Each of the roughly 20 new cocktails at Platform 18 is inspired by Prohibition-era New York City. The view from the train windows now depicts the Manhattan skyline – and the drinks are just as transportive.
Nikki Buchanan | Photo by Angelina Aragon
Mixology master Jason Asher invented this light, garden-in-a-glass riff on the gimlet when he was a sprout working at Sanctuary’s Jade Bar in 2010. The drink earned him the Most Inspired Bartender award at a Las Vegas competition sponsored by Bombay Sapphire Gin and GQ magazine that year, essentially jump-starting his career. Of course, mixology has evolved markedly since then, as has Asher’s award-winning cocktail, featured on the latest menu of his Platform 18 railcar cocktail lounge. This version – named for ’20s torch singer Helen Morgan, who was crowned Miss Illinois when she was 18 – also uses Bombay Sapphire gin, only this time it’s infused with fresh dill, which lends grassy, licorice-y notes to the sweet earthiness of house-made beet juice and the subtle sweetness of freshly juiced watermelon. The sour, citrusy punch of yuzu and lemon add balance, so – despite its girly fuchsia color and frothy rim of foam – the cocktail exudes the sort of savory depth of character we don’t generally expect from such a good-looking contestant, er, cocktail. A single sprig of fresh dill serves as both garnish and fragrant echo of the herbal notes in the gin, and the inevitable result is, well, dill-icious.
$18
Platform 18 at Century Grand
3626 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
602-739-1388, centurygrandphx.com
