Drink #1: Birds in the Trap
“When guests come into The Public House and aren’t sure what to order, we’ll always ask what they’re looking for - do they want something sweet, sour, boozy, bitter? Some of the ingredients can look like a foreign language, so that helps guide our bartenders on what to create. If you’re looking for sweet and sour, we’re going to talk to you about Birds in the Trap.
We spend about fifteen hours a week in prep mode, and a big part of that is creating our house-made syrups. All of our citrus is also juiced right here. Birds in the Trap is a tiki drink featuring dark rum with a combination of those syrups - strawberry, ginger, pineapple shrub. It’s mixed with falernum and becherovka liqueurs to give it a balanced sweet and sour flavor.
We’re known for our ice, and the pebble ice used in this drink is as cold as it gets. It’s small and tightly packed so when it goes into that pineapple, it keeps the drink super cold - like you’re drinking it somewhere far south of here. It isn’t listed on our winter menu, but if you’re in the mood to feel tropical, we’ll make one up for you any time of the year.
Pineapple is a universal symbol of hospitality, so we invested in this incredible glassware for our signature drinks for two. I mean, we also have folks that come in and enjoy one by themselves. No judgement! As much as we focus on taste, it’s also important to provide something that’s aesthetically pleasing. This gorgeous pineapple glass, the garnishes - it should look as good as it tastes.”
- Lyndsay Edmonds, The Public House in Downtown Bay City
Drink #2: Moon Over Mexico
“Every month, our team gets together for a drink workshop, and those result in our bartender creations. We change our menu four times a year, and they are typically seasonal changes. Or our team will come up with amazing offerings that make it on the menu regardless of season, and there’s no way we can limit espresso to any one season.
Moon Over Mexico is in some ways a nod to our other business, Harless & Hugh Coffee. And it’s just fun for us to be able to use our own coffee in espresso cocktails at Public House. This is a mezcal cocktail with our espresso, coffee liqueur, orgeat, and chocolate bitters. It’s garnished with an ancho reyes chili, which along with adding a little kick brings a nice contrast of both aesthetics and flavor.
The sphere ice cube is meant to be the moon. We get our ice from a company called Michigan Clear Ice, which hand cuts these two by two cubes of crystal clear ice for us. For Moon Over Mexico, that cube is placed in our ice press for a perfect, clear ball. It’s very pretty, but also functional - a sphere is the slowest diluting form of ice, so it’s not going to water down the cocktail.
This is such a fun drink to create. The final product appears very smooth and refined, but the flavor profile is complex. It’s definitely one for the coffee lovers.”
- Lyndsay Edmonds, The Public House in Downtown Bay City
Drink #3: Ghost in the Machine
“This is our philosophical cocktail, but let’s be honest - it’s also an excuse to light things on fire.
Ghost in the Machine was motivated by the 1967 Arthur Koestler novel and the recent SZA song of the same name. The idea is that our minds are distinct from our bodies, so the cocktail explores that concept of duality. Whether you’re in a philosophical mood or not, it also just tastes amazing.
We start with gin in a cloudy base, then add the ruby-red pomegranate liqueur for a really deep contrast. With these bartender creations, we go above and beyond to find garnishes people haven’t seen before. Ghost in the Machine features Palo Santo, which in Spanish means ‘holy wood’. Many consider it to have spiritually cleansing and grounding properties. But again, if you’re not into the spiritual or philosophical stuff, the incense smells incredible and adds to the experience of the cocktail.
As a business, a team, a family - we prioritize idea sharing and encouraging each other to create. The ghost in the machine concept really spoke to the bartender who created this, and it inspired something beautiful that we’re proud to share.”
- Lyndsay Edmonds, The Public House
