Aug. 29--Strawberry is a trigger word for me on cocktail menus; as in, I see it and worry a drink will be too sweet for my scotch-loving, grandpa-in-an-armchair palate. Nothing against fat, red, ripe summer strawberries; it's just that when a bartender doesn't know how to use them, it's far too easy to end up with a cocktail on the Kool-Aid spectrum.
Luckily, a spunky server at The Betty persuaded me to order A Cobbler ($13), listed on the menu as "amontillado sherry, rhubarb liqueur, strawberry-peppercorn shrub" and now listed in my mental cocktail Rolodex as the best drink I've tasted in Chicago this summer. A shrub is a syrup made from fruit, sugar and vinegar; the latter adds bite to balance the sweet, explains bartender Peter Vestinos. It also helps that the sherry is bone dry, he adds. Pack the glass with crushed ice, and you have a chilly, summery, satisfying sip that's tart, not cloying, with a beautiful nutty backnote from the sherry.
Before I ordered, the server explained the drink along the lines of vacuuming the sugar out of a Jolly Rancher so only the mouth-puckering tartness was left -- probably the most bizarre description I've heard of a cocktail, but also the most spot on. (For more on interesting descriptions, go here.)
Vestinos says he'll be switching from strawberry to stone fruit soon, as the weather turns; I'm sure whatever mixture he comes up with will be just as good. The Betty, 839 W. Fulton Market, 312-733-2222, www.thebettychicago.com.
mconrad@chicagotribune.com
