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| A Shot and a Beer---My Way! |
It had been a long day, most of it standing and moving on
tired knees and complaining ankles, with the slow, low ache in the small of the
back. A long day, but a good day, a satisfying day with a job well done. Now it
was time to relax and reward in a lively but not too loud bar with a little
liquid refreshment in good company. It was time for a shot and a beer.
There might be times, I’ll admit, when a standard generic
brew and a well shot could work...but this wasn’t one of them. If you’re
rewarding and relaxing, you should do it right.
To drink right you have to a good bar. If you happen to be
in Anchorage, Alaska, one great place to go is Suite 101 Restaurant and Bar.
Good food and a bar worth bellying up to---if you can get to the bar through
all the folks that got there before you and don’t want to leave. Go early; this is a mighty popular place!
To drink right you have to order right, and a quick
two-second scan of the bar told me that was easily achieved.
The shot was a tight, snappy Manhattan made with Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon, soft and sweet with the obligate corn, supported with
the firm body of malted barley and reinforced with the zesty spice of rye
(whence cometh the aforementioned snap). There are some aficionados of the
Manhattan that prefer a sweeter style of Manhattan, but I’m not one of
them---too sweet, the balance of the drink is off, making it a sweet instead of
a nervy-taut and spicy cocktail with a noticeable bite.
The beer? Easy, when there’s a tap handle sticking up from
the bar that says Stella Artois. They
even have the classic Stella glass, tall and fat-bellied with just the right
balance in the hand and just the right curve to show off the fine bead. And for the final perfect touch, it’s just
the right temperature, chilled but not so cold the taste is obliterated and
warming up ever so slowly as you work your way down the glass, and holding just
the right gas balance, not too soft, not too sharp. Stella Artois is a great light style from Leuven, Belgium (where they know how to make good beer). Crisp, tangy, yeasty, mild hops, and an all around easy-drinking brew, it was the perfect followup to the Woodford Manhattan.
There’s nothing quite like a shot and a beer after a long
day’s work. Especially when you call the right shot and the right beer.
