Raise a glass, Long Island, because it’s National Cocktail Day — time to celebrate the mixologists who craft the delicious alcoholic beverages we enjoy all year round. Here are seven of those cocktails created and consumed on Long Island.
Are you ready for a new take on an old favorite? Old Fields Barbecue in Setauket can deliver on that with its banana-infused old-fashioned. It’s made by blending bananas with bourbon, adding an orange and an amarena cherry, and served on the rocks.
The Rocket Fuel, a slushy, pina colada-style drink, is the cocktail of Fire Island. Most restaurants make them there, but it originated at CJ’s Restaurant & Bar in 1971. The cocktail is blended to perfection with 151-proof rum, Coco Lopez, pineapple juice, amaretto, and ice — plus, a cherry on top.
Staff members at Rustic Root, a New American restaurant in Woodbury, were hooked on the Canadian television sitcom Schitt’s Creek last year. One of the show’s characters, Moira Rose, played by Catherine O’Hara, inspired this floral French martini, garnished with dried rose petals.
(THE BEST) LONG ISLAND ICED TEA
What would National Cocktail Day on Long Island be without a Long Island Iced Tea? You can get it almost anywhere, but if you want it made right, go to Mercato Kitchen & Cocktails in Massapequa, which was named Best of Long Island for the classic drink.
The bartenders at Blackbird Kitchen & Cocktails in Wantagh craft their new drink, one of the boys, with bourbon, lemon, brandied cherry, honey, and vanilla. Though it sounds overly sweet, it’s actually a balanced cherry bourbon sour that people with different kinds of palates enjoy.
In summer 2020, Montauk Distilling Co. opened in Riverhead and made a splash with its brand new cocktail, the Modico Collins. The specialty cocktail contains Modico Vodka, agave nectar, freshly squeezed lime juice, club soda, LI bubbly, and mint sprig.
PORT in a storm is PORT Waterfront Bar & Grill’s dark & stormy. It’s no different than any other dark & stormy, but the restaurant changed the name to fit its seaside, sailors’ theme. The crew makes it with Goslings Black Seal Dark Rum and Barritt’s ginger beer for a fresh, spicy taste.
For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink
