Cocktail

I have two things to thank the Inner Harbor's Rusty Scupper for this week. One, they've answered the age-old question (no, but seriously) of "What can you reasonably drink - not shoot - with Rum Chata?" and two, they've created a dessert cocktail I can finally enjoy. If you've never tasted the Italian confection Tiramisu, wine director Julian Demiri's description might be a little lost on you: "It's Tiramisu, in a glass. " But if you have? It should say everything. Tiramisu, which translates to "pick me up," is an Italian dessert made of sponge cake that has been dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, and flavored with Marsala wine and cocoa.

Erik Brown, the wine and beverage director at the Oregon Grille, wants you to forget any preconceived notions you may have when you set foot into his bar. Forget the Hunt Valley restaurant's fine dining reputation; the scenic, horse country setting; the "jacket-required-after-5-p.m.-in-the-dining-room" rule. No, when you belly up to his bar, you're among friends and family. Friends and family who want to make you ridiculously strong, delicious hand-crafted cocktails. Brown's approachable bartending style is responsible for the Grille's cocktail renaissance - a program of seasonal, fresh specialty drinks intended to create "that wow factor.

Hersh's Pizza & Drinks in South Baltimore has started Hersh's Anti-Temperance Society, a series of Monday night classic cocktail events.  Every Monday at 6:30 p.m., Jamaal Green will intoduce a classic cocktail, expalin its origins, demonstrate how to mix it up and serve a sample. After Green's done, participants get to drink the featured cocktail for $5 each all night long. After attending six meetings, drinkers qualify for a Hersh's Original Punch Bowl. On March 4, Green will spotlight the Aviation, a classy little beauty made from gin, maraschino liqueur and violet liqueur.

Moonshine. It's whiskey in its raw form, unaged, pure white lightning in a jar. The mystique surrounding the rogue spirit is undeniable and with a resurgence of interest and a commercial presence of legal "moonshine" on the market, Moonshine Tavern in Canton has come to capitalize on the theme. With 22 varieties of legal tender moonshine available for consumption and a cocktail list full of the stuff, one entry in particular stands out as an item of interest: the White Manhattan.

He had me at the description. "It's like an Old Fashioned, only elevated … and more boozy," explained Maggie's Farm general manager and cocktail magician Matthew Weaver. The restaurant, formerly the Chameleon Cafe, has reopened under new owners, but keeps much of the former establishment's creative, farm-to-table style. A blend of refined craft and whimsy, the cocktail menu at Maggie's Farm is just as inventive. Smoke and Mirrors, the aforementioned booze-laden cocktail, is a stand-out example at this Harford Road spot.

When Stacey Barich turned the modest dining room of her Parkville home into a tiki bar inspired by the 1930s, it became a project of passion for the 40-year-old photographer. Pairing her love of vintage culture with a growing obsession with authenticity, Barich quickly found herself on eBay, searching and bidding for additions to the new favorite room in her house. The research and collecting quickly led Barich to the world of handcrafted cocktails. "Once that happens, you're picking up old vintage books on how to make things," Barich said.

The Four Seasons invited me to a "virtual cocktail class" a little while back. It was fun. We were supposed to make the drinks at our desk, but I just pretended to. The presenters were Duane Sylvestre of the Four Seasons DC, Cory Cuff of the Four Seasons St. Louis and Adrian Ross-Boon. lead bartender at Wit & Wisdom in the Four Seasons Baltimore. Ross-Boon demonstrated how to make a Mad-Hatten, his twist on the classic, a combination of the Manhattan and the Rob Roy. He had an interesting answer when asked if the cocktail had a Baltimore "twist," he said he made it sweeter than he otherwise would have.

While the craft cocktail may be the mainstay for a quiet firelit evening at a jazz club, there comes a time in every establishment's life when patron volumes and desires trump the ability to slowly put together housemade infusions, bitters and tinctures in favor of something that can be put together quickly, efficiently, and above all else, uh, tastily. Enter the theme cocktail list. Whether at a fast paced rock 'n' roll sushi restaurant or, like Cowboys and Rednecks ("C&R Pub"), a country western joint, theme cocktails give catchy names and descriptions to cocktails that are easy to assemble for the inundated bartenders while keeping patrons' mouths happy.

After the final bows were taken during Everyman Theatre's inaugural opening night performance of "August: Osage County," an exhuberant yell could be heard from behind the closed curtain. It was an expression of the actors' relief at having survived the challenges posed by playwright Tracy Letts' Tony Award-winning black comedy, "August: Osage County. " And it was an expression of delight in finally having a performing home suitable for an established ensemble theater troupe. That sense of accomplishment was the theme of the theater's official opening this weekend, which included a cocktail party and post-performance cast party on Friday; a gala dinner and performance on Saturday, and a Sunday brunch.