Root Squared Cocktail Program Will Flame Your Berries

Booze whisperer Anne Berry has the scoop on mixologist Max Messier's cocktail program at Root Squared, Square Root's upstairs cocktail lounge. While "flamed berries" and boozy snowballs were all the rage at the soft opening, here's what else Berry says is in store for the program:

Aromatized wines, vermouth, shrubs, cordials and tea concentrates get lots of play, and his variations on classics — a smoky Cuba libre smudged with mezcal, Mexican Coke and a lime-jalapeno cordial; a bourbon-based Manhattan made edgy with bitter liqueur and green peppercorn — are confident and experimental. He also mixed a gin sour sweetened with jasmine tea concentrate.

"The buzzed-about, high-tech bar tools aren't yet in sight," Berry writes. Doh. Currently, the only hot poker action you'll find in here likely involves stacks of Fernet Branca challenge coins after hours, but Messier will use a homogenizer to fast-age whisky and there's talk of a rotary evaporator, an ice program, and this: "We're going to capture smoke in ice." Messier is also doing the drink pairings for the 12-15 tasting menu downstairs as well. Specialty cocktails are going for about $12 each with $5-$8 select cocktails for Happy Hour, daily from 5 to 7 p.m. daily in the Root Squared lounge.

· Max Messier Unveils The Cocktail Program at Root Squared [Gambit]
· All Square Root Coverage [-ENOLA-]
[Photo: Brasted]