Park & Rec’s loving cup

It’s a Saturday night in University Heights, and groups of friends are pouring into Park & Rec. Busy bartender Alex Rodriguez is slinging cocktails left and right, keeping pace with the crowd as they order rounds of craft cocktails. After studying a menu full of enticing options, I decide to get down with Get Ur Freak On.

Rodriguez gives me the rundown. “We infuse the Mezcal with Anaheim chili peppers and mango for three to five days. Then from there, we have our house-made curaçao made with amber agave, Cointreau and a little bit of sugar. And then we have a sweet white vermouth in there from Lo-Fi Aperitifs. It’s really lovely, and it brings out a little bitterness and also a sweetness at the end — but not too much,” she specifies, calling it “a drier sweet. Then, we have rhubarb and lime juice.”

“All fun stuff!” she says with a giggle. “It all sounds funky, but it all comes together so beautifully with the flavors. It’s not spicy, either. I really wanted to go with a cocktail that had the flavor of a chili but doesn’t throw you off with the spice. Because I can’t handle spice!” She says the Anaheim chilis offer a mild compromise — “refreshing, with the bold flavors and just a hint of spice in the cocktail.”

The cocktail uses El Silencio mezcal cut with Real del Valle tequila. “It’s a pretty standard mezcal, it’s got a bold flavor. It’s pretty smoky, so we do blend it with tequila. Because I’ve noticed that unless people are coming up and saying ‘Where’s your mezcal cocktail?’ they’re not ready for mezcal,” observes the seasoned bartender. “So we try to soften the blow… but you can still taste all of that in there.”

Giffard rhubarb syrup adds a tart, fruity flavor. “It’s thinner in viscosity, so that’s where our agave comes into play. I’d never thought to put rhubarb in a cocktail, but it works well with tequila and mezcal.” Sweet white vermouth, she feels, is the most notable component because it’s an ingredient not often seen. “It has kind of a wormwood finish, which can be overpowering but because of the small amount that we use in it, and because of the small amount that’s in the actual vermouth, it’s really nice.”

Besides borrowing names from famous songs for their winter menu, “we did all these cocktails that were all about love and cuddling up. There are a few dirty ones in there, and this is one of them,” she says with a smirk. “It also gets people in a good mood. Nobody can order a Get Ur Freak On without smiling or laughing.”

• Park & Rec’s
• Get ur freak on
• 1.5 oz. mango and Anaheim chili-infused mezcal
• .5 oz. house-made curaçao
• .175 oz. sweet white vermouth
• .175 oz. Giffard rhubarb syrup
• .175 oz. mango curaçao
• .75 oz. lime juice

• In a rocks glass, half rim with Tajín, fill with ice. Add all ingredients to shaker tin and shake for 10 seconds, then strain over fresh ice. Garnish with dehydrated lime and mango slices.