Carolyn Fath
Oliver’s Public House, 2540 University Ave., offers a diverse and extensive cocktail menu, with seasonal specials from bartender Ricky Pajewski. One clever new entry is “The Matthew McConaughey,” a rye whiskey shot (“All rye, all rye, all ryyyyeeeee,” as the menu describes it). Another, “A Nice Pear,” is labeled “a heartwarming cold-weather sipper, perfect for reminiscing over Pink Floyd’s psychedelic hits of the ’70s.” It wasn’t until I wrapped my fingers around the rum-based drink that I realized how cold my hands had been: The steamed beverage is an ideal remedy to the frigid outdoors.
A Nice Pear begins with cooked brown butter — the same ingredient the cooks use to make pan-roasted trout — set with Plantation five-year rum for 24 hours in preparation. The rum is then topped with honey syrup, lemon juice and a housemade mulled pear cider. (The bar juices fresh bartlett pears and adds sarsaparilla, vanilla bean, cardamom and clove, among other spices.) The result is beautiful, topped with the slightest bit of foam and a twist of orange. Created with finesse by Pajewski, A Nice Pear balances the sharp and the sweet. It’ll give drinkers just enough courage to weather the cold.
