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Photo courtesy of The Mothership.
The Mothership may be best known for its playful gags, including flippant social media posts and critic-trolling letterboard sign, but antics aside, the Bay View bar delivers on a serious menu of craft cocktails designed with inclusivity and sustainability in mind.
Ricky Ramirez, the owner and creative force behind The Mothership, opened the business in 2019.
Now more than five years in, Ramirez and his diverse team are expanding their efforts to offer first-class cocktails without pretense and promote Milwaukee whenever possible — whether by hosting Milwaukee Bucks viewing parties or bringing in guest bartenders from around the country to experience the city.
A new menu, released earlier this summer, doubles down on the bar’s commitment to sustainability while maintaining a tradition of advanced mixology techniques — or, in Ramirez’s words, “fancy wizard bar sh*t” —that he picked up while working at other local hangouts like The Vanguard and Strange Town.
Along with its summery pineapple old fashioned and the pan dulce-infused banana daiquiri, The Mothership is now serving a selection of savory cocktails that go far beyond the bounds of brunch-worthy bloody marys.
That includes the coconut curry painkiller, featuring turmeric coconut cream, acid-adjusted orange juice, papaya and ginger bitters — all paired with coconut curry fat-washed Monkey Shoulder scotch and Kasama rum.
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The pungent Go-Go Gadget Latin Drink, meanwhile, incorporates agave-based raicilla, Paranubes Oaxacan rum, Los Magos sotol, acid-adjusted and clarified orange juice, jalapeno, allium blend, cilantro, cumin and cucumber.
Another new addition, Dark Sunrise, pairs Libelula Reposado tequila and Gamle Ode Celebration aquavit with a sweet-and-spicy blend of green chile, lime, passionfruit, plum piloncillo and Tapatio hot sauce.
The Mothership’s latest menu arrives as savory cocktails are on the rise throughout Milwaukee, with more establishments leaving tradition behind and incorporating unexpected ingredients such as miso and chili paste into their drinks.
In announcing the new menu, Ramirez and his team also highlighted a few of their favorite cocktails at other Milwaukee establishments: Bavette La Boucherie‘s Basque Martini (State Line gin, Manuel Acha vino vermouth, spicy olive brine, Gilda skewer); Goodkind‘s Pachinko Parlor (Baraky Japanese whisky, Joto Yuzu sake, lemon, gochujang and white miso honey syrup, nori); and Odd Duck‘s #93 (Tapatio Blanco tequila, celery saccharum, sauvignon blanc, blood orange, lime, sea salt).
The Mothership is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Friday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.