Food & Drink

Sip Your Zodiac Sign with Cloak & Dagger's New Cocktail Menu

Launched Jan. 6, the latest edition of this literary Tremont cocktail bar's story already has thirsty Clevelanders lining up.

by Allison Jack | Jan. 13, 2023 | 8:45 PM

Courtesy Cloak and Dagger

Courtesy Cloak and Dagger

We’ve all read our horoscopes on the web, but have you ever tried drinking one in a glass?

Now you can with Cloak & Dagger’s newest lineup of elixirs: “Zodiac: An Astrological Guide to Cocktails.” The Tremont bar’s latest addition of its seasonal cocktail and vegan food menu only launched on Jan. 6, but thirsty Clevelanders have already booked out reservations weeks in advance for a chance to try the list of 12 new drinks.

Cloak & Dagger, Zodiac menu cover

“The inspiration for Zodiac was creating a menu that people felt connected to,” says Casey Gerber, who opened the unpretentious Tremont cocktail bar with Cory Hajde in 2020. “It gave us the ability to do research on each sign and make 12 very different and unique cocktails.”

The lounge has been making national waves for serving imaginative cocktails (and mocktails) created with house ingredients, alongside a dimly lit, old-timey-meets-chic, literary aesthetic, complete with bookcases full of leather-bound books. (Think cozy author’s study with an alternative gothic edge). The bar’s innovative menu also includes vegan comfort food.

“Our team of bartenders came up with the idea collectively to do an astrology menu,” says Gerber. The roundup includes drinks like the Champion of the Sun (Leo): angostura, Oloroso sherry, ruby port, golden raisin, sunflower seed, lemon, aquafaba and an edible 24K gold garnish. All cocktails are $15.

Champion of the Sun, Cloak & Dagger

In its sixth menu iteration, each page of the book tells a story. Inspired by novels (mostly channeling the mystical), the menu showcases stunning visuals by Brian Barr, the mastermind behind the artwork for previous books, including Fatal Portraits, Cursed and Tales of Life and Death. Barr looked to medieval astrological art when designing the book.

“The astrological signs were all over the place in European art at that time, and some of the signs in the menu are redrawn from woodcuts from the 1500s,” he says. “I wanted the inside to feel like a modern goth version of a medieval illuminated manuscript with all of those beautiful illustrations drawn around the borders.”

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Allison Jack

Mesmerized by the ever-evolving food, drink and entertainment scene in Cleveland, Allison Jack has more than 15 years' experience in journalism, marketing and social media. She has also written for The Plain Dealer, Salon and other national publications. Previously an adjunct journalism and film professor, she's passionate about travel and Instagramming Cleveland gems through her foodie blog @Cleveland.Westside.Eats, carrying the credentials of a digital media bachelor's from Kent State University and a master's in magazine journalism from Northwestern University.

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