The Ward 8
A Boston cocktail
Cocktail of the Month…
(from Blood & Whiskey #10)
There are many origins stories behind this classic, but this much is known (and can be found in my book, The First Kennedys): Martin Lomasney, powerful boss of Boston’s Ward 8 (the west end) through the late 1800s, was a contemporary (and frequent foe) of P.J. Kennedy, the quiet but equally powerful boss of Ward 2 (East Boston). The cocktail is credited to Lomasney’s turf but is more broadly a testament to Boston’s era of upstart Irish-Democratic ward politics.
Ward 8
1 ounces rye whiskey (I used the Heresy rye my wife got me for Val-Day)
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice
a teaspoon of grenadine (feel free to use more if you have the good stuff; less if it’s that weird red-dye sugary stuff)
shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass; garnish with cherries
*other versions add some sweetness to offset the citrus tart, so feel free to try a splash of honey, simple syrup or (per Death & Co.) pomegranate molasses.
