This year’s Memorial Day holiday occurs at a strange time for Jersey. Many businesses have been allowed to reopen, but citizens are still encouraged to abide by social distancing rules and follow enhanced safety measures. Restaurants are permitted to resume dine-in service, but vestiges of the lockdown remain. One of those is the relaxed rule on takeout alcohol, which allows restaurants to sell beer, wine and pre-mixed, to-go cocktails.
Memorial Day tends to be an outdoor holiday weekend when people enjoy warm weather and open-air activities like hiking, boating and grilling. Luckily, many of those activities can be enjoyed while observing safety guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Though many traditional Memorial Day events like baseball games and concerts aren’t possible during the coronavirus pandemic, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the early summer holiday, cocktail in hand. These shore restaurants are offering excellent cocktails to go, so take advantage of them while you can. After all, things could be back to so-called “normal” next Memorial Day, and you may find yourself wishing you could order more takeout margaritas by the gallon.
– Hibiscus Margarita
With its vivid, deeply-saturated red color, the hibiscus margarita from Asbury Park is a thing of beauty even before you taste it. Then, the flavor exceeds the looks. Hibiscus is the perfect foundation for a summer drink – a little on the earthy side of floral, a bit tart, it has a complex flavor that plays well with alcohol, and benefits from some sweetness. Hibiscus pods also happen to naturally carry electrolytes, so they help the body hydrate like a sports drink (though those benefits obviously are offset by the alcohol in a margarita). The hibiscus margarita from AP employs the tropical flower beautifully: not too sweet, not too tart, with no single element overpowering the rest. It’s balanced and relentlessly drinkable, exactly the way a great summer cocktail should be. That drinkability can cause problems, not the least of which is that they seem to run out extremely fast. If you plan to get this batched cocktail ahead of Memorial Day weekend, double your order.
We know you’ve been missing our bar so bring your favorites home! Togo cocktails now available. Pineapple margaritas, Shipwreck Old Fashion, Lemondrop ?or any of your favorites #shipwreckbrielle #cocktails #togo #curbsidepickup
