We were simply craving Kevin Rathbun’s cooking.  We wanted the scallops, the second mortgage fillet, the lamb scaloppini, and of course the eggplant steak fries.  Jennifer, Alley, Alison and I decided to do our 27th week of 52 Weeks of Drinks there as well.  (Doesn’t Alley look so happy in this photo?) I met with Brent, the mixologist and bartender at the bar and we decided to choose 3 completely different cocktails for our evening.

We chose the Lychee Shinnecock (that’s what she said), the Rose Sangriatini, and the special of the evening, a cucumber martini.    We are going to rate two of these – the Lychee drink and the cucumber drink.  I will say that we all thought the Rose Sangriatini felt more like a drink at a tiki bar.  It was nice and refreshing, but not worth a Rathbun’s rating.

We will start with the Lychee Shinnecock (that’s what she said) – (Okay, I am sure you know that “that’s what she said” is really not a part of the drink’s name, just my pitiful humor.)  Anyway, it had many ingredients: Flor de Cana aged white rum with muddled rosemary, lychee puree, blood orange bitters, and agave nectar.  It was served in a tall glass and rimmed with celery salt.  Yes, indeed I could go there again, but shant.

Don’t forget our ratings scale is between 1 and 5 Olives.  One Olive = waste of my blogging time;  5 Olives = oh my goodness/yummmmmm

Presentation: 3 olives – We all liked the tall glass as many specialty drinks these days are served up.  The salt on the rim was very nice and blended well with the rest of the ingredients.  The rosemary twig was deliciously fresh and added a bonus to the drink.

Taste: 2.5 olives – I quite frankly did not like this drink, but everyone else did.  I am not a fan of lychee but the group thought that it was not overpowering at all and that the agave nectar made a difference in the drink and calmed down those bitters.

Creativity: 3.5 olives – Very creative drink and works really well in the summer months.  The ingredients (if you like them together of course) complemented each other.  Alley liked this drink the best.

Overall: 3 olives – Get it if you like Lychee and bitters.

The cucumber martini was obviously served up and consisted of Hendricks Gin, muddled cucumbers, and simple syrup.  Classic drink and made to perfection here.

Presentation: 3 olives – I’m not really sure what you are supposed to do with this drink since it does not involve many ingredients and has cucumbers in it, but the finely sliced three cucumbers that I promptly plopped in the glass to soak in the gin were fantastic.

Creativity: 2 olives – This is not a new drink, so can’t give props for it – but it is a classic drink and excellent.

Taste: 4 olives – Wonderful and well made.  Perfect temperature and man, those cucumbers.  Yum yum.

Overall: 3.5 olives – If Brent has cucumbers in the bar, ask for it.  He also serves it with vodka, but I must confess I liked the gin version better.

The bar scene gets kicking here and obviously Rathbun’s is still the place to be. It’s nice to live 10 minutes from restaurants like this.  Enjoy…