The sun is shining and our great Milwaukee summer has begun. That means there’s plenty of daylight for chillin’ on the patio and enjoying happy hours with friends. This year, we invite you to read along as we get to know our city even better using the 2017 Thirsty Passport, a pocket-sized field guide that contains 40 two-for-one drink offers (including cocktails, beer and wine) from some of the city's best bars, restaurants, breweries and distilleries.
Even on a beautiful evening, it was tough to decide whether to sit indoors or out at Black Sheep, a tap wine bar and restaurant in Walker’s Point. The intimate street patio offers the urban energy of Second Street, but the massive windows, modern interior and intriguing paintings of sheep on the inside are inviting as well.
Finally, we grabbed a couple of seats at the bar. With our Thirsty Passports, we were entitled to a free sangria or craft cocktail from the menu, featuring about a dozen different drinks. We settled on a glass of sangria and a sazerac.
As New Orleans’ enthusiasts who have visited often, we’re tough to impress with the sazerac. Black Sheep’s is pretty good; it isn’t as bitter as most sazeracs – we kind of missed the bite – but with the absinthe coating on the glass and the proper bitters (Peychaud's) it was perfectly crafted.
The housemade sangria is stellar, finding the sweet spot between a froofy drink and a glass of wine. It’s refreshing and the pour is generous, making for a potentially dangerous combination (I stopped at one but could have easily downed a couple more).
We also ordered the poutine from the "sharable" section of the menu and found the sausage gravy to be exceptional. There was just enough of it to cover but not drown the cheese curds and super crispy fries.
Black Sheep was our first stop with our Thirsty Passport, and it made for a solid kick off to our summer cocktailing.
Thirsty Passports are available for $30 each (that’s less than $1 per venue) and are good through Nov. 30, 2017. Get yours here. Tip your bartenders and remember the new Milwaukee toast: 414 let’s have one more!
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
