Flask cocktails at Giuseppe's
You've heard about the cocktail revolution at Giuseppe's Ritrovo in Bexley, right? Travis Owens, now helming Curio, transformed the longtime Italian restaurant's sickly sweet martini menu into one of the best cocktail lists in the city during his tenure there (read more here). Well, that cocktail list is in flux now that Owens has left and bartenders Kendyl Meadows, Tim Ziga and Co. are steering things. But one cocktail that I've been assured will remain on the list is well worth checking out.
It's the Vieux Carre, a take on a classic rye cocktail with origins in New Orleans' French Quarter. It's got Bulleit rye mixed with Hennesy VSOP cognac, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth and a few dashes of Peychads and angostura bitters. It's a bracing, complex and very bitter cocktail that serious boozehounds will adore.
But best is the fun way it's served -- in an ice-cold flask garnished with a lemon twist. Flask cocktails are very trendy in big cities, by the way. Your bartender will give you a glass, and you can certainly pour your cocktail into it if you'd like. Trust me, though, it's far more enjoyable to drink this thing straight from the flask. Especially thanks to the looks you get from all the well-heeled Bexley socialites primly sipping on wine. Fun times.
Giuseppe's Ritrovo
2268 E. Main St., Bexley
614-235-4300