TAPS is beer, and award-winning beer is TAPS. So when did they start having cocktail game? Probably around the time Andrew Aoun joined the esteemed food and beverage team to drop some knowledge and talent behind the bar. From liquid nitro-spiked tableside sips to a well-stocked arsenal of quality ingredients and housemade essentials, your drinking experience goes beyond beer when you enter their Irvine destination.
But when a Pineapple Under The Sea is dropped off, you don’t exactly know what to make of it. That’s because it starts off as an enclosed copper pineapple.
Per Aoun,
“I decided to stay true to tiki with a boozy, aggressive citrus profile and a spiced finish, but have some fun with the thing. Taking a $100 piece of bar ware and garnishing it with a 30-cent paper umbrella is what life’s all about. The result is something that is visually ultra chic, yet laughably casual and ultimately tastes strong and delicious.”
Use both hands to pop the lid and make it the base to your new tropical pimp cup. That’s when the real party begins. Boozy Absolut Elyx Vodka and Corruba Coconut Rum are your hosts; Tasty Giffard Orgeat Syrup and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram arrive as special guests. Lime juice and passion fruit come straight from the bar, while Peychaud’s Bitters make for a finishing accent to this beach party. It’s ridiculous and boozy and the star of your meal. The rest of the country can have El Nino. We’ve got a pineapple chalice.
A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.