The Local Pig - Wine & Spirits Magazine

The Local Pig


After a few years along the railroad tracks of an industrial corner of Kansas City, The Local Pig, a butcher, charcuterie and sandwich shop, has opened in a location nearer to where people live, work and play. Westport has its quorum of hip joints, but The Local Pig adds one more smart dining and drinking option. Fresh, naturally raised meat, a seriously fat beer selection and a cool menu (courtesy of founding chef Alex Pope) are reason enough for this place to be even more successful than the original location, which is still doing brisk business. But it’s the cocktail bar that sets it apart. Bar manager Erik Mariscal honed his craft during years working in San Francisco’s East Bay, and he shares the same belief in local ingredients that makes Pope’s food so compelling. A butternut squash–based Irish whiskey drink (below) is surprisingly refreshing; the Kettle Corn Bourbon cocktail is not at all as sweet as you would think. Heavy Beets (with beet pickle brine, gin, ginger and a splash of local stout) is far more balanced than you could imagine. Mariscal has a knack for coaxing disparate ingredients into pleasurable harmony.

Restaurant Info

Squash It

Ingredients
  

  • 1¾ oz Jameson Irish whiskey
  • 1¼ oz butternut squash purée
  • ½ oz lemon juice
  • â…“ oz simple syrup
  • 6 sage leaves

Instructions
 

  • Combine the first four ingredients and 5 sage leaves in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe. Garnish with the remaining sage leaf.

This story appears in the print issue of April 2015.
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