The West Side Tavern in Glasgow have launched their inaugural cocktail menu based around New York icons. The menu pays homage to the vibrant personalities and iconic destinations that define the city.
Area Manager, Max Macauley explains, “The West Side Tavern is a take on an old watering hole and eatery from the nineties New York with a Brooklyn/Little Italy vibe. So, we have created the menu based around New York icons and have picked 10 that resonate with us. We have researched the nuances of their character, heritage, and lasting influence to create a drink that best shows their key features. We’ve also written a little bit about each of them and have created some illustrations for the menu.”
Highlights from the new menu include a cocktail based on artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Max added, “He lived a very fast and intense life. His art is very recognisable and easy to understand, so we didn’t want any ingredients in this drink where people didn’t know what they were. Plus, we wanted to draw on his Caribbean heritage. The drink is a blend of rums, a little bit of Italian bitters, passion fruit, and then a bell pepper and scotch bonnet soda. It’s fiery and intense, but it’s also recognisable.”
There is also a Coney Island inspired cocktail (pictured) which is a unique twist on a Ramos Gin Fizz with classic root beer flavours. It features Sour Cherry Gin, Morlacco Cherry Liqueur, a homemade vanilla syrup, cherry cordial, egg whites, cream, orange blossom and is topped with Cream Soda and hundreds and thousands!
There is clearly a lot of work going into this new menu. Max adds, “Each drink has two or three homemade ingredients. So, we’ve got around 30 ingredients that we’re making in-house for the 10 drinks including syrups, sodas and cordials.”