We Asked Boston Bartenders for Cocktail Recipes for Polar’s Magical Seltzer Flavors

Sweet Cheeks Polar Magical In-Flight Service. / Photo provided by Sweet Cheeks

By now you’ve certainly heard that Worcester favorite Polar Seltzer unleashed a lineup of fantastic new flavors. Called Impossibly Good and sold in eight-ounce #SeltzerJr cans, the line brings back Unicorn Kisses, and adds Mermaid Songs, Yeti Mischief, and Dragon Whispers to the world.

The creations—like all Polar Seltzers—are flavored naturally with proprietary bubbles and “fruit essence.” During a taste test at our office, we thought they all tasted a bit like schoolyard treats—Mermaid Songs is like a cross between Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish, Yeti Mischief recalls a citrusy Hawaiian Punch, Dragon Whispers is reminiscent of Pixy Stix, and Unicorn Kisses has soft, vanilla-ish notes of Jolly Ranchers.

We also thought they’d be great with booze.

And we are not alone. In 2017, Sweet Cheeks introduced a special Magical In-Flight Service, with all four flavors served on ice, in the cans, along with four nips of Tito’s Vodka. The $40 party was available “until the magic is gone.”

And Mackenzie “Mack” Cavanagh, a bartender at Oak Long Bar + Kitchen and formerly of the Hawthorne, shared a cocktail recipe using Mermaid Songs with us this week. It made me really want a Polar cocktail—and to try boozy versions of all the fantastical creations.

So, I reached out to a few other mixologists who I thought would have fun with seltzer—Bar Mezzana beverage director Ryan Lotz, Drink’s Ezra Star, and Joe McGuirk of Highland Fried (formerly East Coast Grill). They all enthusiastically obliged. These flavors are fun, and tasty enough to try for novelty’s sake. And with the following tipsy tips, they’ll make a primo spiked sipper, too.

UPDATE: August 13, 2018: The #SeltzerJr line of magical flavors is back—for good. Also: Note that East Coast Grill has closed for good, and transformed into Highland Fried. You’ll still find Joe McGuirk’s friendly face behind the bar at the newer spot—and his suggestions on how to spike Yeti Mischief will never go out of style.

Mermaid Songs cocktail by Mack Cavanagh of Oak Long Bar + Kitchen. / Photo provided by Oak Long Bar

Mermaid Songs

Bartender: Mack Cavanagh, Oak Long Bar + Kitchen

Cavanagh set out create a “light, floral afternoon cocktail,” and took inspiration from this seltzer’s nautical nomenclature. His recipe has a little salinity that makes it perfect for kicking those fins back, he says.

Mermaid Songs Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
3-4 slices of cucumber
Pinch of salt

Shake or stir, and add 1/2 oz. of Mermaid Songs.
Garnish with cucumber.

Impossibly Good Collins by Ryan Lotz of Bar Mezzana. / Photo provided

Dragon Whispers

Bartender: Ryan Lotz, Bar Mezzana

“It does taste like Pixy Stix, and a LOT like Flintstones Vitamins,” Lotz says. It was a lighter flavor than he anticipated, too, so despite a number of experiments, it was the simplest mix that turned out to be the best.

“There [were] a lot of fruity flavors to the drink, so I wanted to take it a little bit more savory,” he says.

Named after the magical series, he gives you:

Impossibly Good Collins

2 oz. Prairie Cucumber Vodka
1/2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup (1-to-1 sugar-to-water)
2 dashes of celery bitters

Shake briefly with one cube of ice.
Pour into a highball glass.
Fill the glass with ice.
Top with Dragon Whispers.
Garnish with a slice of lemon.

No celery bitters at home, but need to spike your Dragon Whispers? “I’d probably stick with something that doesn’t bring too much flavor to the table, [like] lighter-in-style gin, vodka, or a lighter bodied white rum,” Lotz says. “A little fresh juice can’t hurt, and grapefruit was definitely complementary of the recipes we tried.”

Unicorn Kisses in the Desert, by Ezra Star of Drink. / Photo provided

Unicorn Kisses

Bartender: Ezra Star, Drink

Star was brought back to childhood sipping this seltzer; she reports tasting notes of vanilla, and strawberry Starburst. Her cocktail is a riff on a classic Paloma, upping the ante on fruitiness.

So, why tequila?

“Honestly, tequila feels very magical to me,” she says. “I thought I’d put these magical products together.”

Unicorn Kisses in the Desert

1 oz. Tequila Ocho
1/2 oz. grenadine
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. Aperol
Fresh pineapple juice

Drink 2 ounces out of a can of Unicorn Kisses.
Add the tequila, grenadine, lemon juice, and Aperol.
Pour fresh pineapple juice into the can until it overflows.
Garnish elaborately.

No elaborate garnishes at home, but need to spike your Unicorn Kisses? “A brandy would be great with this. It would give it some sugary sweetness from the grapes,” Star says.

Bumble’s Bounce / Maine Mischief. Polar seltzer cocktails by Joe McGuirk of East Coast Grill. / Photo provided

Yeti Mischief

Bartender: Joe McGuirk, Highland Fried

“It’s definitely reminiscent of Hawaiian Punch, but drier. So, tropical/exotic fruit notes,” McGuirk says.

He came up with two different tiki-style drinks. McGuirk, who claims he’s actually seen a yeti before, took naming inspiration from the most famous yeti of them all, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer antagonist Bumble, the Abominable Snowmonster of the North. For his second iteration, he was inspired by Maine blueberries.

Bumble’s Bounce
1/2 oz. Angostura Rum (or any rum)
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh pineapple juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup

Shake and strain over ice in a tall glass filled with ice.
Top with Yeti Mischief.
Garnish with an orange wedge and dust with cinnamon.

Maine Mischief
1/2 oz. Triple 8 Blueberry Vodka
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz blueberry cordial

Shake and strain over ice in a tall glass filled with ice.
Top with Yeti Mischief.
Garnish with a lime wedge and fresh berries.

No blueberry cordial at home, but need to spike your Yeti Mischief? “I probably would go with a rum with some sweetness. But folks with a drier taste than mine might enjoy it with tequila,” McGuirk says.