Cocktail

Lady Maryland: a cocktail with a cause, a buzz with a benefit. How could you possibly say no to drinking for charity? That alone sold me. But for those of the more skeptical palate, the refreshing Lady Maryland at Waterfront Kitchen stands alone as an easy warmer-weather sip. Waterfront Kitchen, on the water's edge of Thames Street in Fells Point, is a big believer in sustainability - from using fresh, local ingredients to helping out...

There's a TechCocktail coming to Baltimore this Wednesday (May 2, 2012), and lo and behold: there will be startups a-pitching. It's Tech Cocktail's Baltimore Startup Showcase Mixer , held at Mother's Grill in Federal Hill, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Go to the TechCoctail blog post and learn and vote about one of these Baltimore startups in anticipation of the event: From TechCocktail: BeerGivr - BeerGivr enables...

To make a cocktail, a bartender performs a complicated ballet involving spirits, mixers and garnishes, somehow juggling them all and finally bringing them in for a graceful, neat landing in your glass. At Heavy Seas Alehouse, bartender Will Helfrich has a simpler approach. He grabs a tall glass, sets it underneath the beer tap and pours eight ounces of sudsy, golden beer, Heavy Seas Classic Lager. And then tops it off with homemade pomegranate lemonade. Add a sprig of fresh rosemary and you have the Little Italy bar and restaurant's Sea Shandy.

It's time to brush up on your Prohibition-era swagger, Baltimore. 1920s-era everything has made a comeback in recent years, from fashion to TV and now the Baltimore bar scene. The Fork & Wrench, new to Canton, is high on speakeasy style. Picture lush tapestry-lined bar tables, intimate, low lights and swing and blues wailing from the speakers. The cocktail menu is reflective of the age of jazz: flirty, rich, smooth and daring. But if you're looking for an extensive drink list, go elsewhere.

Picture a curvy-but-cute, sassy-yet-sweet lass with a passion for beer. She is buxom, bawdy, smooth-bodied and straight up. Is she every man's fantasy? Pretty close. She's the image that developed in my mind when when I tried Alewife's signature beer cocktail, the Hop Betty. A beer … cocktail? Talk about a dream come true. Don't question it; just trust general manager and co-owner Bryan Palombo and his team on this one. After all, this is revolutionary stuff here. Palombo takes pride in claiming that his cocktail is the first hops-infused drink in the city.

Certain things in life are meant to go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Old Bay and steamed crabs. But what about cupcakes and alcohol? If you thought cupcakes were just for 7-year-olds' birthday parties, then think again. Cooks 'N Cakes, the latest cupcake shop to open in Howard County, is giving the kid-friendly dessert an adult makeover with cocktail cupcakes. Located on Route 40 in Ellicott City, Cooks 'N Cakes sells plenty of traditional cupcakes, but what makes it unique is cupcake happy hour.

The new Baltimore Bartenders Guild issues no seals of approval. It simply demands that prospective members give a damn about the ingredients and ingenuity of their cocktails. Since profiling the guild last month, I've been checking out members who are new to Baltimore, such as Adrian Ross-Boon of Wit & Wisdom. The results so far — including my most recent excursion to check out Tim Riley's work at Ten Ten — are proving that the guild's ethos is promoting effort, individuality and a desire to surprise customers with something they won't find at just any bar. The bar at the relatively new Harbor East bistro is considered, looks good and has knock-out cocktails.

It's Wednesday night in Upper Fells Point and I'm sitting at the bar of the restaurant Salt. The restaurant has entered its chilled-out mode; dinner service ends in a half-hour at 10:30 p.m. A jazzy score - Charles Mingus and Roy Hargrove - murmurs in the background, and a mute TV is ignored in a far corner. A dozen or so green-colored lamps that look like a squadron of flying saucers give the bar a cool, moody glow. Though the atmosphere is serene, the bar, which seats about 12, is full.

I've never been one for flowers. I don't want to smell like them, don't want to receive them, don't even want to take care of them. But leave it to Pazo in Harbor East to make me want to drink them. The Blue Velvet is the stylish restaurant's standout violet-infused cocktail. Crème de violette, a brandy liqueur made from the actual flower, is the sweet star of the show. "It's unlike anything you've ever had," said bartender Carmen Motto. She's right. Though the Blue Velvet consists of only three ingredients, its creamy blue tint and intoxicating, floral aroma is entirely unique.

Following Rye and Bond Street Social, another new bar is coming to Fells Point. To be called Frederick's on Fleet Street, the bar replaces Tyson's Tavern, which closed last year. The general manager and part-owner is Jim Saufley, a longtime bartender and part-time boxing coach.  The anticipated opening date is April 1. Like Rye, Frederick's will focus on craft cocktails - originals by Saufley and his own take on vintage cocktails. Saufley has been a corporate bartender, for Marriott hotels, for 18 years and is a member of the new Baltimore Bartenders' Guild . He and his business partner, Eric Butterfield, have been renovating the small bar - it holds about 100 people - since last October, when they bought the business.