Something provocative is happening in Milwaukee. At The Iron Horse Hotel, in a beautifully converted factory located conveniently close to the new Harley-Davidson Museum, a talented fellow who cut his bartending teeth in the silver state of Nevada is stirring up some surprising changes.
Resident mixologist Dustin Drankiewicz has masterfully created a set of cocktail menus which satisfy locals, tourists, and traveling drink nerds alike. For the hotel's bar and spacious lobby lounge, Branded, he's established a solid list of sixteen appealing drinks which are classical in nature, but modern in name and presentation. We sampled with pleasure his take on the Sazerac, the New Holland ("sazerac rye whiskey, simple syrup, angostura bitters, kubler absinthe" $8), and menu-leading The Iron Horse Old Fashioned ("door county cherry infused brandy, lemon and whiskey barrel bitters, door county cherries" $8). Both are served in traditional Wisconsin fashion, on the rocks, and suit the unpretentious, friendly style of the hotel and its staff to a T.
We followed those up with a complicated tapestry called the Pample Rye ("sazerac rye whiskey, st. germaine, grapefruit juice and bitters, crème di violet" $10), which combined very diverse ingredients harmonizing well with the grapefruit juice, and a big, fresh, friendly fellow called The Saint Louie Martini ("hendricks gin, ginseng simple syrup, mint and cucumber" $10). Given the drink size (generally closer to 7 ounces than 4), we were pushing our sobriety luck with the second round, but fortunately our delightful room was just a short ride up the elevator so we could sample more of Dustin's skill and enjoy the lobby DJ a bit longer.
Next time we visit - and oh my yes we will be back - we hope to dine at the hotel's restaurant, Smyth. As of this visit we saw there were just six perfectly selected drinks on that menu and Dustin's fine introduction to them:
Vintage feel, modern taste.
Let's take a trip back to a time when the cocktail was king and pure ingenuity was the inspiration. A time in history when Cosmopolitan was nothing more than a way of life, and craftsmanship of drinks meant more than using flavored vodkas. We invite you to take this journey, enjoy an era that has since been long forgotten and define your own meaning of a true cocktail.
Hear, hear, Dustin! We look forward to our next visit to your fine establishment. That Apple Rye Manhattan ("granny smith house-infused Sazerac Rye with coriander vermouth and a kiss of whiskey barrel bitters" $10) sounds sublime!
April 2010 update: Dustin is working on a new project with distil featuring, in addition to his cocktails, the best cheeses of Wisconsin and Europe, plus a serious wine list.
