The stories of influential Detroit cocktails

• It spans from Prohibition and bootlegging to nightlife culture around the auto industry and the experimentation of modern mixologists.

In that spirit, we bring you intriguing tales of Detroit-born cocktails, from old to new:

🐮 The Bullshot

This decades-old savory cocktail stars a strange ingredient: beef broth.

• It originated at the Caucus Club downtown in the 1950s. An ad exec who was a bar regular began representing Campbell's Soup, which was trying to sell more cans of bouillon.
• The idea for a salty cocktail didn't come out of the blue. Bloody Marys were popular at the time, and the Bullshot trend spread across town and the U.S.

Where to find it: Downtown's London Chop House serves it with Zim's 81 Vodka and beef bouillon on the rocks. There's a little Worcestershire and a dash of Tabasco.

• It's a blast-from-the-past curiosity and not a "hot seller" these days, LCH co-owner Nico Gatzaros and bar manager Victor Hurd tell Axios. But they still hear stories about it from older customers and have some regulars who order it.
• The Caucus Club, which closed in 2012 and was renovated and reopened in 2017, now sells a twist — the "New Bullshot" with Moletto Gin, house made beef consommé, balsamic bitters and lemon.

💬 The Last Word

It's arguably Detroit's most famous old cocktail. The pale-green Last Word first surfaced at the Detroit Athletic Club around the 1910s, per the Free Press, whose past restaurant critic noted its "extraordinary balance and haunting flavor."

• The drink recipe was lost to the DAC, later traveling to New York and becoming popular in Seattle after a bartender there found it in a 1950s recipe book.

Where to find it: Fine-dining Midtown spot Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails is named after an essential ingredient in the cocktail.

• It serves the Last Word with French herbal liqueur Green Chartreuse, Citadelle gin, maraschino and lime.

Some newer boozy tales …

Detroit's cocktail scene has continued to morph in recent decades.

Creative bars and influential mixologists have shaped it as the city's culinary industry grew and shifted before, during and after the 2013–14 bankruptcy.

☠️ The Skeleton Key

Roast bartender Brian Volmer created this "modern classic cocktail" around 2011, says Drew Pompa, the bar manager for Barda who previously worked at the shuttered downtown spot and at upscale Corktown Thai restaurant Takoi.

• It was intended for a Halloween competition, but grew popular for its mix of sweet, floral and warm spices, according to Wine Enthusiast.

• "It went on to really influence a lot of bartenders in the city at a time when we were just kind of entering that phase of expanding our hospitality industry," Pompa adds.
• Bar Pigalle sold the drink as of a couple years ago, but the Brush Park eatery doesn't currently serve it, a staff member told Axios.

The ingredients, per Wine Enthusiast: bourbon, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer and Angostura bitters.

• Many bartenders redesign it, swapping ginger beer for fresh ginger syrup.

🌪️ Promises in Vortex

This decade-old pick, created by Pompa in 2017 and still served at Takoi, has developed a cult following.

• "The idea is that they're so easy to drink that the more you drink, you sort of get happy and start making these promises that you don't remember making the next day," Pompa says.
• The margarita-style drink is about transporting yourself to an otherworldly space — taking some ingredients that may not be as approachable and pairing them with a recognizable drink format.

The ingredients: Lunazul tequila, Banhez mezcal, cilantro, Thai chili syrup, mint, lime and super salt.

📫 Tell us: Which great cocktails did we miss? Email [email protected], and bonus points if you tell us their stories.