Double Chicken Please

2025-11-11

While we waited for a table in The Coop, we had a drink up front

Ogres Have Layers Nikka Coffey Gin Isolation Proof Ramp Gin La Quintinye Vermouth caramelized onion, mastiha carrot, butter, olive

I got:

Cold Pizza Don Fulano Blanco Tequila Parmigiano Reggiano burnt toast tomato basil honey, egg white

Thai Curry
Sonbi Gin
Ilegal Joven Mezcal
green curry
lime

Andrew got:

Waldorf Salad
Dewar’s 12yr Whisky
Laphroaig 10yr Whisky
celery, kale
apple
soda
walnut bitters

Red Eye Gravy Teeling Irish Whiskey coffee butter corn, walnut wild mushroom microwaved coppa

We ate:

Chicken Sandwiches

Hot Honey
buttermilk – thai basil

Popcorn Chicken

ginger – white pepper – five spice salted egg yolk sauce

Cocktails broken down

🧌 Ogres Have Layers

🥂 Base Style

Martini / Gibson hybrid

• Two gins: Nikka Coffey Gin (Japanese, clean and citrusy) and Isolation Proof Ramp Gin (botanical, garlicky/onion-like notes from ramps).

• La Quintinye Vermouth (aromatic French vermouth, slightly sweet and herbal).
  → This combination aligns with the spirit-forward Martini family — elegant, boozy, stirred, and served up.

🍸 Flavor Layering / Twist

The add-ins — caramelized onion, mastiha, carrot, butter, olive — turn it into a culinary-style savory Martini:

• Caramelized onion + butter → umami richness, echoing browned flavors.

• Mastiha → resinous Greek spirit (like pine and herbs), gives a mystical forest note.

• Carrot → subtle vegetal sweetness, adding “layered” flavor.

• Olive → classic Martini garnish element, grounding it in the familiar.

🧅 In summary

“Ogres Have Layers” = a layered, savory Martini with culinary depth — think of it as a buttered Gibson that explores vegetal and umami flavors, nodding to the “layers” of an ogre (and of flavor).

🍕 Cold Pizza

Don Fulano Blanco Tequila
Parmigiano Reggiano, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey, egg white

🥂 Base Style

Tequila Sour / Bloody Maria Hybrid
Spirit-forward and savory, balanced by acid and foam — built like a sour (tequila, honey, egg white), but riffing on the Bloody Mary family through its tomato and basil notes.

🍸 Flavor Layering / Twist

• Tequila (Don Fulano Blanco) → crisp, vegetal agave base.

• Parmigiano Reggiano + burnt toast → smoky umami, evokes crust and cheese.

• Tomato + basil → bright Italian flavor pairing — the “pizza” core.

• Honey + egg white → smooth, textural balance.
  → Likely shaken and strained, resulting in a silky, foamy sour that smells like a wood-fired margherita.

🔥 In summary

“Cold Pizza” = a savory tequila sour with Italian pantry notes, capturing the nostalgia of leftover pizza — smoky, herbal, and slightly sweet.

🍛 Thai Curry

Sonbi Gin
Ilegal Joven Mezcal
green curry, lime

🥂 Base Style

Smoky Gimlet / Southside hybrid
Built on the gin-mezcal duo (herbal meets smoke), balanced with citrus, and spiced like a Thai kitchen.

🍸 Flavor Layering / Twist

• Sonbi Gin → bright, floral, clean backbone.

• Ilegal Joven Mezcal → smoke and depth.

• Green curry → creamy coconut, chili, lemongrass, and kaffir lime — exotic complexity.

• Lime → acidity to balance fat and spice.
  → Likely clarified or fat-washed to keep texture clean while retaining aroma.

🧡 In summary

“Thai Curry” = a tropical, smoky, and aromatic gimlet — like sipping a cocktail version of green curry with citrus and mezcal smoke.

🥗 Waldorf Salad

Dewar’s 12yr Whisky
Laphroaig 10yr Whisky
celery, kale, apple, soda, walnut bitters

🥂 Base Style

Highball / Whisky Collins riff
A light, effervescent whisky cocktail playing on the structure of a highball but flavored like the classic Waldorf Salad.

🍸 Flavor Layering / Twist

• Dewar’s + Laphroaig → balanced smoke and malt — sweet/salty contrast.

• Celery + kale → green bitterness and vegetal edge.

• Apple + soda → crisp and refreshing, sparkling lift.

• Walnut bitters → earthy, nutty depth.
  → Served tall and fizzy — light but savory, vegetal, and smoky.

🍏 In summary

“Waldorf Salad” = a Scotch highball inspired by the iconic salad, refreshing and smoky with herbal, apple, and nutty notes.

☕ Red Eye Gravy

Teeling Irish Whiskey
coffee butter, corn, walnut, wild mushroom, microwaved coppa

🥂 Base Style

Irish Coffee / Fat-washed Old Fashioned hybrid
Rich, spirit-forward, with savory undertones — a Southern breakfast plate reimagined as a whiskey cocktail.

🍸 Flavor Layering / Twist

• Teeling Irish Whiskey → bright grain sweetness.

• Coffee butter → fat-washed richness, evokes diner coffee and gravy.

• Corn + walnut → sweet-nutty Southern base.

• Wild mushroom + coppa → savory umami, adding “gravy” depth.
  → Possibly stirred and served over a large cube — rich, earthy, and comforting.

☕ In summary

“Red Eye Gravy” = a Southern-style Irish Coffee–Old Fashioned hybrid, buttery, smoky, and umami — the flavor of a breakfast plate in cocktail form.