Hot Date Jujube Chapel Hill $9 Alas, no picture for this cocktail review, but don’t let the lack of visual stimulation stop you from trying it out. The Hot Date is made of jujube preserves, bourbon, cayenne, and lemon. And it is one hot date, as far as that cayenne’s concerned! The flavors of this
Read more

Pineapple Upside-Down Caketini West 94th Street Pub Woodcroft Durham www.west94stpub.com This cantaloupe-colored martini is made with Stoli vanilla vodka, Malibu rum, pineapple juice, and cream.  It is absolutely delicious and tastes exactly like you are eating a slice of pineapple upside-down cake, complete with the caramelized pineapple wedges. Sometimes, there is truth in advertising. Reviewed
Read more

Hendrick’s in the Garden The Raleigh Times Bar http://www.raleightimesbar.com/ This cocktail was a mix of cucumber chunks, lavender syrup, gin, and club soda on the rocks.  The strong, yet bland gin quickly took control from the cucumber and sweet lavender.  It’s rare that I want the gin in a drink to be more flavorful but
Read more

Little Red Corvette Jujube, Chapel Hill http://www.jujuberestaurant.com $9 The Little Red Corvette is made with agave syrup, tequila, and hibiscus nectar.  It was served in a double old-fashioned glass.  The drink was a beautiful carmine pink at bottom, with the shade getting lighter the higher up it went. Hibiscus is a great choice for a
Read more

Mandarin Crush Thai Cafe 2501 University Drive Durham http://www.thaicafenc.com The Mandarin Crush is a cherry brandy cocktail served in a martini glass with two cherries at the bottom.  It resembles a golden and pink-tinged sunset, which certainly set me up to enjoy its flavors. And enjoy it I did.  The cocktail is mildly sweet with
Read more

Pirate’s Punch Sunset Grille-Cary Harrison Pointe Shopping Center Cary The Pirate’s Punch is, of course, a rum drink.  With pirate in the name, you wouldn’t expect any other base, would you?  This was good old Captain Morgan, mixing it up with some amaretto and pineapple juice.  The flavors were disparate but that was fine; it
Read more

Caipirinha Mez Research Triangle Park Durham My Mez review Caipirinha is a great cocktail that a friend introduced me to a few years back.  It consists of limes muddled with sugar and cachaça, a rum-like Brazilian alcohol.  Mez’s caipirinha has all these things but the proportions were a bit off to me.  I’d have liked
Read more