Smile Politely

Check out Big Grove’s new summer cocktail menu

A couple of us Editors got a chance to check out the summer cocktail menu at Big Grove in Downtown Champaign yesterday afternoon. Especially now that we are fully into summer-mode, take a look at what they have listed for the upcoming season. Whether you’re an avid cocktail-drinker, or an amateur experimenter (like myself), there are some options here across the board.

Here’s the entire Seasonal Cocktail menu, and below you’ll see the ones that we got to take on a test drive.


Liquid Sunshine: Geneva gin, fresh lemon & strawberry juice, house-made syrup. Shaken and served over ice.

This was a good start to the tasting menu for the summer cocktails — gin is kind of the best in the summer anyhow. 

Fresh Sprig: Sailor Jerry rum, vanilla imfused simple syrup,, fresh mint, lime juice, soda water.

There’s a definite mint empowerment to this cocktail, and this is a mojito with a bit of a twist. Solid.


Moscow Mule: Herrington vodka, Gosling’s ginger beer, house ginger-lime syrup.


Bella Pepper: Geneva gin, fresh lime juice, red bell pepper juice, mint infused syrup.

When first spotted on the menu, I was a bit unsure of how this would go down, bell pepper-focused and all. This one basically takes all the best parts of a bell pepper and morphs it into a drink. Really good to my surprise, as typically you don’t think of bell peppers making a cocktail list.


Tavern Punch: made with fresh, seasonal fruits and herbs. Market Price.

This punch was really tasty, and not too overly-powerful in terms of fruit flavor. Just right on the mark for something a little boozy but more refreshing than anything.


Big Grove Fashion: Buffalo Trace bourbon, Angostura bitters, Demerara sugar, muddled orange zest and Luxardo Maraschino cherry.

Classic cocktail for you, served up.

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