Ask A Houston Expert: Fourth Of July Cocktail Recipes

For the Fourth of July, you could serve lemonade, but why not mix up something for the adults at the party? While you might be tempted to mix up some cocktails with grenadine syrup or blue curacao, how about preparing something more sophisticated that still ties into the holiday?
 
Shafer Hall of Mongoose Versus Cobra suggests a Boilermaker and Pimm's Sour for the Fourth of July. Both of these drinks are available at the bar, but you can make them at home, too. The Boilermaker is a classic mixture of American corn whiskey and Houston's own Buffalo Bayou brand 1836 copper ale. The Pimm's Sour is an Americanized version of a British drink. What better to serve on the Fourth of July than a drink that reflects the birth of the American nation?
 
Shafer Hall
Mongoose Versus Cobra
1011 McGowen St.
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 650-6872
www.mongooseversuscobra.com

Shafer Hall is both the proprietor and poet of Mongoose Versus Cobra. This bar opened in 2012 after Hall spent the previous 11 years running bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan. His poetry appears in journals such as Jubilat and The Indiana Review. He also has a book titled "Never Cry Woof." The obvious brainchild of its proprietor, Mongoose Versus Cobra offers good drinks in a literary atmosphere. Selections from classical and contemporary poets and writers adorn the walls of this Midtown establishment.Related: Breaking from the Usual on the Fourth of July
Boilermaker

Ingredients:
  • 2 ounces corn whiskey
  • 10 ounces Buffalo Bayou's 1836 Copper Ale

Directions:

  1. Mix ingredients together and serve. 
Pimm's Sour

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 ounces Pimm's
  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup
  • 1/2 ounce orange juice
  • Ginger beer 

Directions:

  1. Shake the Pimm's and juices together in a shaker.
  2. Strain the mixture over ice.
  3. Pour ginger beer over the mixture to top.

Related: Fourth Of July Party Essentials

Crystal Hessong ia a freelance writer and a lifelong, fourth generation Houstonian. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.