I’ve tasted a lot of different things in my lifetime, but Saturn’s rings ain’t one of them. If I were to guess what they taste like, I’d imagine something like deep-fried space chicken, complete with a big dipper-full of intergalactic gravy. I didn’t think anyone would ever prove me wrong until I saw Broadway by Amar Santana‘s fall cocktail menu. On it: “Saturn’s Rings.”
Completing my month-long vision-quest into Laguna Beach’s cocktail scene, a trip to Broadway is always in order. Arguably, the spot could be the start, the middle, and the end…but hey, how do you know how good something is until you try them all? The bar, on a Tuesday night, is packed. Without reservations, I politely had to displace some placeholding purses and phones to get strapped into this unassuming spaceship and head for the stars.
Saturn’s Rings is named after a gin tiki drink called “the Saturn,” which orbits Giffard Fruit de la Passion, orgeat, lime, sparkling rosé, and marigold around 4 Pillars Navy Strength Gin. The drink is served stratified, gravity mysteriously holding down the fruity bits. It fizzes lightly, giving off summery fruit-salad aromatics; notes of passion fruit, pungent fresh lime, and botanicals drifting out into the atmosphere. The taste is brisk, bright, and upliftingly light.
One of the most interesting parts about sipping it is its Laguna Beach roots. According to “Beachbum Berry Remixed” (a tiki drink book), a well-respected tiki drink master in the ’50s and ’60’s named J. “Popo” Galsini crafted the cocktail at Laguna’s Outrigger, winning first-place for it in the 1967 California Bartenders Guild contest. It was originally called the X-15 after a rocket-fueled experimental jet, but quickly changed to Saturn after it crashed.
Don’t miss Broadway’s fall cocktail menu, which is available now!
Broadway by Amar Santana is at 328 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach // broadwaybyamarsantana.com
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