Beyond the Glass

Kelly Schmidt, Blackberry Farm’s assistant director of beverage, knows the power of a great drink, whether it’s a memorable bottle of wine or a thoughtfully mixed cocktail. She and her team infuse moments, memories, stories and characters from the Farm into the drinks they create, curating a beverage menu that shares so much more than great flavor.

A few years ago, I started working to revamp the beverage program for the Main House. I wanted to come up with some great cocktails for the lunch menu that would help create a more distinct identity for the daytime dining program. I noticed that guests would arrive to Blackberry Farm and, after a quick tour, they would often get dropped off right in front of the Dogwood bar.

That got me thinking about how to connect their next interaction with the relationship they were beginning to form with the property. I loved the idea of our daytime cocktails being inspired by all the little idiosyncrasies of Blackberry Farm and serving as a starting point for our guests to get to know us.

For example, it was a common occurrence for years that, during my bar shifts in the Main House, children would ask me for carrots so that they could feed Willard, the beautiful horse who used to roam the fields on the Farm before his retirement. That precious little ritual became the muse for a cocktail we called Willard’s Whiskey Smash, a play on a classic smash that included fresh carrot juice. The carrot juice gave it a bright orange color, and it was garnished with a fresh carrot top hanging out of the glass.

Guests sitting at the bar would see us making this vibrant drink and ask, “What is that?”

“Well, to tell you,” I’d begin. “I’ll have to first tell you about Willard.”

More recently, I had a guest fresh from the airport order a Romagnolo. She had no idea until I was talking to her about the drink that we have Lagotto Romagnolo dogs on the property. Suddenly, she was so excited to go visit the kennel.

Over the years, some of our most popular drinks, like the Huntsman, Veranda Spritzer, the Romagnolo, Stave Sazerac, Garden Pepper Margarita and more, were inspired by stories from the Farm. I like to think these drinks open the door for our Beverage team to share those stories with our guests. Hopefully then, our cocktails serve as the muse for their next farm adventure.

Click on the drink names below to view the recipes for some of our favorite drinks inspired by life at Blackberry!

Garden Pepper Margarita Each year, the Beverage team uses a blend of Summer peppers from the garden to create a custom tequila for this spicy favorite.

The Romagnolo We put our spin on a classic Greyhound cocktail to pay homage to our favorite dogs, Lagotto Romagnolos!

Stave's Sazerac This rye and lavender cocktail was inspired by the Stave puzzles that our guests love to put together.

Veranda Spritzer This is a Main House staple and Summertime favorite, perfect for sipping on the Veranda and enjoying the view.

The Huntsman Our twist on a New York Sour was inspired by the symbolic fox hunt that used to be a Blackberry Farm tradition.