The Tatarian is a contemporary neighborhood bar on Tennyson focusing on the craft of modern cocktails, which the affable barkeeps infuse with unique herbs, roots, and spices much to the delight of the discerning drinkers who frequent the Berkeley spot.
“If you are looking for a refreshing drink that reminds you of your childhood, it’s the Kapok. The flavors of raspberry, almond, dry curaçao, pineapple, and Irish whiskey combine to resemble the profile of a Fruit Roll-Up.”—Katie Krieger, operations coordinator, The Tatarian
Kapok Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey
- ½ oz. orgeat syrup (*contains almonds)
- ½ oz. raspberry syrup
- ¾ oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
- ¾ oz. fresh pineapple juice
- 2 dashes Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters
- overproof rum
- 1 cinnamon stick
Directions
- In a shaker tin, add all the ingredients. Then, toss a scoop of ice into the shaker and shake vigorously.
- Strain shaker contents over fresh ice into mai tai or rocks glass.
- Garnish with a pineapple moon (imagine taking a lime wheel and cutting it in two pieces so that they look like a half moon) running parallel to the glass, a full lime wheel sitting perpendicular to the pineapple, and two raspberries placed on top of the lime.
- Drop a bar spoon of overproof rum onto the raspberries and light it on fire. Then microplane a cinnamon stick over the flame.
Ask The Bartender: Katie Krieger
“I have been with Tatarian since April 2020 as the operations coordinator and have been behind the bar for over 10 years.”
“I love the cozy atmosphere and neighborhood vibes Tatarian gives. Berkeley is an old neighborhood that is undergoing a massive face-lift. We all get to know each other throughout the neighborhood. A lot of our guests are our neighbors who live and work around Berkeley. It has a small town feel in the middle of busy Denver.”
“The Tatarian was the type of maple tree given to new residents of Berkeley back in the day. We name each of our cocktails after a tree that best represents its aesthetic.”
“The kapok tree is found throughout the Neotropics, from southern Mexico to the southern Amazon and even to parts of West Africa. Because the unopened fruit won’t sink when submerged in water, many believe the fruit of the kapok tree floated its way from Latin America to Africa. In ancient times, the Maya believed that the kapok tree stood at the center of the Earth.”
“When making the drink, use fresh or unsweetened pineapple juice. Make sure you give a big shake and put in a large glass over fresh ice.”
