Cocktails for Two at Boston-Area Bars

Photograph by Emily Sotomayor
Café ArtScience
Rum Barrel
Todd Maul’s tiki tribute starts with three layers of rum: three- and five-year-aged El Dorado as well as Plantation Original Dark. The Café ArtScience co-owner then adds honey syrup, passionfruit purée, apricot liqueur, and allspice dram for balanced fruitiness before garnishing the cocktail with booze-infused banana leaves.

Photograph by Emily Sotomayor
Wink & Nod
Smoke N’ Apples
Don’t be deceived by the Victorian-style teapot. With Arkansas Black applejack, Islay scotch, Drambuie, and house-made apple cordial, beverage director Michael Boughton’s Smoke N’ Apples is a potent belly warmer. The high-proof mixture is topped with steaming chai tea.

Photograph by Emily Sotomayor
Puritan & Company
Glug Jug
Decades ago, the British-born Gluggle Jug was used to promote Plymouth gin. Today, Puritan & Company presents its Beefeater-based punch in the throwback fish-shaped vessel. A twist on the Negroni, the libation also incorporates Campari, sweet vermouth, and fresh orange juice.

Photograph by Emily Sotomayor
Area Four Boston
By Any Other Name
Bar manager Dan Lynch’s play on a gin martini sips “prettier” than the classic, thanks to the addition of floral rose liqueur and Brockman’s Gin, with subtle berry notes. A hint of absinthe adds another layer of complexity to the cocktail, served in a vintage metal box alongside chilled glasses.

Photograph by Emily Sotomayor
Trade
Fish Tank
“If we sell one, we sell 20,” says beverage manager Tim Ferraro of this attention-grabbing two-person tipple. A plastic fish tank is set on ice and filled with your spirit of choice—opt for tequila for a margarita-like drink—as well as blue Curaçao, fresh mint, lime juice, and prosecco.