1886 Bar’s Coke and a Smile bottled cocktail (Photo by acuna-hansen)

On a hot day there’s nothing more refreshing that cracking open an ice-cold bottle of soda. What would make that even better? If it was a cocktail soda, amIright? Bottled and carbonated cocktails are popping up on new cocktail menus around town just in time for the warmer weather. Sotto just debuted its trio of “Sotto Pops” on its spring menu. Now 1886 Bar at the Raymond in Pasadena, which just reopened its doors yesterday after a three-week closure for a kitchen remodel, has launched its own spring cocktail menu, and yes, there are bottled cocktail sodas on there. FOUR of them. The refreshing libations are a nod to Pasadena’s Fair Oaks Pharmacy and its soda fountain.

1886 Bar’s “Soda Pop Shop” Bottled Cocktail Sodas

• Gindonesian Whistle:Damrak Gin, strawberries, lemon, Indonesian long pepper
• “Coke & A Smile”:Rye, Fernet Menta, Galliano Ristretto, whole egg, Coca-Cola and served in a Coke bottle! “I love Brady Weise’s ‘Coke & A Smile.’ It’s just amazing, and it almost tastes like an egg cream phosphate, but it’s bitter and has a Coke flavor to it,” said cocktail consultant Marcos Tello. I love it already!
• Weisse Car:Cognac, curacao, lemon, hefeweizen. Bartender Brady Weise created his own take on the classic Sidecar cocktail.
• Curry-ously Refreshing:Batavia Arrack, curry lime cordial, soda

I so can’t wait to check these out.

1886 Bar at The Raymond
1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue
Pasadena, California 91105 (map)
(626) 441-3136