swaps out dry vermouth for sherry. (There are other Tuxedo variations that pop up in early-20th century that call for additional flourishes, like maraschino and absinthe.) But, while born at the Waldorf Astoria bar, it has, at least in my estimation, reached its modern apex at the revamped bar at New York’s Four Seasons. There, bar director Thomas Waugh finds a middle way between the minimalist Waldorf Astoria Bar Book Tuxedo and some of the more baroque adaptations, leaning on a combo of Plymouth gin, fino sherry, Noilly Prat Ambre Vermouth and a tiny hit of Grand Marnier [Recipe]. It’s pre-diluted, bottled and chilled, garnished with two Tomolives (pickled green tomatoes) and as close to perfect as any drink gets.

Mikkeller Berliner Weisse | Megan Krigbaum, Contributing Editor
I wasn’t one of those kids who was into [collecting] baseball cards or Beanie Babies, but I got on these Berliner Weisses from Mikkeller over the last six months and now when I find a new one, it comes with that [collector’s] jackpot feeling. The adorable tallboy cans of low-ABV wheat sours come in a bunch of different fruit flavors, with adorable drawings of said fruit and a name tag that reads: Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse. My first find was a cherry one, then came others: peach, raspberry, passion fruit. They are subtle in their fruitiness and completely dry which make them ideal this time of year. If anybody finds blueberry, let me know.

St. George Green Chile Vodka | Chloe Frechette, Assistant Editor
As a devout gin drinker, to suddenly find myself substituting vodka into some of my favorite classics—like the Gimletwas unexpected, to say the least. An outlier in the field of flavored vodka, St. George Green Chile Vodka boasts a freshness and truth to ingredients hard to find in a category typically defined by its artificiality (rainbow sherbet vodka, anyone?). Made from a mix of sweet and spicy California-grown jalapeño, Serrano, habanero and bell peppers and infused with lime and a hint of cilantro, the result is both sweet and savory with just the right amount of kick.

Miller High Life | Allison Hamlin, Social Media Editor
While we cover beer in very highbrow and substantive form elsewhere on the site, here I have to give a shout-out to the quintessential beer of summer: Miller High Life. The neutral profile makes a High Life the perfect vessel for modification: Lou’s Pub in Birmingham squirts Tang directly into the bottle for their “ChamTang” cocktail, for example, while Portland’s Teardrop Lounge scales up and pours a 40 directly into a bowl of punch. They are also the proclaimed originator of seven-ounce “pony” bottles—a size and quantity that, according to PUNCH contributing editor, Megan Krigbaum, “No one, not even the snobbiest of beer drinkers, can turn down a cute bottle of beer. It is the great equalizer.”

Frozen Sherry Cobbler | Lizzie Munro, Senior Editor
There have been a lot of frozen drinks floating around the office lately. So much of what we’ve been testing (Daiquiris, Frosé) has been deceptively easy, with the rewards far outpacing the effort. My favorite as of late has been Rob Krueger’s Frozen Sherry Cobbler, a three-ingredient drink made with amontillado, oleo saccharum and lemon juice. It’s so incredibly easy and delicious that you’ll kick yourself for not thinking of it first.

Calvados and Tonic | Robert Simonson, Contributing Editor
Reading Thad Vogler’s upcoming memoir, By the Smoke and the Smell, reminded me that Calvados and Tonic is a great alternative to the ubiquitous Gin and Tonic during the summer months. Just pour a couple ounces of Calvados into an ice-filled highball and add twice as much tonic and you’re good to go. Doesn’t even need a lemon or lime.

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