Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Cocktail Showdown : Week 6

Cocktail Showdown | December 22nd, 2016

Fargo Billiards and Gastropub

At 28,500 square feet and on the corner of 32nd Avenue and 43rd street south, Billiards is home to the largest billiard parlor in the country, features seven- and nine-foot tables, a great outdoor patio with full bar and sand volleyball courts, and so much more. Several private party rooms are available for rental, original artwork by Kim Bromley is displayed throughout the building, there are two all-ages spaces for dining and pool and their Monday through Friday 4-6pm happy hours feature half-price appetizers as well as daily complimentary food from their scratch kitchen. Having a scratch kitchen on hand was something they even made use of for one of the cocktails we were presented with that evening.

The shot: The Cue Ball

The creator: Mike Ringuette

Mike adds Jack Daniels Honey whiskey and Van Gogh Apple vodka to a shaker of ice. After shaking and straining into a shot glass he pulled out a pint glass and filled it over half full with Angry Orchard on tap and then dropped the shot glass into the cider. The normally somewhat crisp cider is sweetened with both the apple vodka and the honey whiskey for a finish that is both sweet and slightly tart at the same time.

The drink: The Pickled Martini

The creator: Mike Ringuette

The scratch kitchen at Billiards makes delicious pickles and Mike took his inspiration for this drink straight from the refrigerator on this one. Using Effen Cucumber vodka, he builds this take on the martini in a shaker, with the additions of dry vermouth, secret herbs & spices, and some pickle juice from their own pickles. Shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass, it is then garnished with a pickle slice. After noting the herbs and spices swirling around and floating in the drink, the nose on this martini hit me with a perfect pickle aroma - just the right amount of dill and not too much vinegar. It hits the palate in much the same fashion, with the secret spices and herbs blending in a way that leads me to believe they are also used in seasoning the pickles.

The Boiler Room

In the basement of the recently renovated Loretta Building at 210 Roberts Alley is The Boiler Room. The walls and ceiling feature artwork and accents heavily inspired by heating and plumbing and the indoor space is full of exposed brick and lots of beautiful wood in varying stains. The appetizers like tater tot hotdish and mac and fried mac and cheese balls are quite popular late-night items and their weekend brunches feature Rum Chata French toast that is worth getting out of bed for.

The shot: S’more Shot

The creator: Josh Goedtke

Josh first rims a mini martini glass with graham cracker crust before filling a shaker with ice, Tuaca, Luxardo Espresso, Baileys, McGillicuddy’s Raw Vanilla liqueur, and a space of Dekuyper Creme de Cocoa. After shaking and straining into the glass, Josh lays a marshmallow on a stick across the top of the glass and drizzles it with chocolate syrup. It is then lit on fire to toast as little or as long as you like. I chose to let mine get good and charred and after blowing it out, I drank the shot and used the marshmallow as a sort of chaser, as per Josh’s recommendation. The toasted marshmallow added a smooth, gooey finish and the graham cracker rim added flavor and texture to the sharpness of the alcohol-loaded vanilla and chocolate shot.

The drink: Fire in the Rye

The creator: Josh Goedtke

This drink is a fall flavor play on a classic Manhattan. A mix of Low Gap Rye, Kinky Gold, Gran Classico bitter liqueur, Antica vermouth, and Abbott’s bitters is shaken with ice and then strained into and around a frozen shot glass of house-mulled cider. It is presented with a chaser of Ace Pear Cider before a float of Everclear is put inside the frozen shot glass to fuel the “Fire in the Rye” and then it is lit until it burns off. There is mango at the front, backed by apple and then a wash of flavors from the two different bittering additions, vermouth, and spicy rye. The spices that were mulled into the cider really come out more and more as the frozen shot glass melts and I did find the pear cider chaser a suitable way to give the palate a slight cleanse before taking another sip.

Lucky’s 13 Pub

The drink: Midwinter Mule

The creator: Kayla Erickson

Last week we made a slight error. The “Midsummer” Mule is actually the Midwinter Mule. Kayla at Lucky’s 13 pub muddles orange slices in the bottom of a copper mule mug, adds ice and then Crown Royal vanilla-flavored whiskey, Crown Royal apple-flavored whiskey and Gosling’s ginger beer with a splash of cranberry, and is then garnished with an orange slice and three cranberries on a spike. 

RECENTLY IN

Cocktail Showdown

Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck1 Tracker Pixel for Entry ParamountMar2022 Tracker Pixel for Entry TheatreBSMS Tracker Pixel for Entry High Plains Fair Housing Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstDowntown Tracker Pixel for Entry

Recently in:

Proposed Bills Could Take Books off Library ShelvesBy Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu The passing of ND House Bill 1205 and ND Senate Bill 2360, which would prevent sexually explicit books from being in public…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comHPR chats with a local legendThe following interview was done in February of 2016, just a few months after Mr. Josef Olivieri's 90th birthday. We're sorry to hear of his passing at the age of 97 on…

Tuesday, March 21, 6:30pmZandbroz Variety, FargoAuthor of “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land” Taylor Broby will discuss the important role libraries play in their communities as sanctuaries of acceptance. He will…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Who on Earth would ever want to move to North Dakota?Let’s talk about the left hand and the right hand. Or, more correctly, let’s focus on the right hand, being as there is no left in ND…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comTwo ForumWhite Nationalist Trumplican Nincoms Have Pooped All Over LibrariansSo it has come to pass that Scott Hennen and Ross Nelson have assaulted librarians in the state, accusing them of…

Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comWhen thinking of popular sandwiches associated with the Upper Midwest, the sloppy joe immediately comes to mind. But let’s not forget the sandwich with a spicy side – the taco grinder. It’s a…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comphoto by Andy Wilcox Many of Fargo-Moorhead’s talented bands and musicians have been able to gain fans around the country. Some of this, of course, is due to social media making it…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comKevin Armento’s play “Killers” inspired both Stefanie Abel Horowitz’s 2019 short film “Sometimes, I Think About Dying” and Rachel Lambert’s 2023 feature “Sometimes I Think About…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…

By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…

By Jan Syverson  Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…