If you haven't been to Hell's Kitchen in Minneapolis for brunch, let me just say that it is worth the trip. Seriously, I mean that. If you aren't in the Twin Cities is it worth a flight here in the coldest dregs of crappy Minnesota winter. It's just that good.The story of this week's cocktail stems from two visits to this unique venue. In the first, I took some friends who were visiting from Ann Arbor in on a Thursday morning in September. We were some of the only people in the pub at 10:30am and got to talking to the bartender, Chris Greenfield, who was in the process of trying out some house infused Finlandia vodkas.
So along with a plate of truly spectacular Huevos Rancheros and a bowl of the signature Mahnomin porridge we tried scintillating strawberry and mouth watering blueberry vodkas, both infused from fresh berries. Then we tried the Chai infused vodka, made from a variety of spices. (For the record, although I love trying new cocktails, I normally wait until later in the day, but this was a very worthy exception!)
Needless to say, when we headed back to Hell's Kitchen last Monday evening I was excited to check out the happy hour menu. I am happy to report that we were far from disappointed. Not only have the house infused spirits been expanded, there is a whole collection of fabulous cocktails revolving around them.
It was hard to pick just one to focus on this week, but I chose the Foxy Fosse (Lucifer's Julep was a close second). Ginger infused vodka is blended in flawless proportion with basil infused lemonade to create one of the best cocktails I've had in years. The ginger is spicy but not overpowering and the basil gives it just the right zing (according to bartender, Ben, it is blanched into the lemonade rather than mojito style muddling).
So do yourself a favor and head over to Hell's Kitchen and grab one of these, you'll thank me later! Cheers!
