Despite being a mouthful to order, this is perhaps my favorite "seasonal" drink yet this year. The menu shift that almost every bar and restaurant seems to synchronize with any anticipated change in weather can be exhausting—seasonality is one thing, but I've been known to crave rye whiskey in August and Champagne concoctions year-round. I don't think that's weird. Beaker & Flask's Scents & Subtle Sounds, however, plays winter-appropriate flavors without feeling like a cheap holiday trick... sweet, slightly bitter, minty, rich but refreshing, and with a salt rim for the win. Marrying Fernet Branca, Rye Whiskey, maple syrup, grapefruit, lie, black pepper, and salt, it's a drink that sounds like it could go terribly wrong , but you pray to the Gods of balanced cocktails that it will work, and it really, really does. Order the S&SS, their crispy pig ears, (one of my favorite bar snacks in town) and settle in for the season. It's just become a little less predictable and a lot more delicious.

• Clare Gordon
• Scents & Subtle Sounds, by B&F barkeep Douglas Strodman