Mike's Mix: The Ward 6

Every Friday, Mike Augustyniak picks up a new cocktail recipe from a local mixologist. This week, he's tackling the signature cocktail of one of the Twin Cities' most respected establishments ... one with a number of very strong flavors.

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. vodka
3/4 oz. St. Germain
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. fresh ginger
4 sprigs cilantro
2 oz. Lychee juice

Directions
• Muddle ginger first, then add cilantro and muddle together.
• Add ice, vodka, Ste Germaine and lime juice and shake.
• Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
• Top with lychee juice.
• Garnish with cilantro leaf and thin slice of jalapeño.

Taste Test
Inspiration for the signature cocktail of Ward 6 struck co-owner Bob Parker during a trip to a St. Paul Hmong market. Based on the Ward 8, a cocktail first mixed in Boston during the '30s, the Ward 6 pairs the east-side flavors of cilantro, ginger, and lime with a sweet pear-flavored shot of lychee juice. Cilantro is a polarizing herb – people seem to either love it or hate it, with very little middle ground, but keep in mind that there is just a hint of it in this sweet cocktail… and you have the power to make any drink your own by leaving out what you don't like or experimenting with ingredients that you do like.

About Ward 6
Ward 6 represents Eastside St. Paul. According to their website, "the structure at 858 Payne Ave. was built by one Magnus Lindgren around 1885. Lindgren apparently owned and operated a saloon here until he was bought out by the Hamm's Brewery in 1903."

To find more recipes from Mike's Mix, click here.