Craft Cocktails and Unusual Sodas

[lipoff]

Just a quick question . . . are there a couple special bars not to be missed for craft cocktails (i.e. classic recipes, unusual ingredients, housemade bitters, etc.)

Also, are there any particular recommendations for restaurants or bars with good housemade sodas?

Or specialty food stores or liquor stores with an unusual selection of bottled sodas?

[lipoff]

Whoops, meant to post some photos. Attached are photos of the Ruby Crusta at Canlis, some bottles of soda from the Lunchbox Laboratory, and the soda case at Pike Place Market Creamery.

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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Pike Place Market
1501 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101

Lunchbox Laboratory
1253 Thomas Street, Seattle, WA 98109

[flomasterdelux]

Sun Liquor on Summit, Capitol Hill. Quality people making grrat, unique drinks with hand made soulful ingredients. So nom descript youll pass it by. It is not the sports bar 2 doors down, by a stretch. Hig it, enmoy the cib se & drinks.~flomasterdelux

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Sun Liquor
607 Summit Ave E, Seattle, WA

[lipoff]

Thanks everyone for all the recommendations.

We tried to go to ZigZag on July 4th, but unfortunately they were closed. Did have some nice cocktails at Canlis. Their cocktail menu features all sorts of interesting ingredients, from housemade green pepper syrup, Cordial Medoc and sous-vide infused gin, to unusual bitters from Trinidad, Milan, and a truly exotic location listed on the menu only as “East Coast”!

I picked up some Scrappy's Bitters at Delaurenti along with a few unusual sodas, including a full suite of the Dry Sodas (some of which I've had before, but some of which I'd never seen).

Actually found more unusual sodas at the Pike Place Market Creamery (behind Jack's Fish Spot) Including Agave Soda, Ginseng Root Beer, Leninade (communist themed lemonade), Blenheim Ginger Ale, Chai Soda, several cherry sodas and many more in a refrigerated case.

The Lunchbox Laboratory also has a wide variety of sodas in glass bottles sweetened with cane sugar, including Bubble Up (similar to Sprite), Moxie, Thomas Kemper sodas, Nesbitt fruit sodas, NuGrape, Mexican Coca Cola and more. Bubble Up is nice, but the Nesbitt Peach is the most vile soda I've ever had --- like drinking liquid bubble gum and unbelievably sweet.

Finally, I was really surprised that Long Provincial / Jelly Bar had nice things to drink. Seriously excellent chanh muối (sweet and salty lime soda), and a variety of other interesting options, including sửa hột gà (egg and condensed milk with soda) and bổ lượng (preserved fruit with seaweed and brown rice, think of it more like a sweet soup in a glass). And their Green tea lime (Zen green tea liqueur, vodka, white cranberry juice, lime juice) was good in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions (the latter had green tea and lemongrass syrup in place of the green tea liqueur).

I hope to return again soon to try more of these places!

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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Pike Place Market
1501 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101

Lunchbox Laboratory
1253 Thomas Street, Seattle, WA 98109

Jack's Fish Spot
1514 Pike Pl Ste 2, Seattle, WA 98101

Chai's
14816 1st Ave S, Burien, WA 98168

[bourbongal]

There are a number of previous posts here or on the Northwest board about Murray Stimson at Zig Zag - that is the current local fav.

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Zig Zag Cafe
1501 Western Ave Ste 202, Seattle, WA 98101

[ethereal]

I loved Dry Sodas when I was pregnant. Their lavendar flavor is still a favorite. They have a tasting room in Pioneer Square, but they may not qualify as obscure any more as I've seen them in many area grocery stores.

[terrier]

Mistral Kitchen has a great bar. The 'Courting Rachel' and 'Dragonfly Julep' are particularly great cocktails. Well-curated beer list as well. Food as good as ever but now a la carte.

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Mistral Kitchen
2020 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121

[cocktailhour]

For cocktails--ZigZag for sure, then I like both Vessel and Tavern Law.

[lavaca]

For soda, try Fremont Coffee (does the owner still make soda in the basement?).

Scrappy's Bitters are made here in Seattle, and I think it was one of the bartenders at Tavern Law who started the company. Delaurenti will sell them to you by the bottle (Delaurenti is also another place to look for obscure soda).

[mrnelso]

Dr Brown's Cel-Ray Soda is at Big John's PFI
Bottle-works might?

[shaolinLFE]

also at Tat's