Drink: This Weekend's Great Craft Cocktails

Write these names on cocktail flashcards this weekend and show them to these bartenders!

THE I.B. SUNSET

At El Take it Easy, (619) 291-1859 or eltakeiteasy.com

If anyone calls you a mezcal snob at this gastrocantina in North Park, they're not kidding! You've been showing off all night, describing how this agave-plant alcohol fills the lungs like campfire, sighs down the back of the throat. And just when you're impressing everyone with your extensive spirits knowledge, you order one of El Take It Easy's off-menu specials: the I.B. Sunset. It's a dry drink, made with Reposado mezcal, sweet vermouth, Cherry Heering liqueur, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. "Sweet smokiness in my tummy!" You say, sounding every bit the cocktail connoisseur. Get it with a pork belly taco. (pictured)

RHUBY'S ALCHEMY

At Urban Solace, 3823 30th St. North Park. (619) 295-6464 or urbansolace.net

At Solace & the Moonlight Lounge, 25 East E Street, Encinitas. (760) 753-2433; eatatsolace.com.

These neighborhoods have plenty in common, Encinitas and North Park. Right now only their chill lifestyle and sister Solace restaurants are coming to mind. Wait, the Rhuby's Alchemy is at both! A collaboration with Adam Stemmler from Blind Tiger Cocktail Co., this is a savory drink. Muddled basil and cucumber. Rhuby (organic rhubarb liqueur), TRU Organic Lemon Vodka (lemons from Temecula), Angostura Bitters, fresh lemon with a splash of simple syrup, shaken with rocks, strained, and served without ice, up. It gets misted with Green Chartreuse and garnished with housemade Brandied Cherries (but don't be surprised if you get a cucumber). If you order the seared duck breast at Urban in North Park, or the mustard-crusted sea bass at Solace in Encinitas, chef Matt Gordon says get heated with this drink.

Read the full story and more on utsandiego.com