Being a lover of great drinks means every so often, it’s wise to take a break from the booze. It’s not just to give the ol’ liver a rest. (Although mine has been an over-worked champ and a mid-winter vacation seems like the kind thing to do.) It’s also an opportunity to rest your palate and reset a moderate tolerance. Well, those are just a few reasons. I also have several dear friends who are alive because they don’t drink. I’m so thankful for their sobriety and take it seriously. Which leaves me with the dilemma, where to drink when you’re not drinking? There are fruity concoctions all over town, but my palate runs a little more towards bitter. I crave the depth and complexity of a properly mixed drink—whether or not there is alcohol in there.
No other spot scratches my cocktail itch like Five Watt Coffee. Not only are they brewing cups that the hardcore java geeks freak out over, but they are crafting drinks that are redolent with spices, bitters and rich, indulgent, creamy milk.
The Kingfield is a loving tribute to the Five Watt neighborhood. Espresso is mixed with steamed milk and spiked with vanilla, black Hawaiian salt, and finished with Big Watt coriander bitters. Wrapping your hands around that glass is like a face full of springtime sunshine. This is a happy place with an intoxicatingly woodsy perfume. The salt perks up the taste buds and cuts through that luscious milk, opening up the senses to the threads of coriander and warm vanilla notes dancing on top of the bitterness from the coffee. It’s unlike any other coffee drink in town and a reason to run to its namesake neighborhood and order one to carry you through these glorious, lengthening days.
