
Shelby Moore

Audio By Carbonatix
With proprietor Ross Simon at the helm since the start menu, the team at Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour have navigated their way through three expert levels of meteorite fields and alien invasions, of time-traveling phone booths and H.G. Wells fever dreams. All this, amid the ever-looming threat of attack, should it come at the free hand of a martini-wielding 50-foot woman, painted on the back wall of the Downtown Phoenix cocktail bar.
Tonight, when service begins at 4 p.m., Simon and his cocktail crew will unveil their fourth annual Book O’ Cocktails to the public. This is their first menu update since receiving a Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar nomination for the 2016 Spirited Awards, the Oscars of the cocktail world.

The cocktail menu features several brand-new cocktails. This is the Rum DMC, featuring plenty of rum, guava juice, and spices, all topped with a velvety smooth passionfruit foam.
Shelby Moore
This time, you’re invited to gather ’round and drink from the looking glass, so to speak – Simon has transitioned from a portrait-oriented booklet into that of a landscape storybook, brought to life by New York illustrator Matt Andrews. The story unfolds by bravely tiptoeing through the familiar, yet alcohol-askew realms of your favorite childhood picture books and animated films. Best to leave the kids at home with a babysitter.

The Shipload a Rum delivers on the spirits, blending the Caribbean booze with Italian amaro and plenty of fruit flavor – lime, pineapple, blackberry, and banana.
Shelby Moore

One of the less eccentric new offerings is the Smokin’ Pear, which blends smoky mezcal with herbal liqueurs.
Shelby Moore
If you’ve imbibed at Bitter & Twisted before, you’ll notice Simon has left in the hits – pages of not only best-selling originals created at the bar, but retro drinks, cocktails from friends in the bar community around the world, and classic cocktails and their riffs – for example, a beloved section of Negronis infused with flavors like chamomile and Earl Grey via sous vide.
And upon opening the book, you’ll see that the bar team has concocted a handful of original cocktails created expressly for the new menu. As with every B&T list, expect a range from seemingly simple drinks to unabashedly complex ones – nearly all with inventive, novel garnishes done in a style you’re more likely to find at eccentric top-flight bars overseas than those readily found in the U.S.
For an example of the straightforward, there’s the Smokin’ Pear, a mix of smoky mezcal and herbal liqueurs, which gets served in a chilly, stemmed cocktail glass, with a simple, spliced lemon peel sitting on the rim. On the other side of the spectrum, the Taste The Rainbow shakes up house-infused kaffir lime gin with sloe-berry gin and fresh lime, pineapple, and strawberry, and gets a tricolor rainbow dusting atop its foamy hat.
Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour is located at 1 West Jefferson Street. Hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 602-340-1924 or visit the website.

The Taste The Rainbow cocktail, a shaken fruit bomb – a balanced one – with a how-did-they-do-it garnish.
Shelby Moore