{"id":180611,"date":"2026-02-16T21:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180611\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T21:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:40:09","slug":"drink-across-sacramento-with-krus-newest-cocktail-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180611\/","title":{"rendered":"Drink across Sacramento with Kru\u2019s newest cocktail menu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sacramento is all over the latest seasonal drinks menu at Billy Ngo\u2019s Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine<\/a> in East Sacramento.<\/p>\n

The Japanese restaurant\u2019s beverage director, Jose Carrasco, has been putting together themed seasonal drinks menus since coming to Kru in 2022.<\/p>\n

To kick off 2026, Carrasco and art partner Ben Della Rosa<\/a> took a deep dive into some of the City of Trees\u2019 iconic locations throughout history and created a signature cocktail menu in honor of them. This is Carrasco and Della Rosa\u2019s 10th collaborative drinks menu at the upscale sushi restaurant.<\/p>\n

Carrasco grew up in Woodland, which he said made Sacramento feel like \u201cthe big city\u201d as a kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we always try to impart (in the menus) … is nostalgia,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to incorporate ourselves or food nostalgia or kind of what\u2019s going on in our community, so that one really came full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrasco said he found that the menu was a good way for Sacramento residents and non-residents alike to learn bits about the California capital city\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Previous limited-edition drinks menus have been themed after IKEA instruction manuals, TV Guide, Auto Trader magazine, a school yearbook and more. Carrasco worked with Della Rosa long before taking the helm of Kru\u2019s bar, when he led beverages at The Roost and Empress Tavern.<\/p>\n

The \u201cGreetings From Sacramento\u201d menu<\/a> will be available through May, Carrasco said. The drinks team has planned specialty beverage menus through the end of 2026, but they will remain under wraps until they debut.<\/p>\n

\"Kru Kru beverage director Jose Carrasco has collaborated with area artist Ben Della Rosa on various themed cocktail menus for the Japanese eatery. Menus representing Sacramento historical spots, IKEA, TV Guide and other themes include highly decorative and instantly recognizable designs. Camila Pedrosa cpedrosa@sacbee.com Drinking down memory lane<\/p>\n

Though Della Rosa\u2019s menu designs tend to be highly illustrative and detailed, Carrasco said this is the first time the artist has included a works cited list at the back of his menu.<\/p>\n

The duo spent months researching Sacramento\u2019s history to gather inspiration for locations to include with short written blurbs on each of them, according to Carrasco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Loading\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cGreetings From Sacramento\u201d is split up into seven sections based on areas of the capital city \u2014 East Sacramento, midtown, downtown, West Sacramento, Arden Arcade and Pocket-Greenhaven. Each neighborhood has blurbs on three to five locations with 12 spots from around town made into themed cocktails.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Choosing beverages is) always the toughest part,\u201d Carrasco said. \u201cWe always have a big list, and then we whittle it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain cocktails, like the Sam\u2019s Hof Brau ($15), were a must for Carrasco \u2014 he was eager to include a pickle ingredient in honor of the since-closed restaurant famous for its house-made pickles. Others played with fun garnishes, like the McKinley Park-inspired Rose Garden ($17).<\/p>\n

Furthering the menu\u2019s immersion, some of the cocktails are served in thematically apt cups. The tropical, rum-heavy Hard Rock Cafe ($17) comes in a hurricane glass sourced straight from the rock-n-roll chain restaurant, while the whisky-and-banana Vic\u2019s ($17) features a waffle cone patterned cup.<\/p>\n

As with all of Carrasco and Della Rosa\u2019s menus, this cocktail menu run includes a charitable component. In partnership with Jack Daniel’s Whiskey and the Center for Land Based Learning<\/a>, Kru will host a day of service in May at a local farm for community members to participate in. Details about the day of service will be released closer to the anticipated Memorial Day event, Carrasco said.<\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee\u2019s Knees<\/p>\n

Carrasco said one of the most popular drinks on the Greetings From Sacramento menu is \u201cThe Sacramento Bee,\u201d ($18) a fruity riff on the classic Prohibition-era Bee\u2019s Knees cocktail.<\/p>\n

The beverage director was inspired to reminisce on the newspaper\u2019s longtime former home after seeing what its lot looks like now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always get that \u2018big city paper\u2019 (feeling) when I drive down Q Street,\u201d Carrasco said. \u201cKnowing what used to be there, and now it\u2019s just this whole dirt lot, that\u2019s kind of crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bee moved operations out of the 2100 Q St. building in 2021<\/a>, and demolition on the former brewery-turned-newspaper-office began in August<\/a> to make way for housing developments.<\/p>\n

Carrasco swapped the cocktail\u2019s typical gin base for a blank slate of vodka, adding Junmai sake for a contemporary Japanese connection. The drink references bees with sweet honey and herbal elderflower, while acidic lemon balances out the flavors. A last hit of sweet fruitiness comes from blueberries, which Carrasco said doubles as a nod to the Sacramento Kings with a natural purple hue.<\/p>\n

Topping off the vibrant cocktail is a delicately placed print of Scoopy, The Bee\u2019s vibrant mascot. The image is printed in edible ink onto a circle of potato starch paper, making every aspect of the drink safe to consume.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the menu is really great because it\u2019s kind of like a snapshot in time of Sacramento,\u201d said Kru general manager Chloe Henry. \u201cEveryone has a memory from Sacramento throughout the pages … it\u2019s something that you can identify with, and your parent can identify with. So it\u2019s\u2014it\u2019s been a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kru Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine launched a new Sacramento-themed cocktail menu, titled \u201cGreetings From Sacramento\u201d early this year. The elaborate menu features 12 drinks representing historic icons across town, including a Sacramento Bee-inspired cocktail. Camila Pedrosa cpedrosa@sacbee.com
\n Follow More of Our Reporting on Uniquely<\/p>\n

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Camila Pedrosa<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master\u2019s degree in mass communication.\n <\/p>\n