What should cross one’s mind when a bartender christens a cocktail in your honor? Boasting about it to friends – strangers, too – is an option. On the other hand, perhaps it says something about your drinking habits.
Either way, the Faries-Schmalz Conundrum at Estéban Restaurant is a clever blend of cool, tropical bliss and titillating spice. Prepared from eight ingredients – 10 if you count the rub on the rim – it is brisk and welcoming on the palate, with refreshing notes of pineapple, kiwi and lime that come across more easygoing than tart, as well as a soft whisper of banana. Ah, but there is a more mischievous side that emerges in hints of bittersweet grass and peppery herbs, a tingle of ginger here and a resinous bite there. The rub of salt and white pepper gives this kindling, and the embers linger.
Longtime mixologist Anthony Vitacca layers all of this through Patron Silver tequila and Banhez mezcal, for a mild-mannered, fruity foundation with wafts of toasted agave. Velvet Falernum begins the spicy flare, aided by Green Chartreuse and Ancho Verde, which also toss an herbaceousness into the mix. There’s more, of course, but I will add that Schmalz recognizes former Weekly staff writer Dave Schmalz. The cocktail is one of nine new alcoholic creations on the Estéban spring menu, as well as three new mocktails. But this particular cocktail – well, it’s a crisp, fresh, earthy, flickering conundrum.