Stumbled in here after a long day of walking in the relentless Hanoi heat, racking the steps up. We needed to get off our feet and wanted a stiff one to reward ourselves. I needed to feel something other than my legs throbbing.

Up to this point, we had ZERO luck finding a good mixed drink in Vietnam, so we were ready to just get a whiskey on the rocks. But, after briefly scanning the menu and seeing a Pho cocktail with a little arrow next to it that said “HOT TIP,” our hero could only assume that meant it’s a house recommendation.

My hands were tied. When in Tuscany, have some Chianti. When in Hanoi, have a pho cocktail. You wouldn't get it...

After waiting about 15 minutes, which consisted of me hitting my buddy on the arm while asking “are they killing the pho back there?” to try and get a laugh, the pho cocktail arrived.

The mix of Gin, Cointreau, lime juice, topped with jalapenos and pho herbs/spices tasted like a la croix flavored pho with a little kick. It honestly wasn’t half bad.

It wasn’t as stiff as I’d like and neither was my buddys little girly drink, so we ended up ordering whiskey on the rocks after.

As our Whiskey’s arrived, the good people at Hanoi Social Club informed us that there was a live music show going on upstairs. But honestly, at that point, nothing sounded better than just being SLUMPED in these comfy chairs and sipping on a whiskey on the rocks while beginning to reminisce on the trip of a lifetime that was coming to a close.

The whiskey really did the trick though. Mission accomplished.

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