Paulius Musteikis
A grapefruit margarita from Edgewater Boathouse bar.
The Boathouse at the Edgewater is where the pier and parts of the Admiralty Room used to be. It spans two floors in the rear of the remodeled hotel and has been redone in a nautical theme replete with saltwater fish tank. The look is crisp and classic, with a bit of ’90s Hard Rock Cafe thrown in. The boat dock is still under construction, but the bar is serving cocktails along with fare like Old Bay fries and a Crab Louis Salad.
The plastic cups have been upgraded, and the dock is now suspended rather than floating, which means boats are no longer coming in and knocking over your screwdriver. Just four cocktails grace the menu at this new dock-chic hangout. A grapefruit margarita comes on the rocks or blended (choose the latter) and features reposado tequila for a perfect lakeside sipper. The grapefruit juice tastes fresh-squeezed, and the added Cointreau isn’t your typical rail triple sec.
A Boathouse Cooler made with local Death’s Door Gin and lime, cucumber and tonic is simple but shows the gin to nice effect. A Moscow Mule made with Tito’s vodka and ginger beer is served properly in a copper mug and frosts up nicely.
A BBB (a Bloody Mary with bacon-infused vodka) rounds out the house cocktail options. The bar was out of its infused vodka, but used a bacon-inflected salt, which was plenty bacon-y without being overpowering.