Rhubarb cocktails are all the rage at Philly bars. Here’s where to find them

Beautiful and a bit sour could describe your nightmare ex, or rhubarb — the vegetable with bright pink stalks and an unmistakably tart flavor.

The perennial plant ripens in the spring, making April through June prime rhubarb season. You've likely already seen it in a pie or cake at a local bakery, but it's also stealthily invading the bar menus of Philadelphia.

Mixologists at some of the city's best-regarded restaurants have snuck rhubarb into martinis, Manhattans, sours and gin rickeys, plus a few original concoctions. Here's where to find them, before they're replaced by summer produce:

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Honeysuckle

631 N. Broad St.

This recently opened North Philly restaurant, a reimagining of the award-winning Honeysuckle Provisions, has likewise remixed the classic Last Word cocktail. Their take blends Hi Tail hibiscus-infused gin with lime juice, Génépy, Chartreuse Vegetal de La Grande and a beet and rhubarb syrup. It also has a blunter name — I Said What I Said.

Southwark

701 S. 4th St.

Picture a boozy strawberry rhubarb pie and you almost have the Lawyers, Guns & Money. This drink, now on the menu at Southwark, features sumac-infused mezcal, ginger, Lillet Blanc, Sfumato, rhubarb and strawberry. The peach-colored cocktail is poured into a rocks glass and garnished with a lime wheel.

Peach-colored cocktail in a rocks glass with ice and a lime wheel on a brown table Provided image/Southwark

Southwark recently debuted a rhubarb cocktail with sumac-infused mezcal, Lillet Blanc, Sfumato, strawberry, ginger and lime.

Middle Child Clubhouse

1232 N. Front St.

Some like their martinis dirty, but at Middle Child Clubhouse, you can get them tart. The Fishtown restaurant's new summer concoction combines gin, vermouth, Acqua di Cedro, citrus tea and tonic syrup. It's infused with rhubarb, and topped with a little strip of the veggie.

Leo

1414 Spruce St.

The Kimmel Center's new restaurant — named after the Philadelphia Orchestra's former music director, Leopold Stokowski —also has a rhubarb cocktail. The white rum drink blends fresh herbs (mint leaves), citrus (lime), bubbles (club soda) and a sweetener with a twist (rhubarb simply syrup). It's appropriately dubbed Intermission.

Pale cocktail in a tall glass with ice, mint leaves and a black straw on a tabletop. Provided image/Nathan Davis

Try the Intermission at Leo, the new Kimmel Center restaurant that replaced Volvér.

a.bar

1737 Walnut St.

A classic gin rickey is nothing more than gin, lime juice and club soda. The bartenders at a.bar decided to dress it up with rhubarb, basil, Salers and Majora Amaro. Meet the Gin Richard, the bespectacled and loafer-wearing father of Rickey.

Forsythia

233 Chestnut St.

From the mind of Forsythia beverage director Chris Harrop comes the Concrete Jungle Bird, a pretty pink remix of a classic tiki drink (the Jungle Bird). This version features rum infused with caramelized pineapple, lime, Campari, pineapple Demerara syrup and a splash of rhubarb juice.

Pink cocktail in a class with ice and green garnish. A city street is visible in the background. Provided image/Forsythia

Forsythia is now serving the Concrete Jungle Bird, a rhubarb-y twist on the Jungle Bird cocktail.

Otto's Taproom & Grille

1216 N. 29th St.

Want a slightly sour Manhattan, with a side of portmanteau? Than head over to Otto's Taproom & Grille in Brewerytown for the Rhubourbon Manhattan. As the name would imply, it has bourbon (Jim Beam) and rhubarb, along with vermouth, lime and Cointreau.

Alice

901 Christian St.

The Ruby Club lives up to its name with its rich jewel tones. The egg white cocktail combines rhubarb, raspberry, dry gin and yellow chartreuse in a coupe glass. Get it at Alice, the seasonal American restaurant in the Italian Market.

River Twice

1601 East Passyunk Ave.

Bourbon, rhubarb, lemon and one enormous ice cube. That's all you need to make the rhubarb sour at River Twice, the East Passyunk staple that focuses on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

An orange-colored drink in a rocks glass with a white napkin underneath. It sits on a tabletop with a green plant in the background. Provided image/Mike Prince

Now on the menu at River Twice is a rhubarb sour with bourbon, lemon and rhubarb.

Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

1715 Rittenhouse Square

Nardini Rabarbaro is an Italian aperitivo made from Chinese rhubarb roots. It's also one of the ingredients in the Wheelhouse, a cocktail mixed with Peychaud’s bitters, mint, sugar cane, lime and two more Italian liqueurs (Meletti, Bruto Americano). Get it at Center City's not-so-secret speakeasy Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

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