Feast Magazine Trend Alert
Trend Alert: The best bartenders know that the secret to a perfect drink is balance. Often, that comes from just the right amount of sweetness.
"One of the constant struggles of cocktail design most bartenders wrestle with is the want to impart specific flavors to an idea without adding any extra volume,” says Joshua Widner, owner of Scotch & Soda in Springfield, Missouri, and Bentonville, Arkansas. His Quick Fix cocktail packs many flavors brought on by vanilla bean-infused High West Double Rye, fresh lemon juice and a brown sugar-clementine syrup. The syrup combines equal parts golden brown and dark brown sugar, clementine juice and zest, resulting in a rich sweetener. “We found using brown sugar helped create a silkier feel than other traditional sugars,” Widner says. “It gives the cocktail a bit more character than the thinner counterparts of whiskey and lemon; the Quick Fix truly is a little cocktail with a big bite.”
