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The bartender

July 21, 2006

Bryan Allen, manager at The Landshark, 101 E. Grand River Ave., was leafing through a drink magazine at the bar recently when he came upon the recipe for Blue Street, a sky blue concoction that can be served as either a cocktail or a shot. He mixed a few for his employees, who all agreed it tasted like SweeTarts candy.

A closer innocent approximation of the drink may be Hawaiian Punch. As a cocktail, the drink is quite syrupy, and tingles the back of your throat just like Punchy's — the Hawaiian Punch mascot — favorite beverage. Allen may have added an extra fruity punch by improvising on the printed instructions.

"The magazine said just regular Smirnoff Ice, but we don't have that, so I used the Wild Grape."

In a blind tasting, you'd be surprised to find there's any alcohol in the drink at all — a fact that simplifies Allen's job.

"It makes it easier for when girls come up to me and they'll be like, 'I want a drink not too strong that tastes good,'" he said.

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