6 off-menu fruity cocktails to order at popular Charlotte restaurants
Lately, it’s been hot. Very hot. And with the summer heat here to stay for awhile, you can find refuge from the intense temperatures with these sweet summer cocktails.
Serving up the daily recommended dose of fruit with the best flavors of bourbon, rum, vodka and tequila, these cocktails are bartender favorites — off menu.
From slightly tart to sweet and fruity, these elevated fruit-based cocktails at local restaurants are perfect whether you’re in the mood for a steak dinner or Southern cuisine.
(1) Bar Marcel
3920 Sharon Road, Suite 160
The cocktail: Marcel Apertini
Crafted with just a few simple ingredients, Bar Marcel’s take on the Apertini is sweet, thanks to the aperol base, yet slightly sour with fresh squeezed grapefruit and white lilet. Topped off with Drambuie (an aged scotch) and garnished with dried fruit, this cocktail pairs perfect with their Kale and Apple Salad.
(2) BLT Steak
110 N. College St.
The cocktail: Bless Your Heart
A bourbon-based cocktail, Bless Your Heart is for blueberry lovers. Mixed with the finest blueberry preserves, dashed with bitters and topped with basil, this cocktail is subtly sweet. And because it’s a bourbon drink at a steakhouse, there’s nothing on BLT’s menu that you can’t pair this cocktail with.
(3) Civetta Italian Kitchen + Bar
7828-E Rea Road
The cocktail: Strawberry Cello Mojito
In the mood for an Italian dinner? While you enjoy Civetta’s authentic italian dishes, tryits homemade Strawberry Cello Mojito. Crafted with house-made strawberry cello and house-made sour mix, this mojito is light and refreshing, a perfect match for a carb-filled dinner.
(4) Haberdish
3106 N. Davidson St.
The cocktail: Besame (shown above)
For margarita lovers, Haberdish’s Besame cocktail is an elevated take on the tequila classic. Mixed with vanilla-orange syrup, lime juice, fresh berries, red lillet and mint, this blanco tequila cocktail is the ultimate fruity cocktail, served over crushed ice.
(5) McNinch House Restaurant
511 N. Church St.
The Cocktail: Strawberry Summer Breeze
This vodka-based cocktail is just as refreshing as it sounds. A blended icy combination of strawberry purée and lemon juice, the Strawberry Summer Breeze is available just in time for the release of the McNinch House’s summer menu.
(6) Merchant & Trade
303 S. Church St.
The cocktail: Wrong Zapatos
If you prefer your cocktails with a view, head over to Merchant & Trade and order a Wrong Zapatos. The ultimate rum-based fruity cocktail, with an unforgettable name, has watermelon and lime juice, lavender syrup, Tahitian vanilla saline and cardamom-infused campari, smoked with pink peppercorn — all elevated, first class ingredients, guaranteed to go down nice and easy.
This story was originally published July 16, 2019 at 10:03 PM with the headline "6 off-menu fruity cocktails to order at popular Charlotte restaurants."