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"This is a genuine Expatriate cocktail, to be consumed in the pursuit of leisure and deliciousness," reads the label on Expatriate's bottled cocktails to go, in language ripped directly from the side of a Budweiser can. "We know of no other mixed drinks that will so readily transport you to a different year/country/situation."
In the case of the Distant Colony, that transportive place is the original St. Jack on Southeast Clinton circa the early 2010s, where Kyle Linden Webster first came up with a version of the drink before starting his own place with Naomi Pomeroy in 2013.
"We've got a catalog of almost eight years of awesome stuff, and I haven't actively bartended since the first year or two," Webster says. "So it's been really cool to bring back some of my old 'greatest hits,' and reintroduce them to people."
Available at both Expatriate (order via Instagram DM) and Ripe Cooperative, the Pomeroy-owned market formerly known as prix fixe destination Beast, the Distant Colony turns seven ingredients—Pueblo Viejo Reposado, fresh lime, Combier Pamplemousse liqueur, Cocchi Americano, and ginger syrup from local provider Commissary, plus honey and Angostura bitters—into a graceful and refreshing sipper. It's something akin to a refined paloma that should also work for anyone who likes a mule.
Handsomely presented in a bottle with an attached lime twist and handwritten instructions, the drink is best served after 15 minutes in the freezer, ideally after shaking in a Mason jar or cocktail shaker rather than in the bottle. "It's hard to replicate the experience of an à la minute cocktail when it's bottled," Webster says. "If you take the time to pour the drink and shake it up, to aerate it, that gives you the texture that you would experience if I was making it for you right in the moment."
The label also has a last bit of advice: "Please listen to some records while sipping, and enjoy!"
DRINK: Expatriate, 5424 NE 30th Ave., expatriatepdx.com. On Instagram: @ExpatriatePDX. 4-9 pm Thursday-Saturday. Ripe Cooperative, 5425 NE 30th Ave., ripecooperative.com. 11 am-6 pm Thursday-Saturday, 10 am-4 pm Sunday.
