Smith n Wesson

• Alex Ramos
• The Smoking Gun
• 555 Market Street
• Downtown

Alex Ramos

On a bustling corner of the Gaslamp Quarter, I’m chatting with The Smoking Gun’s bartender Alex Ramos, who tells me to give the Smith ‘n Wesson a shot. The name, she says, “goes back to, historically, what this building was before it turned into bars — it was a shooting range. That’s where ‘The Smoking Gun’ came in, in a lot of how we do things. A throwback on the original building.”

The Smith ‘n Wesson was also part of the original drink menu when the bar first opened. “We brought it back for a reason! Because it was so good, and we wanted to get back to where we started, with our roots.”

The cocktail offers a unique blend of coffee liqueur and spiced rum, “with a Coke whip that layers on top. And then we grate the fresh nutmeg on top for just a little spice, a little drizzle of color to it,” says Ramos. Leveraging a surplus of soda syrup, the whipped topping adds a special element to an otherwise understated cocktail. “We just wanted to have fun with it. And it did blend really well with the nutmeg and everything else. It seemed to have a great flavor profile.”

To make that tasty Coca-Cola-flavored whip, the bartenders “take equal parts of the Coke syrup and heavy cream, and we just whip it until it’s ready,” she explains. “It kind of has a thick layer, similar to the consistency of Bailey’s, where it kind of lays on top.”

Ramos doesn’t consider it a dessert-only cocktail, but grants, “It tends to be something people enjoy after dinner. It does have a little sweetness to it, it’s a little bit creamy, a little bit heavier — but still light and refreshing in a sense.”

In Ramos’s experience, anyone who tries the drink becomes a fan. “The coffee liqueur is a good balance for the spiced rum. It’s just something really new to [guests]… an interesting combination that isn’t commonly seen. So once we tell people about it, they’re willing to try it, and they absolutely love it.”

Smith n Wesson

The Smoking Gun’s

Smith ‘n Wesson

• 1 ½ oz. spiced rum
• 1 ½ oz. coffee liqueur
• Stir chilled ingredients and strain into an up glass. Float Coke whip on top and grate fresh nutmeg.