Cabarete

Following dinner at The Cypress Room, it seemed natural to go to Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink. I’d been there once before a couple of years ago. We stopped in for dessert and a nightcap.

My friend tried their Cabarete in keeping with her sparkling wine trend. It’s hugely refreshing on a warm Miami night.

Cabarete – Aperol, St. Germain, sparkling wine, watermelon, orange bitters

homebrew sundae

We picked out a couple of decadent desserts. The homebrew sundae is this crazy rich sensation with pretzels, malted caramel, marshmallow and homebrew ice cream. I don’t have a sweet tooth but we finished quite a bit of this sundae.

milk chocolate peanut butter candy bar

We also got the milk chocolate peanut butter candy bar. We probably should have had this or the just the sundae, not both. First world problems. Oh yes, we did eat quite a bit of this too because, chocolate. The buttered popocorn gelato was really good as was the salted peanut brittle. Hello!

Red Hot

For my drink, I got the Red Hot. I was back on the brown train and went for the rye. It did have a little ginger beer so it’s not quite the brown, bitter, stirred drink I usually have. The amaro Averna kept it interesting.

Red Hot – Rittenhouse 100 rye, Averna, housemade ginger beer, Fees Bros. Old Fashioned bitters

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink

Dolce Italian

One night we hit up Dolce Italian on Miami Beach for happy hour. It was crazy busy and the bartenders were working hard. I even saw managers helping out, making some simple drinks.

Barrel-aged Negroni

Since they were so busy, I just went with the barrel-aged Negroni. It was perfect.

Spicy Raspberry Collins and Whiskey Sour

When it was a little less busy, we decided to experiment. My friend got their Spicy Raspberry Collins. This is one of their best sellers. It’s easy to see why this drink is so popular. The easy to drink, beachy drink kept tongues moist for endless conversations. I was in an experimental mood and asked the bartender for something with egg white. Out came a whiskey sour. It was as good as any I had before.

Spicy Raspberry Collins – Absolut vodka, lime, raspberry, spicy syrup, ginger beer

We thought about lingering for some appetizers before dinner but we were heading out to a big Italian dinner. Perhaps next time I’ll stop in again. The other big seller here is the Maple Wood Smoked Old Fashioned which involves burning a wooden board and trapping the smoke into the drink.

Dolce Italian

1690 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139  — (786) 975-2550

Drawing Room

We tried going to the Drawing Room a couple of nights in a row. One night it was much quiet so we left. We came back the next night to the bartender lighting a tray on fire which he put on his head. All right! Let’s stay for the show.

Hemingway Special at Drawing Room

I ordered the Hemingway Special. I find I like trying variations of classics (and variations of an established variation of a classic). The Drawing Room has mysterious bottles and jars everywhere which is where the Elixir #5 came from. It was a decent drink but I gather people come here more for the people watching. Perhaps we should have stayed on the quiet night.

Hemingway Special – Zacapa rum, Elixir #5, Israeli mint, unfermented sugar cane

The Drawing Room at The Shelbourne

1801 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139  —  (786) 476-8197

Junglebird

Rum Line, the outdoor tiki bar at the Lowes Hotel is only open Thursdays through Sunday. Except don’t call it a tiki bar. They don’t like that much. I personally think of it a neo-tiki bar, much like Cana Rum Bar in Los Angeles. After looking through the menu, I ordered a Junglebird, one of my favorite neo-tiki drinks. It’s not too sweet and and has that refreshing bitter bite from Campari.

We had the most fun at the bars at Rum Line and Dolce Italian. On my next Miami trip, I might have to check out other bars on the Beach but I know I’ll be stopping for one at Rum Line and food at Dolce.

The Rum Line at the Lowes Hotel

© The Minty 2015

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