Paulius Musteikis
The Corsica at Sardine is quite the quaffer.
Sardine offers a happy hour Tuesday through Friday, featuring its East Coast oysters at half price. It’s an ideal time to peruse the restaurant’s cocktail menu for drinks that pair well with the briny bivalve. Most pairing notes on oysters focus on wine — muscadet and other whites like New Zealand sauvignon blanc — but the true match might be a crisp, clean cocktail. At Sardine, a list of house originals features a few notable concoctions.
The Corsica is both bitter and a little sweet, made with a gentian liqueur, the wine-based apertif Byrrh, Lillet Blanc, Cava, lemon and celery bitters. The result is refreshing yet with enough heft to be interesting. The flavor profile is reminiscent of mignonette, the traditional French oyster sauce made of black pepper, shallots and wine vinegar. In this case, the dash of celery bitters lifts the drink into the ethereal alongside a good, plump Malpeque oyster.
Much richer is the Eleventh Hour, composed of St. George rye gin, Carpano Bianco vermouth, Chartreuse and lime juice — with flavors recalling cotton candy and pink lemonade in the best possible way. A perfect summer “up” drink.
There are seven more house cocktails to explore, from a bright cucumber Corpse Reviver to a thick, smoky Drambuie sour, for many happy happy hours to come.
