There was a time when the 7&7 was my go-to bar order. You see, I was always a man of refined tastes, and a Jack & Coke was too expected. I was also on team Beam when it came to my handles of bourbon, not Jack, but that’s a story for a different day. And so it was that, about 20 years ago, I became a 7&7 guy.
It’s part of the Spirit & Mixer, well drink, dive bar canon: Vodka & Soda. Gin & Tonic. Rum & Coke. It was my default, and I retain a certain fondness for it to this day. This sense of nostalgia permeates our preferences, whether for drinks or perhaps comfort foods that remind you of home, not to mention the questionable music we listened to and clothes we wore as we were coming of age. Even as our tastes evolved, most of us still have a legitimate, non-ironic affinity for our former enthusiasms.
As the cocktail world slides further into its chaotic, fun-first era, it only makes sense that our craftiest bartenders would go back to their own roots, reviving dive bar “Something & Somethings” and elevating them to new heights we can unabashedly enjoy.
The Well Drink Glows Up
At Porchlight in Manhattan, a lineup of cocktails on tap includes the Li Iced Tea, incorporating a homemade cola, and yes, a 7 & 7, showcasing “Our secret blend of 7 whiskies mixed with housemade citrus soda – just like Grandpa used to make.”
“It’s been one of Porchlight’s pillars to keep its beverage program centered around a few themes, one of those being making elevated, modernized versions of classic cocktails that had their day in the sun but may have fallen out of view,” says beverage director Trevor Langer, who credits original beverage director Nick Bennett for coming up with the well-drink revamps. “The familiarity draws people in; there’s always a level of intrigue from people who see these drinks on the menu.”
Nothing is seen as more basic — in more ways than one — than the Vodka Soda, yet Superbueno‘s Vodka Y Soda is anything but. And it’s become the East Village bar’s signature drink. There’s vodka and there’s soda in there, sure, but it’s a fruity, spicy flavor bomb. Co-owner Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez was inspired by childhood memories of guava-flavored Boing! juice boxes and thought he could showcase that flavor amid the neutral platform of vodka and soda, though he began by conceptualizing the drink as a Highball.
It was actually Katana Kitten‘s Masa Urushido who helped brand the now-famous drink, igniting a cult movement behind the nascent Vodka Y Soda. “When I was telling him about the drinks for the opening menu, at the time I was just going to call it a Guava Highball,” Jimenez says. “When he asked me about the ingredients with just guava and vodka, he had the idea to call it the Vodka Y Soda. At that moment I knew the purpose of this drink and knew we had something super special.”
To Jimenez, his Vodka Y Soda is more on par with the basic rendition than cocktail connoisseurs may believe. “It has only three ingredients, really — vodka, clarified guava, and falernum — similar to how a traditional Vodka Soda has three with vodka, soda, and lime,” he says.
But from there, things take a sharp turn in the other direction. “The drink doesn’t shy away from flavor, and when the drink is presented you instantly get the aromatics of the guava from the liquid and the guava salt rim,” Jimenez says. “The drink is refreshing, bright, and almost the opposite of a traditional Vodka Soda. It’s deceptively simple, too, which keeps people guessing on how we make it.”
Katana Kitten itself is no stranger to elevating bar basics into modern classics, including with a core lineup of Highball riffs incorporating varied spirits and flavors, such as the popular Shiso Gin & Tonic, and a Scotch Ginger & Apple.
“I wanted to have something that was achingly familiar, but with enough of a twist that it would carry its weight. I think that the appeal to reinvent or elevate a simple or basic drink like a Highball is the appeal of being a bartender in the first place — to make even the most mundane of drinks just a little bit better.”
It might not be uncommon today to receive an immaculate Highball with pristine ice and carefully honed effervescence, anywhere from San Francisco’s Pacific Cocktail Haven to a myriad of Tokyo’s best bars. But even now in Japan, the everyday, salary man go-to is the Kaku-hai, or Kakubin Highball, served in a branded, stein-like glass mug and featuring Suntory’s ubiquitous-in-Japan budget whisky that’s as much a beloved national staple as a 7/11 onigiri.
While we perceive the Highball as a Whiskey & Soda, it’s more than that, representing a diverse, cross-spirit category of Something & Soda drinks, and improving upon it has become an obsession for many bartenders around the world. Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy has a full page of carbonated cocktails on its current menu, as diverse in form and flavor as a Piña Colada-Highball hybrid to the Sencha, with tequila, Hojicha tea, yuzu, sake, and soda.
For co-owner Eric van Beek, the versatility of this entire class of drinks is key. “Highballs come in various forms, and it’s very interesting to people when they have such a refreshing drink but there’s more going on than usual,” he says. “The way we serve them strays away from the classic forms and shapes of that type of drink, making it appealing yet still light in alcohol. It’s personally my favorite style of drink.”
Another Vodka Soda update is found at Anima by EDO in Las Vegas, where beverage director Joe Arakawa serves the force-carbonated More Passion, Energy, Footwork, including clarified passion fruit, elderflower, and eucalyptus. “I feel guests are being overwhelmed with new options and flavors; it can be daunting and intimidating,” he says. Instead of listing the techniques in minute detail, he showcases ingredients and flavors, and lets the drinks do the talking. “There’s no need to list everything, let the guest explore and be surprised.”
The Tequila Soda gets its glamor glow-up session at Asado Life in St. Augustine, Fla., where beverage director Kelley Fitzsimonds deploys an asado saline MSG solution with tequila, sparkling water, and fresh lime juice for the Bubble Boy.
“It’s fun and nostalgic. Giddy delight and surprise has been the reaction from our guests in totality.”
The drink was part of a “Seinfeld”-themed menu, and references Kramer’s request to “get extra MSG,” but for Fitzsimonds, it was also a response to guests feeling potentially intimidated by intricate craft cocktails. “I wanted to have something that was achingly familiar, but with enough of a twist that it would carry its weight,” she says. “I think that the appeal to reinvent or elevate a simple or basic drink like a Highball is the appeal of being a bartender in the first place — to make even the most mundane of drinks just a little bit better.”
The Bubbly Allure of Nostalgia
At Roma Norte in San Diego, vice president of bar and spirits Beau du Bois took a Rum & Coke and slammed a Bingo card’s worth of high-tech cocktailing — force carbonation, milk washing, house-made cola, and clarification via centrifuge — into it. “As we’ve spent our lives behind the bar or inside bars, we have a soft spot for guilty pleasures,” he says. “We set out to make the best Rum & Coke we’ve ever had, which might sound silly but the endless work was worth it.”
Revamped Rum & Cokes can now be found far and wide. At Casa Sol at Maxx Royal Bodrum Resort, the Rum & Coke takes on tropical and Turkish flavors, with passion fruit pulp and a Turkish-spiced citric acid added to a base of Planteray Dark Rum to form the Ritmo Nocturno. Gone but not forgotten is BlackTail’s Rum & Cola. The drink became what the bar was known for when it opened in 2016, with Fernet and Champagne working hand-in-hand to elevate the dive bar staple.
“It’s fun and nostalgic,” du Bois says not only of his drink, but of the idea of fancifying a Something & Something. “Giddy delight and surprise has been the reaction from our guests in totality. Considering its appearance and then the question of ‘are they really going to blow my hair back with a Rum & Coke?’ raises the stakes for an experience we’re quite proud of.”
If a rejiggered Vodka Y Soda or 7 & 7 all sounds a bit kitschy to you, well, sometimes that’s kind of the point. “The name, the gimmicky aspect of it certainly helps,” Jimenez says. A silly or funny name goes a long way for some, encourages guest interaction, and helps people step outside of their normal drink comfort zones.
Personal tastes evolve, standards change over time, and hell, the entire notion of what is or isn’t a bar is reconsidered, stripped away, and put back together.
“We like to have fun and see how we can challenge guests to try something a bit out of the norm that may remind them of their regular order,” Jimenez says. “Elevating basic drinks is just one way we get to express ourselves.”
