The Azorean martini is a specialty drink that combines a staunch blend of passion-fruit liqueur and vodka, famously served as the signature drink at the Azorean Bar & Grille in Gloucester, MA. However, recently the cocktail has been removed from the menu, along with all other mixed drinks that call for ice, after a recent water contamination problem forced the Azorean to close limit their services for the fifth straight day.

Aside from spirits used to make such concoctions, ice is one of the make-or-break staples included with most mixed drinks. However, when water and ice become targets for concern over contaminates, a great cocktail can easily be destroyed… or worse yet, removed from menus, as was the case with the Azorean. Although the Azorean Bar and Grill had no way of controlling what would happen to a city-wide water supply, this story nonetheless calls into question ways that ingredients and tools used to make mixed drinks can be easily contaminated by things that render them unservable.

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