The Original Southside cocktail is a glorious crash of flavors
Welcome back to FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
The Original Southside is an old Chicago cocktail. It's also, to be clear, threading a bunch of needles.
It's a prohibition-era recipe and it absolutely looks like one. Gin, lemon and mint -- basic flavors that could be friends or enemies. Then you've got the process of getting it into a can, keeping it shelf stable and introducing bubbles to the mix. Unlike the soft landing spot of a low-alcohol seltzer that can be flattened with artificial flavors, it also clocks in at 10 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).
So, yeah, lots of moving parts. The degree of difficulty is high. Let's see if it sticks the landing.
The Original Southside gin cocktail: A
I'm drinking this the way gin drinks are meant to be enjoyed: outside on a warm day. Cracking the can unveils everything the can promises. Lemons, gin and mint, in that order. My brain is poisoned to process clean lemon and sharp booze as cleaning supplies, but that merely suggests I'm getting a drink that is lemony fresh.
The first sip is a perfect balance between lemon, mint and bubbles. The gin clocks in as well, but it's minimal -- especially for a cocktail that clocks in at 10 percent ABV. That raft of carbonation carries everything along wonderfully, giving you a slick, nearly creamy texture.
That would be for naught if the drink didn't taste good. But this is, to be clear, awesome. Lemon and mint sounds like a toothpaste nightmare. But here the mint adds an extra dimension to the reliable sweet/tart of lemonade. The Original Southside tosses an extra ingredient into the mix and it lands perfectly. This is crushable to the point of danger
It's wonderful for hot day drinking but holds up in hoodie weather, too. It's clean and easy and finishes dry enough to keep you coming back. Gin is a delicate spirit that can be a detriment in the wrong combination. Southside turned it into an asset. This rules.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink The Original Southside gin cocktail over a cold can of Hamm's?
Look at the can. Look at this smug-[expletive] lemon.
Why's he so self satisfied? Because he knows his cocktail is awesome. My only concern is drinking too many, too fast at 10 percent ABV.
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