Recipe: 5th Street Finisher

A Signature Sour from Speak of the Devil in Ohio; Plus, What Are Your City's Iconic Cocktails?

It’s always fun when a great new cocktail bar opens in a big city that’s already known for its cocktail scene. It adds to the rich fabric of the community and increases the variety of drinking options. But for sheer value in advancing the mixology cause, nothing beats the arrival of a new cocktail bar in an underserved area.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Speak of the Devil, a cocktail bar which has been slaking the thirst of the fine folks of Lorain, Ohio since 2017. I first became aware of Speak of the Devil in early 2021, while the pandemic was at its peak. The owners, Kurt and Page Hernon, and I struck up a connection on Instagram, and later I interviewed them about their to-go cocktail program for the New York Times. That social-media acquaintance led to a real-life meeting last October, when SOTD hosted me for a Modern Classic Cocktails book event. I have since profiled the Hernons in the March/April issue of Imbibe magazine, which landed in mailboxes this week.