Toast in the morning
Cocktails at brunch rising in popularity
Day drinking has long held a sort of seedy connotation: an eyeopener or a little hair of the dog meant to stave off the morning hangover.
But the morning cocktail, so prevalent during all those Mother's Day brunches that fill the dining calendar on Sunday, has grown more respectable over the years, boosted dramatically by the local-spirits-meets-mixology revolution of the past decade or so.
“Morning cocktails are definitely a trend, definitely here,” said Todd Lipman, the head sommelier at posh Bistro du Midi, overlooking Boston Public Garden. “Guests are willing to step outside the old comfort zone of just ordering a mimosa. There's a greater attention to detail and to ingredients, and more trust in the creativity of the bar program.”
Generally speaking, morning cocktails are more colorful, cleaner, fruitier and lower in alcohol than the dinnertime aperitif. Bubbles, of course, are common. The spritzy old mimosa, its peach-flavored counterpart the Bellini and the venerable old bloody mary are still ubiquitous. But these days the a.m. drinking options are far more varied and interesting. Bistro du Midi highlights two bubbly morning cocktails for its Mother's Day brunch. The Mother's Little Helper, unique for Mother's Day, is a contemporary version of the classic French 75, with Pinnacle Gin, lemon juice, sparkling wine and a maraschino cherry garnish; the Norman Invasion features Normandy-made Calvados, an apple brandy, and Benedictine herbal liqueur with apple juice and sparkling wine. Both cocktails are served in addition to Bistro du Midi's normal stable of eye-openers such as the bouillabaisse bloody mary, topped by a seared prawn, or the L'Italienne, a mix of gin, Aperol, orange juice and ginger ale. Bright, easy-drinking cocktails may be the norm for morning drinking. But Bully Boy Distillers of Roxbury bucks the trend at its brand-new tasting room, which opened in April.
The cocktail menu at this “still-to-glass” spirits maker is highlighted by the Brekky Old Fashioned, a traditional old fashioned reinvented for a.m. drinking.
“We wanted to create a brunch cocktail that has a little more flavor and fortification to it,” said Bully Boy co-founder David Willis.
Bully Boy's Brekky Old Fashioned features bacon-fat washed whiskey with orange juice, house-made coffee bitters and maple syrup for sweetness. Pretty much everything you'd find in brunch — with a whiskey kick.
Creative new eye-opener cocktails can be found all around Greater Boston this weekend. Michael Schlow's Latin American-inspired Tico in Back Bay has made the margarita breakfast-friendly with options that include cranberry basil, spiced pear and cucumber-lime-and-lemon versions. Hot cocktail boite The Townshend in Quincy Center pairs its Sunday brunch with The Granite Trust, a mix of locally roasted cold-brew coffee and the bitter liqueur Amaro Averna.
Also savor the Stamos Gin Fizz (gin, raspberries, lemon, Greek yogurt, egg white), a riff on the Ramos Gin Fizz, at Committee in the Seaport; the Spicy Basil Paloma (tequila, orange liqueur, cayenne, lime juice) at City Tap House, also in the Seaport; or, for a morning out trading stories with the girlfriends, the Walk of Shame apple cider mimosa with pear brandy and maple sugar rim at Back Bay Harry's in the Back Bay.