Cheers to 2025: Our Syracuse food writers pick their favorite cocktails, drinks of the year

A "hot & dirty" martini at Stone Creek in Marcellus. The restaurant opens Monday.

Syracuse, N.Y. — Before the apps hit the table or the entrees steal the show, there’s always a drink. That’s just how we operate. Call it professional curiosity. Call it hydration. Call it a necessary first step.

Over the past year, we (Jared Paventi, Jacob Pucci, Danielle Benjamin and Charlie Miller) logged a lot of miles, stools and bar tabs in the name of food coverage. Sometimes that opening pour was a thoughtful, spirit-forward cocktail built with intention. Sometimes it was wine that made us pause mid-sentence. And sometimes it was a cold, uncomplicated beer that knew exactly what its job was.

Anisha Lockhart serves my pickle martini at Double Cheese, a new restaurant in Liverpool.

The first drink matters. It sets the mood, signals what kind of place you’re in and, on a good night (or early afternoon), tells you you’re exactly where you should be.

A pisco sour and pisco old fashioned at Inka's in downtown Syracuse.

Here are the drinks that stood out most from our 2025 coverage, all sipped at places we actually visited this year. If your favorite didn’t make the cut, it’s not personal. We just haven’t had a seat at that bar yet.

The Wedge: Cacio e Pepe

Address: The Wedge, 2802 James St., Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: This is my drink of the year, earning high honors for creativity and execution. It’s essentially a martini that tastes just like the sauce from the Roman pasta dish.

The Wedge, a cheese-centric bar and restaurant, blends Romano cheese-infused gin and peppercorn-infused vermouth to create a drink that tastes like you took a spoonful of sauce from an order of cacio e pepe. It was heavy and funky, and you really can only drink one at a sitting, but if it’s on the menu, it’s worth ordering. Even if you read this and think, “Eww, gross,” you have to appreciate how high the degree of difficulty was in achieving this cocktail.

Inka’s: Various cocktails

Address: Inka’s, 201 S. Salina St., Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: My favorite cocktail experience of 2025 was from one of my favorite restaurant visits of the year. Inka’s, the Peruvian fusion restaurant in Downtown Syracuse, delivered on every course and with exceptional service. But, let’s talk about cocktails here.

The carajillo (above) is a dessert drink, and that’s for the best because I could have consumed a few of these caffeine-packed delights. Fresh-brewed espresso is mixed with Licor 43, a Spanish cordial with flavors of citrus and vanilla. Bitter orange and lemon from the liquor counter the coffee, allowing the vanilla sweetness to lift up the coffee.

Bar manager Matt Sherlock presents the piscos at Inka's in downtown Syracuse.

From Charlie Miller: This one is all about balance and a little showmanship. Inka’s Pisco Sour starts with pisco, citrus and simple syrup, then gets a vigorous shake that builds a silky layer of foam from egg white. A few drops of bitters finish the drink, adding aroma and a subtle visual flourish on top.

The result is bright and tangy without going sharp, smooth without going sweet. It’s elegant, refreshing and just foamy enough to leave a faint white mustache on your upper lip. It’s a small badge of honor for ordering one of Peru’s great cocktails done right.

Appetizers and cocktail at the bar at Inka's in downtown Syracuse.

From Jared Paventi: I’m sure there are bars in Syracuse that will make you a pisco sour, but Inka’s is the only place where the Peruvian liquor is the center of the beverage menu. In fact pisco, which is made from grape must like brandy or grappa, is in more than half of the drinks on the menu. The pisco sour gets the old school treatment, made with egg whites, lemon and sugar, not a pre-mix.

The Andean sunset, featured during our summertime visit, blended pisco, Aperol, simple syrup, and pineapple and citrus juices for a tropical refresher. There was also the Chilcano for good measure, which combined pisco, citrus juices and ginger for a snappy bite.

I’m not sure there’s a bad drink on this menu and I will commit to a full, thorough investigation.

Avicolli’s Coal Fire: Italian Margarita

Address: Avicolli’s Coal Fire, 104 Limestone Plaza, Fayetteville

From Jared Paventi: Call me basic, but I love a good margarita. By good, I mean a well-balanced mix of spirits and lime juice, not a sugar-filled mess of pre-fabricated mix and cheap tequila. To switch things up, Avicolli’s Coal Fire swaps out triple sec for amaretto in its Italian Margarita, adding a nutty flavor that was surprisingly complementary to the fresh lime juice. I’m not sure I could drink more than one of these, but it was an interesting riff on the Tex-Mex classic.

Craftsman: Figgettaboutit

Address: Craftsman Wood Grille and Tap House, 7300 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville

From Jared Paventi: I’m in my agave era and go out of my way to order tequila and mezcal these days. The Craftsman Wood Grille and Tap Room taps its private cask of Don Julio tequila, blending it with honey, lemon and fig syrup. This one has the right balance of dark fruits and sweetness, while the tequila is pronounced in every sip.

Aurora Brewing Co.: Beer

Address: Aurora Brewing Co. Syracuse Taproom, 620 Ulster St., Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: Aurora Brewing Co. makes exceptional beer. This is not a groundbreaking statement. The Finger Lakes brewer opened a taproom on Tipperary Hill earlier in 2025, improving access to their entire range including two of their best. Little Fresh is the lower ABV sibling of the brewery’s flagship IPA, Fresh to Death. Coming in at 4.5%, it’s a hazy little number with some dank pine notes and fruity citrus. It’s not too heavy in body either, which is good for a summer night on the taproom’s patio.

Aurora Club is the brewery’s homage to the venerable Utica Club. It’s light in body, but full of lagery sweetness and pilsner spice. It’s refreshing, making it optimal for summer, a Sunday of football watching, or an accompaniment to the smoked chicken wing dip.

Double Burger: Pickle Martini

Address: Double Cheese, 407 Tulip St., Liverpool

From Charlie Miller: I almost never deviate from a basic dry martini made with Bombay Sapphire gin, which is exactly why this one stood out. Bartender Anisha Lockhart built a sharp, confident pickle martini with The Botanist gin, Noilly Prat vermouth and brine from the bar’s house-made pickles. It’s clean, cold and unapologetically briny.

What really sealed it was where it landed: right alongside a smash burger and fries. High class meets regular Joe, and somehow it worked perfectly.

Stone Creek: Hot & Dirty Martini

Address: Stone Creek, 69 North St., Marcellus

From Charlie Miller: This is the martini that made me question my own house rules. Behind the bar is a glass jug of house-infused spicy pickled vodka. It’s loaded with olives, onions, cucumbers, hot peppers and whatever else is lending heat and attitude that day. That vodka becomes the backbone of Stone Creek’s Hot & Dirty Martini, a bold, fiery pour finished with hand-stuffed blue cheese olives.

I almost always order a classic dry gin martini. Almost. This one hit differently. It’s briny and spicy, built to punch you right in the tastebuds. Call it heaven with just enough hell mixed in.

Mumbai Crust: Mango Lassi

Address: Mumbai Crust, 1021 W. Genesee St., Syracuse

From Jacob Pucci: I’ve ordered a mango lassi at every Indian restaurant I’ve dined at this year, both personally and professionally, and the best was at Mumbai Crust, the Indian-pizzeria hybrid that opened on West Genesee Street in Syracuse this summer. Their pizzas are quite good, especially the butter chicken pizza, but make sure not to skip the lassi. It’s thicker and a bit more tangy than other versions, thanks to what I surmised was extra yogurt – and none of that fat-free stuff either. Leave it to the place already full of pleasant surprises to have another up its sleeve.

Crazy Daisies: Mimosa Flight #2

Address: Crazy Daisies Flowers & Garden Café

From Jacob Pucci: Truthfully, Crazy Daisies could serve water in a cup, garnish it with fresh flowers and serve it on their wrap-around deck overlooking greenery as far as the eye can see and I’d still be happy. But while the setting undoubtedly helps, these mimosa flights are popular for a reason. During our early summer visit, the flight included strawberry-mint, blueberry-basil, rhubarb-ginger and orange sunrise, though the flavors change with the seasons. The current seasonal flavors include offerings like maple-sage, miso caramel, carrot cake and fig-lemon. Even in winter, the creativity never sleeps.

Touché: Whiskey Sour

Address: Touché, 309 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

From Jacob Pucci: A whiskey sour is one of my favorite cocktails, but only if it’s made correctly. For me, that means freshly squeezed citrus and a foamed egg white top velvety enough to make Starbucks baristas jealous. Touché, who also boasts one of the best French wine lists in town, checks all the boxes. With a lightly creamy texture and a long-lasting foam that doesn’t dissipate, it’s everything you could want in a whiskey sour. The Eiffel Tower drawn on top in what the menu described as “red wine essence,” is just the cherry on top.

The Kabob House: Smoothies

Address: The Kabob House, 409 Tulip St., Liverpool

From Jacob Pucci: You wouldn’t know it from its name, but The Kabob House in Liverpool is arguably known as much, or even more, for its fruit smoothies than it is for its grilled meats. There are over 20 smoothies on the menu, not including customizations and all are works of art. My peach, mango and strawberry smoothie had almost as much fruit outside the cup as it did inside, with a skewer of watermelon, honeydew, grapes, plum, banana and strawberry sticking up from the domed lid. The sheer amount of detail that goes into each one of these smoothies is worth celebrating.

The York: The Genius

Address: 247 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

From Danielle Benjamin: The coffee-based cocktail was a pleasant change of pace from the standard espresso martini. The Genius is made with espresso liqueur, Amaro Averna, cold brew coffee, cold foam and cinnamon. The best part? It came with an espresso salted rim. It was such a unique and interesting component that made the drink memorable in the best way.

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