Adiós: Little Miss Mexico (in 30 days!) + Best dessert cocktail discovery

As you all should know by now, Little Miss Mexico is a  pop-up bar that has been around in Adelaide for quite some time as part of the Fringe festivities. Sad thing is, that it's closing in just a few weeks so we went along on a not so quiet Sunday night to say adiós...

Upon walking in we're greeted by splashes of color, rustic walls, wooden bars and benches under an open roof which created a laid-back and fun vibe to the place. As we made our way further inside, the scent of Paella, tacos and spices drifted from the kitchen getting us salivating for the evening ahead. Unfortunately, we couldn't wait and dug right into our Mexican feast as soon as it arrived so no food pics this time (we had the quesadilla and Hot Wings which paired perfectly with the cooling Mojito)!

For our first drink, the bartender created a personal gin cocktail with lime and Elderflower liqueur garnished with green apple slices. It was a decent drink but somehow despite the the gin, lime and liqueur combination which would be expected to make a nice sweet citrus cocktail, the drink was overly bitter and not to my liking. 

Having visited the Mexican themed bar before I was pretty familiar with their Mojitos and Margaritas. So for a nice surprise I asked the bartender Kabil to make us something desserty. It was a bit of a gamble but it was totally worth it! THIS has to be the best 'dessert' cocktail I've ever had. Peaches, strawberries, apple, raspberry came together with a base of Absolut vodka to create something deliciously sweet. The addition of the raspberries in particular made it something more than the usual cocktail. I find dessert cocktails tend to be overly sweet and sickly. But this had a fresh, soft sweetness with a bit of raspberry tartness to offset it and was a well balanced drink. In a way it reminded me of cakes served with a side of raspberry coulis.

We had great food, great drinks and a great time at Little Miss Mexico with the highlight of the night being the unnamed Peach, strawberry, apple, raspberry vodka cocktail! Hopefully Little Miss Mexico will make a comeback for next years Fringe Festival and return with its brand of laid back fun vibes. Make sure to give the drink and Little Miss Mexico a go before it disappears for good! 

-C

Cafe by day, Gin Bar by night: Howling Owl

Like its namesake, the Howling Owl is a cozy, sleepy cafe by day but at night it really comes alive as one of Adelaide's finest gin bars. Day or night though it serves over twenty different gins from around the world and perfectly pairs each one with complimenting garnishes and mixers. 

We headed over to the Howling Owl during their Happy Hour (Thursday-Saturday, 7PM-8PM) to try out a bunch of gin. Firstly we tried the Tanqueray and Hendricks gin & tonic. My absolute favourite has to be the Hendricks! It's spiced, yet, not too heavy and the cucumber garnish just seems to soften it all up. According to Hendricks, the gin itself is supposed to have notes of cucumber and rose petals. The Tanqueray is described to have notes of 'fresh grapefruit, orange, lime, coriander seed and chamomile'. Very enjoyable, definitely heavier in spice than the Hendricks and the grapefruit was for sure a good choice. Citrus just seems to work with gin and compliment the juniper and botanicals.

Tanqueray no 10. garnished with grapefruit & Hendricks with cucumber

Next up we have Brokers London dry gin served with tonic and garnishes. At the time I didn't realise Brokers was a dry gin so while I love gin - this wasn't the one for me. Definitely for the London dry lovers out there. The description reads: 'nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon peel, coriander and cassia bark'. I couldn't really taste those notes so make what you will of it!

Black Berry Gin Fizz & Brokers Gin with orange, cinnamon

The Black Berry Gin Fizz is a great play on the original Fizz cocktail with great local produce. The cocktail comprises 'Adelaide hills gin with silvan jam, kangaroo island basil and soda'. It tastes as good as it sounds! In the past, the basil has been a bit heavy and overpowered the rest of the cocktail. But this time it added a nice touch to the berriness of it all.

The Gin Gimlet is generally one of my favourites at the Howling Owl - especially with the pepper. It uses Hedricks Gin, lime juice, pepper, garnished with a slice of cucumber. This time though it wasn't as good as I remember so I'll reserve judgement until next time. A great reason to come back another time... 

Hendricks Gin Gimlet

Last but not least we ordered a Hayman's Old Tom, on the rocks, with a splash of tonic and garnished with capsicum. I've only ever had it in a Tom Collins before. This gin has notes of 'lemon and hints of other citrus, juniper and coriander'. The capsicum garnish added a real sweetness to drink and combined with the gin was unexpectedly refreshing. 

Hayman's Old Tom, London with capsicum

Now that The Howling Owl has opened my eyes to the variety of gins, garnishes and combinations I appreciate gin as a spirit a lot more. I totally regret not participating in their World Gin Tour but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out this time.

What are spice and spirits?

During the holidays we'd like to sit around and drink at snazzy bars- be it local, pop-up, or stumbled upon drunk. One night, we decided to start a blog to educate the uneducated in Adelaide... and maybe Australia.

Look out for more posts on bar reviews, long table dinners and a gazillion amazing photos. We're currently in ad hoc ;) We will have, for you, night time plans for any day of the week! 

Final word for now: drinking should be allowed during breakfast.