Sandbar & Grill
Wharf #2, Monterey (831) 373-2818, sandbarandgrillmonterey.com
The secret’s in the mix. Bartender John Chezem says he makes a fresh batch each Thursday – and reveals the handwritten recipe on the condition that no more than two of the 11 ingredients will be divulged. The most surprising: Rose’s lime juice and Gilroy’s second-most-famous export, Pepper Plant. It’s shaken up and served on the rocks with a celery salt rim, keeping the garnish to a simple green olive and crisp celery stalk. The result is a drink equal parts wholesome and sinful, basic and complex – and so good, alien invaders might write home about it.