Taste CHEERS
HIP HOP
W Scottsdale’s re-imaged rooftop lounge is as refreshing as its signature Cottontail cocktail
Earlier this year, W Scottsdale unveiled Cottontail Lounge, a fresh new venue at its rooftop Wet Deck. “Replacing the hotel’s former Shade Lounge, Cottontail is a celebration of desert landscape with a color palette featuring warm olive, black, white and gray hues accented with living greenery and a custom skylight ceiling trellised with vines,” says McKenna Thornton, bar manager of Cottontail. The lounge’s design honors the Arizona jack rabbit and plays off multiple rabbits found throughout W Scottsdale. The homage extends to the cocktail menu, including the venue’s signature sipper, the Cottontail ($17), which is a clear love letter to the jack rabbits treat of choice. Vibrantly orange in a sleek coupe glass with green garnish, the Cottontail looks like an actual carrot top just waiting to be plucked by a hungry bunny. “To make, we start with carrot-orange-turmeric juice,” Thornton says. “The carrot offers an herbal sweetness, while the orange offers just a touch of zest, and then the turmeric provides some bite.” The juice is combined in a shaker with ice, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Demerara syrup, which has a sweet brown sugar flavor to balance the spicier elements. “We chose the whiskey after playing with several other spirits in the build,” Thornton says. “Combining whiskies and bourbons with juice is trending this year as folks are looking for more refreshing ways to enjoy those particular spirits, so we were thrilled when all of these flavors came together.” Once shaken and strained into the coupe, the Cottontail is garnished with a sprig of rosemary, adding to the visual appearance of the cocktail while enhancing the earthiness of the carrot juice. Cottontail Lounge, 7277 E Camelback Road, Scottsdale; 602.405.0099; www. wscottsdalehotel.com.
128
So Scottsdale! May ‘21
BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ / PHOTO BY DEBBY WOLVOS