What to Order at The Surf Club’s Glamorous Champagne Bar in Miami

Part of The Surf Club’s glamorous early years, the Champagne Bar again thrives with renewed style, offering the largest selection of champagne in Miami as well as imaginatively refined cocktails. The elegant room is a spacious palm-lined oasis where white-tuxedo-clad servers present guests with the Miami Timeline menu, cleverly listing one to four cocktails representing every two decades from 1880. One of my guests who likes vodka with lemon opted for the years 1960 to 1980 and the 747, a delicious concoction made with Carbonadi vodka, St-Germain, watermelon, lemon, sugar and basil, topped with a few drops of pure olive oil. From “2000 to the Future” arrived the WWW, which stirs the palate with Absolut Elyx, Cocchi Americano, Giffard orgeat grapefruit, lemon and a splash of London Essence roasted-pineapple soda. Other marvelous Timeline creations include the Rosita, a tropical take on a 1940s negroni inspired by Rosita Quintana, one of the leading ladies from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema; it is prepared with papaya-infused Fortaleza Reposado tequila, Aperol, Cocchi Rosa, Mancino Ambrato Bianco and Giffard apricot walnut bitters. If you want less fuss, there is beer on tap, great wines by the glass, and flights of rare cognac, bourbon, rye, agave and tequila, as well as a Martini Journey (a two-ingredient martini created for the guest) and the Traditional Macallan Tea Ceremony.

Palm-lined lounge / Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons

WWW cocktail with Absolut Elyx and Cocchi Americano / Photo: Courtesy of Bronwyn Knight

After we enjoyed some light snacks—a prawn cocktail with salsa rosa, Japanese yellowtail with fennel crema and spicy Calabrian chili oil, a splendid cheese plate, lamb lollipops, and one of the best dry-aged burgers in town—the cocktail trolley arrived. For $85, an expert cocktail barista will create a drink that is uniquely yours. You might end up having something familiar, and then again, you might find that in the hands of an expert, you will discover something new that you otherwise might never have tried.
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