Drinks News

Public’s Cotton Quencher

Salty, smoky and with bonus pork, this boilermaker is tailor-made for the latest wave of the Brisbane bar revolution.

Salty, smoky and with bonus pork, this boilermaker is tailor-made for the latest wave of the Brisbane bar revolution.
"The Cotton Quencher is my version of a Boilermaker," says Bonnie Shearston, co-owner of hot new Brisbane bar and eatery Public. The opportunity to "sip a fine whiskey, chase it with a tasty beer and accompany this with a smoke of your choice all in the comfort of an indoor bar" is long gone in Australia (on the smoking front, at least), so Shearston wanted to bring the smokiness back into the bar without alerting the health authorities, hence the rye. "I also wanted to ensure the oral fixation factor was still being fulfilled, sans cigarette (when you can't smoke, eat), and the accompaniment of pork crackling ties in nicely with our theme at Public of having as much of a focus on food as we do on booze." And the name? "I guess if my mouth was as dry as a cotton ball this is the drink I would want to sink." Public, Level 1, 400 George St, Brisbane, Qld, (07) 3210 2288.
PUBLIC'S COTTON QUENCHER
Pour a healthy shot of whiskey (the Public team pour Rittenhouse Straight Rye) into a shot glass. Pour or pull a tankard of Märzen dark beer. Put some pork scratchings (or chicharrón) into a bowl. Sip, crunch, gulp and sip in whichever order you find most pleasing. Repeat until thoroughly refreshed.