Pub Crawl: Mix It Up at The Haven!

Since opened roughly a year ago, the Hyde Square restaurant has offered its diners a wide selection of Scottish and craft beers, and wines to compliment its fine food.  Having acquired its cordials license in April, owner Jason Waddleton recently unveiled a new menu of creative cocktails (all priced at $7.50) over which the personable proprietor presided. 

The “Dark and Stormy” is a mix of ginger beer and a spiced rum concoction.  Its name, said the Scottish-born Waddleton is “inspired by the country’s weather” but feel free to sample one at any time of year.  The effervescent cocktail is an ideal beverage on even a bright and sunny summer’s day. 

As homage to the 13th-century Scottish patriot William Wallace, Waddleton created “The Braveheart.”   The amber-colored drink consists of honey-infused bourbon liqueur, lemon juice, orange bitters, and a splash of soda.  Although not named for Mel Gibson, the bracing brew would probably bring a smile to the spiteful star’s face.

“The Sassenach,” which the resourceful restaurateur also invented, is another patriotic potion.  “Sassenach,” he explained, “is a slightly derogatory name for an English person.”  Served in a mason jar, the summery Sassenach is citrusy and refreshing.  It is made with ginger beer, lemon, bitters and Pimms #1.  “Pimms #1,’ explained Waddleton, is an English, gin-based liqueur.  “It’s the number one drink at Wimbledon,” he added.

Waddleton combined two uncommon and unlikely ingredients, Fernet-Branca and Irn-Bru, to create “The Fernet-Bru.”  Fernet-Branca is a bitter Italian herbal liqueur that is usually drunk as a digestif.  Irn-Bru, Waddleton informed me “is the national drink of Scotland, where it outsells Coca-Cola, and is often taken as a hangover cure.  It’s a little like Gatorade, cream soda, and Red Bull,” he remarked.

“The Sunset Song,” stated the savvy Scotsman, “is signature cocktail.  It’s an especially good complement to spicy food like our Curry Tikka Masala,” he added.

The drink’s name is inspired by Scottish novelist’s Louis Grassic Gibbon’s early 20th-century book of the same title.  “It’s an unsung classic of Scottish literature,” noted Waddleton.  “It’s about love, war, nationalism, and technology, with strong female characters,”  said the brainy bartender.  The book, he explained, is set in Stonehaven, a city on the country’s northeast coast, and the setting is also the site for which , New England's only Scottish restaurant, is named. 

For his signature “Sunset Song,” Waddleton crafts his own Scotch-infused mango liqueur, a vast vat of which sits on the restaurant’s bar.  Served on the rocks, the fruity drink seems as inspired by the tropics, and location in Jamaica Plain’s Latin Quarter, as it is by Waddleton’s homeland.

So whether you wear your kilt, your guyabera, or just your jeans, be sure to stop in soon for a visit with the welcoming Waddleton and sample one of superb Scottish-inspired cocktails.

Located at 2 Perkins Street, (617-524-2836) serves a weekday lunch from noon - 3 p.m., weekend brunch from 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., and dinner everyday starting at 5:30 p.m.