The Floridita Cuban Revolution American Tobacco District, Durham This cocktail, an alluring deep brown, was made with Bacardi Select dark rum, sweet vermouth, lime juice, and crème de cacao. If you’re thinking that’s an odd mix of ingredients, you’re right! But it’s a combination that works pretty well. The rum absolutely dominates the drink, and
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Pineapple Express Martini Rockfish Seafood and Grill Southpoint This translucent cocktail was a mix of pineapple Skyy vodka, white cranberry juice, and triple sec. A lemon twist was advertised as a garnish, but as is often the case with garnishes, it was left off the drink (stop doing this bartenders!). Somehow, the mix of cranberry
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Point Break The Pinhook, Downtown Durham $8 The Pinhook has a new list of specialty drinks out, which means it was time to head out for a show! Not only did Aye Nako! and Dangerous Ponies give great shows—with impressively sparkly outfits to match—but the Point Break cocktail provided a smooth drink to relax my
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Raspberry Veranda Parizade, Durham $6.50 Website The Raspberry Veranda is a welcome addition to cocktails using sweet tea vodka—this is no simple twist on an Arnold Palmer! Instead, this cocktail uses the sweet tea vodka, sour mix, triple sec, lime juice, and Chambord. It combines very nicely into a sweet drink that, not shockingly, resembles
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Saketini Shiki Sushi Southwest Durham Website $8 This is a very simple martini, consisting of vodka and Gekkeikan nigori sake, which is the creamy type for those of you not up on your sake terminology. Frankly, there’s no need to have a martini this simple; you might as well drink vodka or sake on their
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Tingletini @ Rockfish Southpoint, Durham Website The tingletini is made with passion fruit vodka, simple syrup, lime juice, and jalapeno peppers. Guess you know the tingle comes from that last ingredient, huh? The presentation for this cocktail is beautiful. I especially like how the crossed straws mimic the crossed jalapeno slivers. It’s almost clear, but
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Tokyo Punch Shiki Sushi Southwest Durham $7.75 Tokyo Punch was a lovely surprise for this cosmopolitan lover. Most people might assume that a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry, Midori, and brandy would be awfully similar to a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry, lime, and triple sec, but I somehow missed the connection between the two
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Mirwinator Blu Seafood 9th Street, Durham $9 The mirwinator is made of Evan Williams brandy, thyme, orange juice, and lemon juice. Except for the thyme, that’s a pretty standard list of ingredients, and there’s a reason for it. The combination of those flavors always makes for a first-rate cocktail, and the mirwinator is no exception
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The Old Ceremony Motorco Central Park District, Durham $6 As you can see, I’m not talking the band here, which I happen to love, but the shooter named after them by Motorco. The first time I went to Motorco, I thought naming shots—there’s no cocktail list here, just fancy shots—after local bands was a fun
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Modern Paloma Rockfish Grill, Durham This cocktail—I hesitate to call it a margarita, though I think it was under that heading in the restaurant’s drink list—is made with Milagro silver tequila, Licor 43, and red grapefruit, orange, and lime juices. A paloma, I’ve just learned, is a popular Mexican cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit soda
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