Beyond a shot and a beer for friendly drinks in K.C.

What do you mean, you haven't been to Kansas City? Haven't you heard that it's one of the next great cocktail cities?

This cocktail snob didn't believe it either at first. Yet Kansas City has a broad range of bartending excellence, delivered sans attitude.

"The drinking culture here is relatively laid back," said Ryan Maybee, owner of craft bar Manifesto (theriegerkc.com/mani

festo), which reopened last March within the Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange. (Technically, Manifesto is housed within the Rieger but has a separate address and back-alley entrance.)

Although the growing community of bartenders certainly takes pride in, say, brewing up grenadine from scratch for high-end cocktails, they don't look down on anyone ordering a shot of whiskey or a beer either. Indeed, bar-hoppers laud K.C. for its friendly, approachable vibe.

In addition to his own bar, Maybee recommends that visitors try out Westport Cafe and Bar (west

portcafeandbar.com), a small bistro with streamlined signatures such as the Whiskey Smash (bourbon, peaches and honey-lavender syrup).

Other stops include the Viennese restaurant Grunauer (grunauerkc.com) and its Wunderbar, which has offbeat drinks such as a Dark Rum Flip made with "strudel juice." Extra Virgin (extravirginkc.com), a colorful Spanish spot run by James Beard award-winning chef Michael Smith, is prime real estate for long business lunches and tapas-fueled happy hours.

Whiskey — preferably bourbon or rye — tends to be the drink of choice, and it is no coincidence that both pair with Kansas City's renowned barbecue.

In particular, Maybee recommends ordering The Pendergast, a riff on the classic whiskey-based Bobby Burns cocktail. It's named for Thomas Pendergast, a Kansas City politician famed for his populist touch and Mafia connections during the Prohibition speak-easy years. Among other things, his policies are credited with giving rise to the golden era of Kansas City jazz.

"Kansas City was the wildest in the country back then," Maybee explained. Surely, a legacy like that is worth a drink or two.

Try this cocktail

Here is a recipe for The Pendergast, courtesy of Ryan Maybee of Manifesto in Kansas City.

1 1/2 ounces

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce Benedictine

3-4 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir together all ingredients and strain into a rocks glass with no ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

Kara Newman is the author of "Spice & Ice: 60 Tongue-tingling Cocktails."

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