Seelbock

Author Notes

The Seelbock is a variant of the classic Seelbach cocktail, from the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky--bourbon, Cointreau, and generous amounts of both Peychaud's and Angostura bitters, topped off with a big pour of champagne. For this version, I used a 100-proof rye whiskey in place of bourbon and I tinkered with the bitters. And most importantly, I used a weisse beer, a wheat beer, in place of the champagne. Wheat beers are light, effervescent, and yeasty, just like champagne. For this, I chose the Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse, a collaboration between Schneider Weissbier and Brooklyn Brewery. If you can't find this brew, substitute any good quality wheat beer. If you can't find lemon bitters, you can muddle lemon peel into the mixing glass before you add the other ingredients. —adashofbitters