Cafe Maude's Bronx Cocktail

​Bronx Cocktail
$10
Cafe Maude
5411 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis
612.822.5411

Its been said that there are no new cocktails, only new ways of making old ones. I don't believe that's true, but I am always impressed when someone takes a drink I know well and really makes it his or her own. This week's drink of the week does just that.

Café Maude's bar has become very well known for its cocktails and for good reason. Johnny Michaels lent his skills to create the original list of libations, and Pip Hanson incorporated his own personality as well with the ice-chopping skills he learned in Japan. Then the reins were handed over to Adam Harness one of the best-remembered talents from the now-closed Town Talk Diner. Harness and his team continue to bring the heat, trying new ideas and even incorporating a $5 cocktail into the program.

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Taking It to the House, by Johnny Michaels

​ Taking It to the House
$12

La Belle Vie
510 Groveland Ave. S., Minneapolis
612.874.6440; La Belle Vie website

Sitting in the lounge at La Belle Vie is always a great place to spend an evening: It's stylish, it's sexy, the music is always stimulating without ever being too loud, and most importantly the cocktails are quite possibly the best in town. The cocktail menu is made up of a number of drinks that are available all year, plus others that come and go with the seasons. A few of these seasonal offerings have become something to look forward to all year, and when the leaves start falling I immediately start to think about Taking It to the House.

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Heidi's La Playa cocktail: Feel the burn

​La Playa
$14

Heidi's Minneapolis
2903 Lyndale Ave. S.
612.354.3512; Heidi's website

Spicy cocktails have been big for a while now. Whether it's a ginger syrup, pepper infused, or just adding a dash of a hot sauce to a cocktail, many drinks have had a level of complexity added with a spicy finish. While spice in a cocktail isn't for everyone (that's why many bartenders don't make bloody mix too hot), for the open-minded a spicy finish to a sour or sweet cocktail can really complement the other elements.

Many restaurants and bars now offer a spicy cocktail or two on their list. On a recent trip to Heidi's I found one that was particularly delicious.

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Drinking Gourd by Dan Oskey

​Drinking Gourd
$8.50

The Strip Club Meat & Fish
378 Maria Ave., St. Paul
651.793.6247; website

Every chef knows changing menus with the seasons is important. Palates change as the weather changes, and so does the availability of local crops. Many bartenders have narrowed the gap between themselves and their counterparts in the kitchen and have brought this philosophy to the cocktail menu as well. One person I wouldn't hesitate to call a chef of liquids is Dan Oskey, who runs the bar at St Paul's Strip Club Meat and Fish (in addition to Joia Life, the new all-natural soda company he has started with Boundary Waters Brands.)

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Brandy and spice

​Mode Nouveau
$8.50

Barbette
1600 W. Lake St., Minneapolis
612.827.5710; website

The big picture window at Barbette frames the city beautifully, whether green leaves are first budding or iridescent snow is falling from the sky. Having a drink in this little nest feels more like hanging at a friend's house than being out on the town. Autumn brings an extra sweet glow to the place, and we wanted a cocktail to match the sensibilities of fall, meaning something warm and spiced. The Mode Nouveau hit all those marks.
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Flower-kissed.

Chrysanthemum juice
$2
Bangkok Thai
315 University Ave. W., St. Paul
651.224.4300

In an usual mosaic-covered building on University Avenue, some of the most mind-blowingly delicious and authentic Thai food is served. This place falls into that "hole-in-the-wall" category. The menu is extensive--pages and pages with pictures of most items for the "afraid to ask." The heat of the spice makes you pant like a dog, face red and sweat droplets pooling. Heaven.

To balance that heat, try the chrysanthemum juice.

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Photo:Shawn Jones

The Gilded Banjo at BLB

​Gilded Banjo $8 Bryant-Lake Bowl 810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis 612.825.3737

Bryant-Lake Bowl has long been a standard in the Uptown scene, offering great food at honest prices and friendly, no-nonsense service. The only thing it had lacked for me was liquor, as only beer and wine were for sale. At some point in the last few years BLB started serving a full bar, and the passionate cocktail list tells me the restaurant is as happy about it as I am. Here's a great new discovery from a recent visit.

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Photo:Shawn Jones

Lasanta at the SLP Woodfire

​Glenmorangie Lasanta $14

St. Louis Park Woodfire Grill
6501 Wayzata Boulevard, St. Louis Park
952.345.0505; www.slpwoodfiregrill.com

As many delicious cocktails as there are in these Twin Cities, something about the chilly damp weather in fall always brings me back to my first love: whisky, specifically Scotch whisky. My quest for warmth led me to the St. Louis Park Woodfire Grill (formally the Alaska Eatery).

On the shelves they have all the usual suspects, Macallan and the likes, but they also have a few you won't find at just any bar. One of these, the Glenmorangie "Lasanta," caught my eye, and I asked to read the bottle. Lasanta, as it turns out, is the Gaelic word for "warmth and passion," which sounded exactly like what I was looking for.

I ordered mine neat (without ice, straight out of the bottle) but with a few cubes on the side. I gave the beautiful amber nectar a swirl and inserted my snout into the glass to see what it told me. Toffee was the first thing I got, followed by an array of spices just on the tip of recognition. My first sip brought me layers and layers of rich caramel and warm spices. I was already in love.

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Lane Zamprey by Jeff Rogers

​Lane Zamprey
$8

The Lowry
2112 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis
612.341.2112

Autumn is here, and our palates for both food and cocktails are shifting from the lighter to the darker. This week's Drink of the Week finds a happy middle with the Lane Zamprey at the Lowry. This delicious libation is the happy marriage of rye whiskey, lemon juice, agave nectar, Grand Marnier, and Fernet Branca, with Bittercube bitters and an egg white.

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Your imaginary friend is calling.

​Imaginary Friend
$8

Bryant-Lake Bowl
810 West Lake St., Minneapolis
612.825.3737

Need someone to warm you up, now that fall has clearly taken up residence in the Twin Cities? Bryant-Lake Bowl has the brown-liquor pal for you.

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