The Longfellow Bar has held an enduring intrigue for me – its location beside The Brattle Theater, the alluring neon-red signs, the stylish people always shuffling in and out its sleek but unassuming entrance.
The most popular drink is the Silent Storm, composed of tequila, salted blueberry, lime, allspice and ginger. Tequila is rarely my first choice for a drink, but this cocktail made me appreciate its flavor nonetheless, bringing out a hint of sweetness.
I then tried the Orchid Funk, a rum cocktail garnished with a flower that was much more my speed. The drink included Smith + Cross Jamaican rum, Privateer white rum, lime, banana, orgeat and pineapple. Like the Silent Storm, this drink focused on elevating the natural taste of the rum and was tropically spiced and subtly sweet.
The drinks were enjoyable enough, and I commend the devotion to featuring local ingredients and highlighting the taste of the liquors. But none of the cocktails were especially memorable or unique, and I was never able to fully discern an identity from Longfellow in its menu or the bar itself. It felt much more hollow and uninteresting than I had expected. I felt no strong desire to revisit.
The Longfellow Bar at Alden & Harlow, 40 Brattle St. No. 3, Harvard Square, Cambridge
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