The Barn Winter Cocktails

The Barn’s Winter cocktail menu features a unique mix of flavor and history, making for some interesting sips you’ll be able to enjoy all season long. Whether you’re joining us at Blackberry Farm or spending this Winter at home, these three spins on classic cocktails are designed to take you back in time while also exciting your palate with something new!

American Trilogy
1 oz Sazerac
1 oz Laird’s Apple Brandy
½ oz Demerara
2 dashes orange bitters
Glass: chilled crystal rocks
Garnish: orange peel

Tasting Notes: apple, spice, citrus, fruity

To make: Mix all ingredients in cocktail stirring jar and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled rocks glass over a large cube. Garnish with an orange peel.

This cocktail was created by Richard Boccato and Michael McIlroy while they were bartending together at New York’s Little Branch in 2007. The Old Fashioned-style cocktail follows the same profile as the original drink, but features three distinctly American ingredients: rye whiskey (America’s first whiskey), applejack (a staple spirit in colonial America) and orange bitters (a classic in American cocktail culture that has seen a recent resurgence).

South x NE
1 oz High Wire Smoked Jimmy Red Bourbon
1 oz Brooklyn St. Agrestis Amaro
1 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth
Spray of orange blossom water
Glass: large rocks
Garnish: large rock and rosemary sprig

Tasting Notes: herbal, black tea, smokey, spiced

To make: Mix all ingredients in cocktail stirring jar and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into large rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a spritz of orange blossom water and a rosemary sprig.

This history of this cocktail begins with a drink created by Benny McKew called the South by Southwest, which is twist on a Negroni that calls for scotch instead of gin. The name South x NE is a tribute to the smoked bourbon, meant to replicate the smokiness of Scotch, and the northeast origin of the Agrestis Amaro.

Weller Toddy
1 ½ oz Weller Special Reserve
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
¼ oz lemon juice
Glass: Irish coffee mug
Garnish: lemon wheel (better with a clove pique)

To make: Preheat Irish foot mug with hot water, dump the water and add all ingredients. Top with hot water leveled between the handle and lip of the mug. Finish with the lemon wheel on top.

The Hot Toddy is a beverage with a long history. The form we serve at The Barn came to fruition in 1786. Classically, a Hot Toddy includes the element of alcohol, sugar or honey, spices and hot water. The origins of the name are debated, either coming from the Indian “taddy” beverage made from fermented palm tree sap, or from Robert Bentley Todd, an Irish doctor that would “prescribe” a Toddy-style beverage for illnesses. The British occupation of India would help to explain its journey back to Ireland/Great Britain. Even in modern times, Hot Toddies are a classic relief from the cold and flu.