It seems people are putting Cheez-Its into just about anything these days.
Presented with the the challenge of using the salty, cheesy snack crackers as the main ingredient of a new drink as part of the latest round of the Chicago Reader's Cocktail Challenge, a Chicago beverage director created a bizarre bracer that sounds downright intoxicating: a Kimcheez-It.
Yes, that's booze with kimchi and Cheez-Its blended into it. Stop pinching yourself; this is actually happening.
Matty Colston, who oversees the drinks at Chicago restaurant Parachute, started his unusual concoction by rimming the glass with a mixture of the Cheez-Its, celery salt and Korean chiles. Then, he combined caraway-infused City of London gin with a puree of Cheez-Its and the restaurant's own house-made kimchi, plus a kimchi broth. He topped off the mixture with Krombacher pilsner, creating a beer cocktail resembling a Mexican michelada.
While the drink looks good, we were curious if the Kimcheez-It actually tasted good. So we asked its creator.
"I did the best I could with what I had," Colston told HuffPost. "It was kind of tasty for what it was, I guess. A little yeasty from the cracker, you know? I tell people that the only time I'd probably drink a whole one would be on a Sunday hangover brunch."
Patrons at Parachute -- which is co-owned by "Top Chef" alum Beverly Kim and her husband and fellow chef, John Clark -- won't be able to order up the experimental beverage. It's not on the restaurant's menu. But the Reader has posted Colston's precise recipe, if you're feeling brave enough to tackle the Kimcheez-It at home.
"It was fun to do, but I have other options on our beverage menu that are more conducive to our cuisine and experience," Colston noted.