Cask Strength Old Fashioned Santa Monica

At that place'southward a lot of drinking to exist washed in this here city, and where you throw 1 dorsum on a daily footing is likely only equally much about quality as it is proximity. Thankfully our LAist editors are always on the picket for a good beverage in our citywide travels. Nosotros picked our favorite tipples around town to salve y'all the mileage. Here are the cocktails that made the cutting.

Photo of The Ultimate Gin and Tonic courtesy of The Bazaar on Facebook
RUM & COCONUT H2o (CANA RUM BAR)

Except for the guy who has to hack the kokosnoot open up, this is a simple drink: the only 2 ingredients are coconut h2o and Cruzan Black Strap rum. Coconut water has earned quite a saintly reputation as a sports drink and hangover cure, but it pulls its weight in this boozy concoction. The low-cal, nutty flavour is the perfect backdrop to the rum's rich, dark molasses and vanilla flavors. Dissimilar a lot of rum-based cocktails inspired by the Torrid zone, this combination is not as well sweetness but incredibly smooth. The drinkable is served up in a young coconut with a harbinger and a spoon, so when y'all're done sipping, yous tin can scoop out the coconut meat within with a spoon.

Caña Rum Bar is located at 714 W. Olympic Boulevard, Downtown

--Emma Gallegos

POBLANO ESCOBAR (LAS PERLAS)

Downtown's Las Perlas turned me on to mezcal—tequila'southward bottom-known, smoky cousin—with cocktails like the Poblano Escobar. This drink balances the smokiness with sweetness and savory flavors: the titular muddled Poblano chili and cumin give it a kick just the fresh pineapple, agave and lime provide a sweetness tanginess. (The curaçao offers a hint of bitterness and citrus, too.)

Las Perlas Mezcal & Cerveza is located at 107 E. 6th Street in downtown

--Emma Gallegos

Dear NUT OLD FASHIONED (1886)

Ever since the re-opening of the Raymond Hotel and information technology's classic cocktail bar, 1886, I've been obsessed with this cocktail. The Sometime Fashioned is my go-to, criterion drink to test a bartender's wherewithall behind the stick, but I love the little twist Marcos Tello an his crew put on this version. They fat-wash Buffalo Trace bourbon with peanuts, then add together dear syrup, Angostura bitters, orange and ice. It actually plays on my high school memories of eating a fat basin of Love Nut Cheerios before heading out to morning time swim practice. If only my breakfast were as boozy, getting upwardly at 5 a.m. and swimming in the rain wouldn't have been almost as painful.

1886 is located at 1250 S Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 441-3136

--Krista Simmons

THE ULTIMATE GIN AND TONIC (THE Boutique/BAR CENTRO)

I used to recall that thousand-and-t'due south were an English beverage, but afterwards living in Spain I realized that the Brits aren't the only ones obsessed with this refreshing, simple cocktail. Jose Andrés and his team over at the Bazaar brand the appropriately-named Ultimate Gin and Tonic with your choice of gin from Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, Hendrick's, or Oxley gin plus either Fever Tree or Stirrings tonic water, and garnish it with lemon and lime wheels, a couple juniper berries and lemon verbena. (I get for a combo of Oxley and Fever Tree.) Served with a little sphere of antiseptic ice in a stemless wine glass, it's a gorgeous potable to look at, and the aromatics are out of control. It may be a bit of a splurge at $18, but you're also paying for the ambient; Bar Centro is a great place for people watching.

The Boutique is located at 465 S La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, (310) 246-5555

--Krista Simmons

Photo past CaroScuro on Flickr
PENICILLIN (COMME ÇA)

While some of the options on Comme Ça's 18A cocktail carte du jour can change with the seasons or with always-evolving palates, we're glad to see that i of its classic drinks still remains. Penicillin ($12) is so tasty that you'd swear it's healthy. It's a blended Scotch drink with lemon, love and ginger that shaken and served over a big block of ice with an "islay Scotch mist." While nosotros're not quite certain what that latter role means, the kick of ginger at the end of the Penicillin ensures that we'll always come back for this classic at Comme Ça.

Comme Ça is located at 8479 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, (323) 782-1104

--Christine Ziemba

WHISKEY COCKTAIL (THE VIRGIL)

We similar keeping things simple with our cocktails, and that's why weappreciate The Virgil'south aptly named Whiskey Cocktail ($x). You have achoice between rye or bourbon, served with bitters and saccharide served over a rock of ice. They have a great happy hour, too, which lasts all dark long on Tuesdays and 7-ix pm other nights.

The Virgil is located at 4519 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, (323) 660-4540

--Christine Ziemba

Dark & STORMY (KITCHEN 24)

We were pleasantly surprised recently during a cease to K24 on Cahuenga when we tried the Dark & Stormy—one of the speciality cocktails. Though nosotros adopt whiskey drinks, the rum and ginger beer sounded appealing, and K24 turned out a good one: Kraken spiced rum, St.Germain liquor, fresh lime juice and Bundaberg ginger beer. It's worth the $11 for a sugariness (though not too sweet) refreshing cocktail. During
happy hour, it's $7.

Kitchen 24 is located at 1608 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, (323) 465-2424

--Christine Ziemba

Weald (A-FRAME)

For those who delight in sipping a stiff old-fashioned at day's end, A-Frame in Culver Metropolis pours a tasty have dubbed Backwoods. Here's what mix chief Brian Butler spills into the glass: Booker's small batch cask strength bourbon, Laird's Bonded Applejack, dark bister Vermont maple syrup and Biting Truth Old Time Effluvious Bitters—all garnished with a maraschino crimson and lemon peel. If you fancy a become at the classic cocktail, you'll observe it on the happy hour bill of fare for $7 from v p.m. to seven p.m. on school nights and on the regular cocktail bill of fare for $11. Drink while summoning your best Don Draper.

A-Frame is located at 12565 Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles, (310) 398-7700

--Lauren Lloyd

Photo courtesy of Cana Rum Bar/213 Nightlife
GINGER MARTINI (Canal CLUB)Canal Social club in Venice made it onto our Best Happy Hours in Los Angeles listing dorsum in March, and featured on their long happy hour menu is the $5 ginger martini. A mix of vodka, triple sec, lime juice and ginger liquor, it's the perfect spicy accessory to the eatery's sushi selections, equally well equally the random brie and grape quesadilla. The ginger zing helps play a trick on imbibers into thinking they're doing their bodies good. You won't notice the artistic cocktail on the regular cocktail card; it's sole purpose is to make you happy Sunday through Midweek, 5 p.m. to close, and Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.thousand. to seven p.m. and 10 p.m. to 1 a.chiliad.

Culvert Club is located at 2025 Pacific Artery, Venice, (310) 823-3878

--Lauren Lloyd

AMERICAN TRILOGY (EVELEIGH)

For the brown-liquor lovers among united states, we sometimes crave a little more than your average Jameson on the rocks or groovy scotch. Sometimes we want a little flavor, and for that, caput over to the Eveleigh for the American Trilogy. The beverage combines rye, apple brandy, apple tree syrup, and orange bitters.

Eveliegh is located at 8752 Due west Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, (424) 239-1630

--Jessica Ogilve

SPICED MULE (THE ROGER ROOM)

Looking for something that volition get yous wasted and satisfy your sugariness tooth? Check out the Spiced Mule at the Roger Room, which mixes rum, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger juice, lime juice, cinnamon and order soda. Perfect for a cool night, but surprisingly refreshing for summer as well.

The Roger Room is located at 370 N La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, (310) 854-1300

--Jessica Ogilve

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