Each week we seek out unique drinks, one with alcohol and one without, made on Martha’s Vineyard and a bit about the people who make them. Email calendar@mvtimes.com with your suggestions.
The Elvis at The Lookout Tavern
The Lookout Tavern on Seaview Avenue in Oak Bluffs sits perched on a hill overlooking Nantucket Sound. Recently remodeled, the place is roomy. Five TVs and a well-equipped raw bar make it the perfect place to get sushi, drinks, and watch the game. They have a full bar, with all of your familiar drinks, but this week’s feature, The Elvis, is something different.
Bartender Mike Sopp, a seven-year veteran at The Lookout, puts ice, white cream, and cocoa into the blender. Banana rum and regular rum are added, and the drink is finished with a big scoop of peanut butter. This is blended up and finished with a spiral of whipped cream and a cherry on top, leading a friendly fellow patron to banter, “What is this, an ice cream parlor?”
“Apparently Elvis lived on peanut butter and banana sandwiches. So we added rum to it and made it a drink,” said Mr. Sopp.
Don’t be put off by the peanut butter; cool and delicious, this drink tastes like a thick and tasty banana smoothie except it packs a punch. New this year, this drink is a great reason to come out to The Lookout.
The Elvis is $10. For more information about The Lookout, call 508-696-9844.
The Dandelion Latte at Not Your Sugar Mamas
Not Your Sugar Mamas (NYSM) is a new chocolate factory in the Tisbury Market Place in Vineyard Haven. Alongside their selection of cookies, chocolates, and hot chocolate mixes, made with raw chocolate, they have a variety of drinks. All of their chocolate is sugar-free and gluten-free, relying on organic herbs and spices for sweetness.
Their Hot Chocolate is delicious and their Drip Coffee taste as pure as any cup of joe that you’re likely to find, but it’s the Dandy Latte that catches the eye as something completely new.
The Dandy Latte is a coffee alternative made with extracts of roasted barley, rye, chicory root, dandelion root, and beetroot. It doesn’t taste quite like coffee, but in many ways it’s better. It doesn’t taste weird in any way, and as the pleasant taste floods past their taste buds, most people react with a “Mmm, this is good.”
NYSM is owned and operated by Kyleen Keenan and Bennett Coffey. All of their ingredients are organic, local (if possible), and handmade.
The Dandy Latte is $4.75, hot or cold. Make it a mocha, with added chocolate, for $4.95. Contact them at 413-233-6103, or connect with them on Facebook or Twitter for daily specials.
