Drink This Now: The Fire & Ice at Char Bar

August 11, 2015

Natalie Gallagher,

It’s relatively easy to overlook the cocktail menu at Char Bar. Not that the drinks are prominently listed or anything — they are. But by the time your brain decides which delicious barbecue item will be filling your belly, more decisions about what to drink can be difficult (especially given Char Bar’s extensive beer list).

Let me uncomplicate it for you, then: Order the Fire & Ice. Featuring habanero-infused Backwoods Moonshine Whiskey, Campari, housemade watermelon shrub, a splash of housemade hot sauce, and garnished with a frozen watermelon popsicle, this cocktail is the summer treat you totally deserve.

The Fire & Ice definitely packs a punch, but it’s not going to knock you out with spice — the habanero whiskey and hot sauce are tempered by the bitter Campari, which in turn is tamed by the sweet vermouth and the shrub. This is a cocktail with a lot of dimensions. And once you get through them (or before, whatever), you have the required garnish: that pretty little watermelon and Cointreau popsicle. This drink is so good, you might even forget about the Burnt Heaven sandwich you ordered.

THE FIRE & ICE

1-1/2 ounces habanero moonshine – Backwoods
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce Rivata sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce housemade “burnt” simple syrup
1 ounce housemade watermelon shrub
1 teaspoon housemade veggie inferno hot sauce

Rim coupe cocktail glass with lime juice and press into Habanero Sugar. Add liquid ingredients to shaker. Shake with ice, strain into coupe glass. Garnish with popsicle.

WATERMELON POPSICLE

Watermelon
Cointreau (optional)
5-inch wooden skewer

Using a melon baller, scoop round balls of seedless watermelon. Soak in Cointreau for 1 hour. Drain. Freeze until frozen solid. Slide onto 5-inch wooden skewer.