The Official State Park Cocktail · State Park

Credit: Brian Samuels
By Eric Twardzik · 11/11/2018

Beer cocktails have been popular for years, but few take the concept so literally as the team at State Park. The bar’s namesake cocktail begins as a Miller High Life, but sheds two ounces of beer to make room for an ounce of 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye and Braulio Amaro. Best of all, it’s served in the bottle that boasts it’s the “Champagne of Beers.”

“It’s a drink from our opening menu,” says bartender and co-owner Heather Mojer. “We knew we wanted to have a ‘house’ drink that embodied the spirit of the restaurant.”

The mix of high-proof whiskey, amaro, and a beloved bottom-shelf beer is a fitting embodiment of State Park’s high-low ethos. But it’s not quite as simple as it all sounds: According to Mojer, finding the right amaro took a bit of contemplation.

“The amaro was a challenging decision, with so many different flavor profiles and favorite producers,” she says. “Braulio offered the best combination of flavors, conjuring pine forests and woodsy locales.”

All together, those added elements turn the familiar, fizzy taste of High Life into something more complex and bitter, yet no less refreshing.

State Park
1 12-ounce bottle Miller High Life

1 ounce 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye
1 ounce Braulio Amaro
Lemon peel, for garnish

Open Miller High Life and remove (or drink) two ounces of the beer. Pour in Rittenhouse Rye and Braulio. Add lemon peel to bottle.

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