Stirred and Shaken: Stag's Head Pub's Jailbird

Photo by Troy Fields

The Stag's Head Pub (2128 Portsmouth, 713-521-2333) is a warm, comfortable place to celebrate a friend's getting out of a cold, uncomfortable place with some inappropriately heavy Monday-night drinking. Mike (new nickname: Short Timer) had spent the weekend in county lockup for an unpaid traffic ticket. He'd been mostly blind, thanks to the oafish cop who accidentally crushed his glasses during the arrest, so it seemed appropriate to get him blind-drunk now that he was a free man.

Bartender Aaron suggested a shot he invented in college. It didn't have a name, but like Mike, it was pale and sort of pretty, so we called it "Jailbird" in his honor. After a couple rounds, he listed his favorite things about the Stag's Head. "I see a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom and trust that it will actually be there later on," he said. "No one with facial tattoos calls me a retard. I don't get strip-searched in front of girls." Unfortunately, the last two stayed true for the rest of the night. Maybe next time.

1 ounce Stoli raspberry vodka

1 ounce Stoli orange vodka

Splash sweet and sour

Splash pineapple juice

Splash grenadine

Shake over ice and strain into shot glass. Try to remember to pay your traffic tickets.