TASTE: Sunburn, The Hill
First set alight, then cooled with aloe and ice, the “Sunburn” is an off-menu special at The Hill, a light rebrand of The Hill at Muza in Troy, by new owner Jonathan Blanchard.
Words: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/For The Dishing
Bartender: Brian Marth, head bartender,
Where to find it: The Hill, Troy; thehilltroy.com
With head bartender and certified cicerone Brian Marth behind the stick, Troy’s best kept secret (mostly due to its hidden-from-view location above Muza on steep Congress Street) is now turning out craft cocktails from a Canadian Breakfast (Mr. Black Illegal Coffee Liqueur, Maple Liqueur, Buffalo Trace Cream Bourbon) to a Blackberry Kilt made with blackberry brandy, Drambuie and Cointreau. For the customer, the off-menu “Sunburn” is pure theater.
After setting a base of Don Quixote 51 rum alight, Marth layers stinging lime juice and Chareau, a vegetal, minty-salty aloe vera liqueur, with Aperol for a sunburn-pink hue. As the flames climb in the martini glass, Marth dumps in a scoop of ice to cool the heat and dampen hopes. Barth’s inspiration? “A beachside sunburn with the aloe liqueur as sea spray and the cooling salve.” Served on the rocks.