Best of 2017 - The Warthog
Prohibition may feel like a step back in time when you enter this nod to a 1920s' speakeasy but bar manager Jim McCourt keeps the future in focus when creating inspired cocktails for Prohibition’s seasonal drinking menus.
The Warthog, created in 2017, demonstrates a few prevailing trends of the last drinking year: the use of local ingredients, homegrown products, attention to the season and the inclusion of herbs.
What is it?
McCourt developed the Warthog in the fall of 2017.
In it he incorporates locally distilled gin, his own homegrown rosemary, and the current trend of charring herbs to add another dimension to a drink’s stratification. From the smoke gun to wood chips to charred herbs — the visual display of a drink commands as much cache as its ingredients.
What’s the story?
McCourt saw a good fit for St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur with locally distilled Striped Pig Gin.
This Bartlett pear-based liqueur, with its notes of cinnamon and clove, lends both heat and spice to the gin-based drink.
Striped Pig is distilled using Bowman, South Carolina-grown corn. The juniper compounds are subdued in this gin providing McCourt free range to build on its corn distillation flavors.
Who’s selling it?
Prohibition
547 King St.
What’s the price?
$10
What’s the flavor?
This cocktail swirls with interesting flavor notes. Fruit-forward pear flavors enhanced with the spice of cinnamon and clove create the foundation. The gin’s floral lavender notes balanced with citrus structure works well with the St. George Liqueur.
McCourt uses the sweet and tart of honey and lemon to round out the cocktail before finishing with the charred rosemary.
The Warthog captures the aromas of fall right down to a plume of smoky rosemary.
— Deidre Schipani