Every bartender has a drink that means something. For Sean "Doeboy" Verrett at Roch's Reprieve, that drink is the Shoreline. And the story behind it is as warm as the drink is cold.
"A friend of mine, Jennifer Hemphill. She passed away a couple of years ago. She came up with this drink." Sean says it simply, the way people talk about the people they miss. Then he starts building it.
The Shoreline is five honest ingredients doing good work together. Fresh cucumber. A couple of limes. Malibu coconut rum. Blue curaçao. A top of Sprite over crushed ice. A lime wedge on the rim. That's it. That's the whole drink.
Sean muddles the cucumber and lime in the bottom of a pint glass to get the juices and the oils out. Coconut rum goes in. Blue curaçao goes in, which is where the drink gets that unreal electric blue color. Crushed ice up to the top. Sprite to finish. Stir, garnish, serve.
The first thing you notice is how refreshing it is. Cucumber and lime will do that. Then the Malibu comes through with that soft coconut sweetness, and the Sprite keeps it light and bubbly so nothing gets heavy. The blue curaçao adds a little orange bitterness underneath that balances the cucumber. It's not a strong pour, not a slow sipper. This is the drink you want in your hand when the sun's out and you've got somewhere to be.
"That's what you want on the beach," Sean says. "Nice and refreshing."
Which is where the name comes from. Jen designed it for the shoreline. The kind of drink you carry down to the water in a tall cup and nurse while your feet are in the sand. You don't have to go that far to find it anymore. It's right here, inside St. Roch Market, in a Roch's Reprieve pint glass.
Sean pours the finished drink onto a black napkin and slides it across the bar. Then he says the part that gives the drink its weight. "My girl Jen. Every time I make that drink, I think of her."
This is the same bartender who built The Verrett and Sean's Mint Espresso Martini for St. Patrick's Day. He's a guy who puts thought into every drink. But this one is more than a recipe. It's a tribute. It's a friend keeping a friend in the room.
Come sit at the bar. Ask Sean for a Shoreline. He'll tell you about Jen while he builds it.
