Walk down the four steps to the dark door of The Jefferson Speakeasy on Kilvert Street in Warwick. No need to give a secret knock, or say “Louie sent me” like in the movies. Just walk in and step back to the Prohibition Era. Notorious mobster Al Capone won’t be seated at a table in the dimly lit bar, but he is on the menu in this joint of a hundred whiskeys: Capone’s Sidecar. Natch. In the parlance of the time, The Jefferson is the “bee’s knees,” which means something excellent, part of a trend in the Roaring Twenties of using nonsensical animal expressions, like the “cat’s pajamas,” or the “cat’s meow,” both of which likewise mean excellent. And the bar’s Bee’s Knees cocktail is just that. Refreshingly so. It’s made with gin, lemon juice, and honey water, and served in a chilled coupe glass. Other Prohibition drinks on the menu are the Gold Rush, the Green Ghost, and El Presidente.
“A popular drink is the Painkiller, made with our proprietary rum blend, coconut, and citrus,” says Daniel Nuebler, spirit specialist at The Jefferson. He loves talking to customers about the drinks because, as he says, “This is where art and science and history meet in a glass.” Then there’s the Rum Daiquiri which the nattily dressed server describes as “liquid air conditioning” for those hot summer days. Don’t forget the Danger-Gria, adds Manager Ryan Pickett, which is made with fresh fruit and smooth red wine. His girlfriend named the drink and, as she once put it, “It goes down too easy.”. Not a speakeasy, but still exuding a distinctly urban vibe, is Tiny Bar on Richmond Street in Providence. It’s a perfect fit for the art capital of New England because Tiny Bar is home to rotating art installations in partnership with The Avenue Concept. The latest one, on the front-facing wall, is Antidote Seeking by Boston artist Lena Mac.
“We expect to pump out a lot of frozen drinks this summer,” says Manager Sergio Teixeira. Tiny Bar plans to offer recessionproof cocktails, less expensive than its signature drinks. “Everybody is on the struggle bus,” he says. “We want to make sure that everyone can have a fun time.” One favorite is expected to be the Frozen Moscow Mule, made with vodka, ginger beer, lime, and cucumber mint. Another refreshing one is the Watermelon Martini with vodka, fresh-squeezed watermelon, agave syrup, and Madagascar vanilla foam or Tajin on the rim. This urban oasis will also offer Beach Tripping made with Rhum Clément, Clément Bana Canne liquor, pineapple syrup, fresh lime, a salt tincture, and atomized absinthe, Teixeira says.
Want something with a view? There’s The Rooftop at the Providence G on Dorrance Street in PVD. Among its frozen fare is the Rooftop Raspberry Daiquiri made with white rum, raspberry, and lime. Rooftop offers a Frozen Aruba Jamaica which has white rum, Captain Morgan spiced rum, piña colada, lime, and a mint sprig, and a combination of the two cocktails it calls Aruba & Razz Miami Vice. Rainy days get you down? The bar has a retractable glass roof.
Want water instead of skyscrapers?
Castle Hill Inn on Ocean Avenue in Newport overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, guests and visitors can sit in Adirondack chairs on the lawn and watch the boats and ships sail by. Its Lawn Terrace offers several summer cocktails, including The Gull, which is made with Vida mezcal, Bully Boy rum, Campari, lime, cherry, coconut, and pineapple; the Tide Turner with Ketel One vodka, blood orange liqueur, and fresh citrus; and MV Mistress made with Lalo tequila, passion fruit, vanilla vodka, lime, and habañero tincture.
And now it’s time to hit the beaches.
George’s of Galilee on Sand Hill Cove Road in Narragansett has a tiki bar on its private beach. It also has Charlie O’s Tiki Tavern for an indoor tiki experience, at which Charlie O himself might show up. One of its more popular drinks, Office Manager Sara Messier says, is the OTS Margarita. It has no sugar-induced hangover effect. Among its ingredients are tequila, agave nectar, Cointreau orange liqueur, Grand Marnier, lime, and orange. “No one wants the sugar,” Messier emphasizes. “This is for them.” George’s offers a Tiki Tea Bag, which has lemon tea, vodka, and a simple syrup, along with George’s mudslides and BJ’s Rum Runner. Then there’s The Transfusion, served in what looks like an IV bag (it’s a Ziplock rectangular bag actually), which customers can take home as a souvenir. The drink is a mix of vodka, ginger ale, and grape juice, and comes with a bendy straw. It’s based on the official cocktail of The Masters. “We’re golf fans,” Messier says with a chuckle.
Located at Oakland Beach in Warwick, Iggy’s Boardwalk restaurant boasts a Gazebo Bar out back, built in 2015, that has a view of the bay. One of the more popular cocktails at the octagonal bar is the Boardwalk Lemonade, made with Del’s watermelon lemonade, watermelon vodka, and watermelon pucker liqueur, served in a square glass with a slice of watermelon. “We use Del’s in a lot of our drinks,” says Manager Ian Vincent. “And there are a lot of options,” he adds, ticking off a frozen mango cocktail, strawberry daiquiri, mudslides made with Iggy’s own ice cream mix, and the Del-Rita frozen margarita. The Oakland Beach Iced Tea is one of its signature cocktails, made with mango vodka, iced tea, lemonade, and Kraken spiced rum as a floater. “We also have a Sunken Treasure which has a nice teal color,” Vincent says. It’s a mix of Malibu coconut rum, Midori melon liqueur, tropical juices, and Sprite, with a float of blue Curacao.
Perhaps nothing says summer in RI like lounging on the sand at Ballard’s Beach Resort, near the ferry landing in the Old Harbor of Block Island, sipping any manner of frozen daiquiris out of a 12- or 22-ounce cup, or a 20- or 50-ounce yard, which can be had at Ballard’s four tiki bars on the beach. And nothing could be more iconic than drinking one of Ballard’s cocktails out of a fresh pineapple, complete with a little umbrella, like a Mai Tai, or the Goombay Smash, which is made with coconut rum, banana liqueur, dark rum, and orange and pineapple juices.
Aye, here there be paradise. •