"Sir you can't sleep here."
A manager came out from behind the bar at Sweetwater's in Boynton Beach to rustle a man lying prone on a booth, ankles resting on an armrest. I was surprised he was still wearing his flip flops.
"Sir, there's no sleeping at the bar." The manager shook him.
Perhaps it was the bourbon served neat that led to the man's passing out. Maybe it was ennui inspired by an overhead TV. Dressed in Levi's and a collared shirt, the guy's unironic mustache was the only flag of his predeliction to flout social norms. Several cocktails later, he's snoring at the bar, feet on a chair.
A friend chose Sweetwater's as the halfway point between where she lives in Lake Worth and where I live in Lauderdale. I was happy to hit up one of the few places outside of Miami known for craft cocktails, since I've been craving an aviation.
"It's so layered," observed my friend on her first sip. This perfect gin drink of Maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and iridescent Creme de Violette was the gateway drink that spurred my enthusiasm for liquor.
Though Maraschino liqueur is relatively unusual, good gin and Creme de Violette make the drink. Available in the US market in 2007, Creme de Violette is a combination of macerated Queen Charlotte and March violet flowers from the Alps. The liqueur is a take on the 1940's Creme Yvette, which hasn't been available for decades.
Served at Sweetwater's in a coupe glass the size of breast from centuries ago, a Florida version of an aviation might arrive in a scorpion bowl the size of a stripper's implant. Now that's a drink to do you in.
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