Scratch-it is a company of employees that believes in quality and attention to detail in all that we do. This ranges from our creative and innovative design team, to our friendly and knowledgeable sales and marketing team, to our crack development team, all the way back to our experienced and fearless leadership team. These values and principles carry over to our social and recreational life as well. As some of our previous readers may remember, a few Scratch-it employees hand made a whiskey cart . In conjunction with that, the newest member of the Scratch-It team, who is also you humble author (shameless plug) is an amateur bartender. As such, I am pleased to present our cocktail menu:
Our menu is divided into three categories, each reflecting an aspect of the Scratch-It culture. The first section of drinks are the Melvin’s. These are the timeless classics, with simple ingredients and traditional preparation. Half of the drinks in this section utilize the most hard working and authentic spirit – whiskey. The other half use classic working class spirits: rum, vodka, and tequila.
The Melvin’s:
1) The Manhattan-America’s is the most memorable and flavorful splash in the international cocktail. Today, this drink is mainly prepared with American Bourbon, however we prefer the original recipe of rye whiskey-and not just any rye whiskey. Here at Scratch-it our go to is Whistling Pig, a 10 year 100 proof aged rye whiskey from a small batch Vermont distillery. The whistling pig contributes the amazing smoothness to each sip without sacrificing any strength.
2) The Margarita is a simple, traditional, and powerful drink. The acidic lime both counteracts and enhances the bite of tequila, while the Cointreau adds just the right enough of sweetness without watering down the overall taste
3) The Moscow Mule, a product of the Vodka cocktail craze in the early 20th century, is full of character and body, with the smooth vodka lending a strong foundation to the flavorful and bubbly Ginger beer, topped off with a hinge of lime for the classic cocktail bitter finish.
4)The Fidel Castro is Havana’s lesser known version of the Moscow Mule, substituting a spiced rum liquor for vodka. This switch results in a drink that is darker in color and has a more nuanced flavor profile, with a pleasantly spiced aroma.
5) The Old Fashioned is a simple cocktail and therefore deserves a simple description: spirit, sweet, bitter.
6)The Whiskey Sour is a drink that takes the best quality of whiskey-smoothness and a slightly sweet flavor and amplifies them with syrup and lemon leaving the drinker with a sweet aftertaste.
The Hal’s:
The next category of drinks are Hal’s. These drinks require involvement from the bartender, with specialty ingredients and attentive preparation. These drinks bring a stronger, lighter, and more varied palette than the Melvin’s. This isn’t to imply that a Melvin is better or worse than a Hal, choose which ever suits your mood, and when in doubt-ask your bartender.
1) The Cherry Girl is a delicious and light mix of Vodka, sweet Cherry Boylan cane sugar soda, and Gran Mariner. The result is a delicious red bubbly concoction with a dominating note of sweet and dark cherries.
2) The Renault, is the francophile’s version of the sidecar, predominately consisting of ingredients made in the country that invented your favorite form of kissing. This drink consist of the gold standard of cognac, as well as a mouthful of complexity and taste that is Hennessy XO. Furthermore it includes Chambord black raspberry liqueur, and lime juice. Mixed together in the proper ratio it results in a strong drink that changes flavor as you sip, alternating between the sweet raspberry of the Chambord and the hint of red wine from the Cognac. The lime juice adds extra kick to the drink, ensuring its not too sweet or too bitter, but just right.
3)The Sullied 7 is Scratch-It’s nod to the classic drink of Britain’s most dashing sleuth-Bond, James Bond. Take a martini, substitute velvety Grey Goose for Gin, add an extra dash of Olive Juice to dirty the drink. Shaken, never stirred, always salty.
4)The British Mullet is all business up front. Botanical gin predominates this drink, but the party takes place in the light taste of lime mixed with club soda for a refreshing and light tasting drink.
5) The Ernest Daiquiri takes Hemmingway’s classic recipe of the Papa Doble, and adds a little more lightness to it in the form of Grapefruit soda. The strong taste of the white rum is cut by lime juice, and the added Gran Mariner restores the strength of the drink while ensuring it stays sweet and palatable. Our last section of drinks are the Early Risers, for those who need a little hair of the dog to get started in the morning and overcome the previous day’s Hals and Melvin’s.
Early Risers:
1)The Tequila Sunrise, gets its name due to the presentation of the drink with the layer of Grenadine in the OJ and tequila reminiscent of a sunrise.
2)The Bloody Mary. Add a slice of bacon and celery with your vodka and V8 and you have a complete meal. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not get your liquor and your nutrition in all at once?
3)The Irish Coffee could just as simply be plain Jameson Whiskey (the original Irish “coffee”) and Bailey’s, but we’ve added some American coffee to the mix and a pinch of brown sugar for a warm and pleasant smelling drink.
4)The White Russian is Moscow’s version of an iced Mocha-vodka, a Kahlua and cream served on ice.
5)The Mimosa, is a celebratory and light drink of dry Prosecco and grove stand orange juice.
6)The Hot Toddy is a warm and soothing drink, for cold rainy mornings, or sore throats. If the honey, lemon juice, and tea don’t warm you up, the brandy certainly will.
Our house spirits are Bombay Sapphire Gin, Barcadi Rum, Grey Goose Vodka, Glenfiddich Scotch, Hennessy Cognac, Bullit Bourbon, and Herradura Tequila.
Come by our office anytime and I’ll whip you up what you like. Courtesy of yours truly, Levi.
