This spicy shandy from Laura Wagner of the Monarch Bar in Kansas City beats the pants off your standard beer-and-lemonade combo. Serrano-spiked honey and herb-inflected green Chartreuse enhance the peppery notes of whiskey and crisp kölsch or pilsner. Individual peppers can pack a varying amount of heat; if you’re nervous, use just a single chile.
Riled and Wrangled
Makes about 16 servings in a 2-quart pitcher
INGREDIENTS
2 cups rye (such as Rittenhouse)
1 cup green Chartreuse
1 1/2 cups chilled serrano honey syrup (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
TO SERVE
6 bottles or cans chilled kölsch or pilsner
16 celery ribbons (shaved using a sharp vegetable peeler)
Up to 3 days before serving, make the batch. Pour rye, green Chartreuse, and chilled serrano honey syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. If not serving immediately, seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lemon juice and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well. Fill pitcher with ice and stir gently until outside of pitcher is cool. Fill rocks glasses with ice, then carefully pour in kölsch to fill glass about halfway (letting foam settle). Top with pitcher mix and give each glass a quick stir. Adjust with additional beer or pitcher mix to taste, if desired. Garnish each glass with a ribbon of celery.
SERRANO HONEY SYRUP
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
1 to 1 1/2 serrano chiles, depending on heat desired
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
Slice chiles thinly, discarding stems and seeds. Place in small saucepan and gently crush with a muddler (you don’t need to make a puree). Add water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. When you spot the first bubble, turn heat to low and keep warm for 6 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container. Stir in honey until fully incorporated, then let cool and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 1 week.
Reprinted with permission from Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion by Maggie Hoffman, copyright© 2019. Published by Ten Speed Press, animprint of Penguin Random House.
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