Jakub Ondříšek looks like experimenting. The proprietor and head bartender of lauded Prague cocktail bars Parlour and Again Doorways is speaking to me in regards to the Beton, a Czech cocktail that historically combines tonic water, ice, a slice of lemon and Becherovka, a digestif made with the supposedly healing thermal spring waters from the northern Bohemian spa city of Karlovy Differ and a secret recipe of herbs that tastes just like the essence of a coniferous forest. Some wish to say it’s a Czech model of the Gin & Tonic. 

As a way to clarify the science behind his variation on the Beton, Ondříšek is seeking to do one thing radical. “I’ve by no means thought to mix Becherovka and bananas. Why on the planet would anybody mix these two issues?” he ponders, scrunching up his face like he’d simply tasted one thing putrid. “But it surely seems banana is a risky compound for Becherovka—one which provides pressure and complexity. That’s at all times a good suggestion with regards to cocktails.”

He’s proper. After marrying equal quantities of banana liqueur with Becherovka in a shot glass, he arms it to me, the style oddly congruent, a pleasant steadiness of candy and bitter with a creamy texture. “This method to cocktails, even basic cocktails just like the Beton, can actually cross the boundaries of taste to create one thing really nice.”

However with a purpose to see how we received all the best way to trying up risky compounds, let’s begin from the start. The Beton was invented for the 1967 Worldwide and Common Exposition in Montreal. The Czechoslovak pavilion featured an exhibit on famed Bohemian glassware, so the federal government determined it could be becoming to give you a cocktail to go contained in the glasses. The rub? There have been no cocktails related to the nation. 

As Miroslav Černík, vice chairman of the Czech Bartenders Affiliation, places it, “We’re a beer and wine tradition. Traditionally, we don’t make many spirits.” Within the Nineteen Sixties, he says, the then-socialist nation had restricted assets and lacked attractive drinks just like the Negroni or Manhattan. So when it got here to making an attempt to determine a decidedly Czech cocktail, utilizing Becherovka was actually the one choice. “The simplicity of the cocktail displays our poverty on the time,” he says. 

The phrase “beton” means “concrete” in Czech, however the one factor cement-like in regards to the drink is that, at 38 % ABV, should you drink too many, you may fall down in your method house and smack your face on the concrete. “Beton” can also be a portmanteau of the 2 foremost elements, Becherovka and tonic.

I attempted a basic Beton at Hemingway Bar in Prague, made by head bartender Ondra Hnilička, who says he doesn’t wish to mess with the unique model. The bittersweet quinine of the tonic, he says, marries effectively with the clove, anise, ginger, cinnamon and different herbs in Becherovka’s secret recipe to create a refreshing drink that packs a extra flavorful punch than a basic Gin & Tonic.

However that hasn’t stopped different bartenders within the Czech capital from making extra dynamic variations of the cocktail. At Alcron Bar, simply off of Wenceslas Sq., Slovak-born head bartender Lukaš Matulik, previously of Sips in Barcelona, offers the drink a summer-inspired spin, utilizing citrus-spiked Becherovka Lemond (a lighter, lower-ABV model of the liqueur), Greek tonic water, a splash of selfmade fig leaf cordial and a Collins spear ice dice. “It took me about 10 occasions to get the steadiness proper,” says Matulik. “Finally I discovered a pleasant concord between the herbiness of the Becherovka and the sprightliness of the fig leaf cordial.” 

On the just-opened Golden Eye on the highest flooring of the brand new Fairmont Golden Prague, bar supervisor Jiři Vošahlík makes an alternate model of the basic, the Beton Bitter, with the addition of some sprigs of basil, to perk up the palate, and a few ounces of KV14, an extra-bitter natural liqueur from the Becherovka household. “Becherovka and basil is one among my favourite mixtures,” he says.

Which brings us again to Jakub Ondříšek. He’s lastly prepared to point out me his tackle the Beton. He slides a highball glass towards me. The standard slice of lemon is absent. I take a sip, and refreshment fills my mouth. A robust trace of lime emerges. 

“I perceive why they used lemon within the Nineteen Sixties: as a result of it was accessible within the socialist financial system and lime was very tough to get,” he says, however these days, “it really makes extra sense to make use of lime as an alternative of lemon.” After finding out the risky compounds of Becherovka, Ondříšek settled on a mixture of citric and malic acids to create a vital oil of lime peel that’s way more scientifically congruent with the Beton. 

Based mostly on the Betons I’d been sampling in Prague all week—variations with basil, fig, lime and extra—bartenders within the 2020s have discovered a number of issues that their predecessors from the Nineteen Sixties both had not or couldn’t due to financial and technological constraints of the time. However that signifies that at this time’s bars, in Prague and past, have much more room to discover.

Ondříšek’s specific experiment was over, however I used to be prepared for one more Beton.