DRINK THIS IMMEDIATELY: Rhino Tooth at Oyster House

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DRINK THIS IMMEDIATELY: Rhino Tooth at Oyster House

POSTED: Friday, February 11, 2011, 8:25 PM

Filed Under: Booze | Eat This Immediately

Photo | Drew Lazor

We like drinks with teeth, so it's no surprise that we're infatuated with one that's actually got a dental-type name. Head to Oyster House (1516 Sansom St.) for bartender Jordan Stalsworth's Rhino Tooth, a straightforward whiskey drinker's delight that recently made its way onto OH's official cocktail list. Stalsworth combines 1792 Ridgemont Reserve bourbon, Bonal Gentiane Quina (a gentian-flavored French quinquina, or quinine-based aperitif) and B&B (aka the pre-fab blend of BÃ©nÃ©dictine and cognac), topping it all off with a grapefruit twist and a single rock. It's stiff, yes, but it's also a remarkably well-balanced whiskey cocktail, and we tend to notice different little flavor elements with each sip. "The Bonal picks up the spice and smoke [of the bourbon] in a unique way, and the splash of B&B supports the vanilla notes without masking them," says Stalsworth. "The grapefruit twist blends it all together and evens out the finish." Oh, the name: There's an old restaurant-industry hazing tradition that involves asking green rookie employees to run to different restaurants to pick up or borrow wholly fake items (e.g. "a caviar peeler," a "left-handed cheese knife," or our personal fave, "the keys to the handtruck"). Stalsworth, messing with a new barback one night, told him that he needed to keep her stocked with "Rhino Teeth." He called Stalsworth's bluff, so she warned him that he'd end up feeling foolish when it eventually showed up on OH's menu â and BAM, it did. Now go get her a bucket of steam. Drink this immediately!

Tweets that mention DRINK THIS IMMEDIATELY: Rhino Tooth at Oyster House :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2011-02-11 16:23:51

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by eden brown, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: DRINK THIS IMMEDIATELY! Rhino Tooth at @PHLOysterHouse: http://ow.ly/3UUHP [...]

Tom N.

Posted 2011-02-12 00:59:41

Sweet mother, that sounds delicious.

Paul

Posted 2011-02-14 16:50:10

Lazor, Buck a Shuck again soon? I want to try this ASAP.

Jeff M

Posted 2011-02-14 17:24:27

Jordan is a very classy bartender

Notes from the Weekend: Feb. 14 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-02-14 17:31:10

[...] 35• O Burger coming to South Street• Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Feb. 7-11• DRINK THIS IMMEDIATELY: Rhino Tooth at Oyster House• Opa for V-Day• Getting twisted with Hammond's Pretzels• PREVIEW: Kitchen at Penn [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:25 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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