Starting this month, The Agent Creative is hitting the streets to find the most kick-ass cocktail of our Neighborhood of the Month. Since this month is Decatur, we're exploring the best (and dive-barriest) restaurants all in the name of research. You'll thank us later. :)
Our first stop was S.O.S Tiki Bar. Tucked away behind Victory Sandwich Bar in the center of Decatur, S.O.S is known for having fruity, tropical, creative cocktails that come in creative, tiki inspired containers, such as coconuts, pineapples and little tiki idols. Erica chose the traditional Mai Tai (a blend of rum, curacao, orgeat - don't worry, I had to google it too - and lime) and Adam had the Kilauea (tequila, mezcal, pot still rum, pineapple, lime, passionfruit, pomegranate, molasses, habanero and cane sugar.)
Erica :
The Mai Tai was a good version of the classic cocktail. Probably the most notable part of the drink was that it came out flaming and some salt was sprinkled on the top by the server to make it look like volcano sparks. It probably isn't a cocktail I'd order again, but I enjoyed it.
Adam :
The Kilauea was a great cocktail that made me feel like I was on a beach in Hawaii. The most distinct flavor is the passion fruit, and doesn't taste like any of the three alcohols that are in the drink. Very crushable (which is very dangerous!) It also came with a cool bendy straw!
Verdict :
Both Adam and Erica preferred Adam's drink. It got a 8.5/10.
Erica had a girls night (you know... in the name of research) with her friend Nikki. They decided to go to The Pinewood, a restaurant on West Ponce de Leon that's known for having great cocktails. Erica chose the Cold Case (bourbon, punt e mes - again... I had to google- and spiced pear liqueur ) and Nikki chose Love Potion #9 ( gin, chambord vermouth, lemon, st germaine and gran poppy.)
Erica :
I'm a big bourbon fan, so I really enjoyed the Cold Case. It was spirit forward, but not in an in your face type of way. The spiced pear liqueur made a traditional bourbon cocktail a little more "fall".
Nikki :
Love Potion #9 was a little smaller than expected (especially for the price. It should be noted that the prices seemed slightly high for all of the cocktails, but quality ingredients were used, so that explains it to some extent.) It was less sweet than expected, but a good cocktail overall.
Bonus :
Nikki really wanted to try the spiced pear liqueur, so we asked the bartender, Kasey, to make us a non-bourbon cocktail with it. What she delivered may be one of the best drinks either of us had ever had. It was a no-named, not on the menu version of a Sidecar - traditionally made with cognac, orange liqueur, plus lemon juice. This one was made with cognac, cointreau, lemon and the St. George spiced pear liqueur. Wow. That's all we could say! I don't want to call it too early, but the rest of the restaurants in Decatur have some stiff competition already (see what I did there?!)
Verdict :
Hands down, our bonus drink - the spiced pear sidecar - was the winner. 10/10 would recommend. Please go see Kasey and order her off menu deliciousness.
So that's it! The first installment of The Great Cocktail Hunt - Decatur Edition! Stay tuned for more "research" in the coming weeks, and if you have a cocktail you think we should DEFINITELY try, let us know!
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