The Saturday Brew

THE PLACE: Coco’s Cantina, Karangahape Rd, Auckland

THE TIME: 5pm

THE BREW: We were so warmly greeted at Coco’s Cantina it felt as if we’d been invited by Coco herself and they had been expecting us all along. We perched up at the bar in front of a pot of brewing mulled wine; the aroma was so enticing and the weather so disgusting, it was like apres ski a la K Rd. Blended with red wine and a base of spiced rum, Cointreau, cinnamon, orange, nutmeg, cloves, star anise and brown sugar, this is a fruity, fragrant, spicy brew that warms the cockles. It went down so well we had to have a second, paired with a side of arancini balls and polenta chips with rosemary and aioli. And — as if we couldn’t get any more happiness into this aromatic winter warmer — it was happy hour.