three bottled cocktails
"Robb was the first person ever to like my Facebook page, like even before my family and friends," Lee Egbert of Dashfire told me yesterday. "So, if there was going to be a bar that we tried to help make it through this mess, it was going to be Robb's. He was a big part of the reason that anyone knew about Dashfire at all."
All that happened long ago, when Lee was fresh into the bitters business and Robb Jones was running the bar at Saffron (RIP). Since then, Egbert has grown his business to include canned cocktails and liqueurs, while Robb Jones opened up Meteor Bar with Eliot Manthey. We all know how much kinder the past year has been to the booze makers than to the booze pourers, and Egbert thought there might be a way to spread the love and help keep the creativity flowing for his favorite bar team.
Meteor Bar has collaborated with Dashfire on three new bottled cocktails, based on Meteor recipes. They are as delicious as you would get if you ordered them by name in the bar, and let's be honest: the bottles are gorgeous. I tasted them!
Secret Tiger: A vodka based sipper with tropical notes from passion fruit and lime, but also a fresh kick from ancho and chile de arbol peppers.
Cooler Club: Vodka raspberry boosted with cardamom and some serious yuzu flavors that linger nicely with the vanilla on the end.
Bifröst: Gin with raspberry bitters and aronia juice which gives it a bit of a plummy side, and cascara which is an extract from the skins of coffee cherries. The lightest, but maybe most complex of the three.
three bottles, second sides
"Bifröst is totally Tyler Kleinow's drink," Jones remarked while pouring samples, "it's almost like him in a bottle." Kleinow, an industry veteran who helps run the bar contributed, and so did bartender Destiny Dichiria who designed the bottles (there are two good sides). It really was a full collaborative creative process as the team worked with Egbert's to take single service recipes and convert them to large-scale production spirit blends that could live on your bar and still make a fresh tasting drink. These are all ready to pour over ice, add some bubbles or crazy garnishes as one does.
You can't get these bottles at the bar in Minneapolis, but you can order the drinks as a preview (though, the Secret Tiger has a bit more of a smoky mezcal vibe at the bar). These bottles should start appearing in liquor stores this week, look for them in the independents before the big boxes. This is a small batch limited run, but there is a chance we could see these in cans at some point in the future. Know that because of the antiquated Minnesota beverage laws, Meteor can't own any part of these bottled cocktails. Let's hope they don't all pick up and move to Wisconsin, where it would not be a problem. Love your locals!
