food+drink “too Christmas,” Mack said. “It’s a great and a little easy,” Stewart said. “This has escape and a fully realized world. Narnia complexity that you look for with winter has this woodsy, wintry feel that is easily drinks. If you were in Narnia, what would translatable to cocktails.” you be drinking?” Cocktails that meet classic expectaDrinks are named after beloved characters — and Turkish delight, of course tions of winter, besides Aslan’s name— with quotes tying each to the enchanted world. I took Sas Stewart (left) and Martha Mack one look at the menu and was immediately transported back to childhood, recalling a quote from the opening of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: “This is going to be perfectly splendid.” I ordered the Great Lion ($12): Stonecutter’s Heritage Cask Whiskey, Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth, Dolin dry vermouth, Bonal Gentiane-Quina and FernetBranca. The quote: “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.” Stewart called this a play on the classic Hanky Panky with whiskey substituted for gin. She credited the Bonal and Fernet with adding a woodsy, earthy note. “If you were chopping wood, this is what you’d drink after,” she said. It was the cocktail equivalent of donning one of the oversize fur coats the children in the book grab from the wardrobe: warming, practical and necessary for winter. The menu isn’t all dark and broody, though. Queen Lucy the Valiant ($9) is “a breath of spring in a January thaw,” Stewart said. It’s a cocktail version of green juice, with Stonecutter’s Single Barrel Gin, arugula, tarragon, mint, lemon, Green Chartreuse and soda water. The arugula S A S S TE WA RT — certainly an unusual drink ingredient — is both used in a simple syrup and blended in, produc- sake, are King Peter the Magnificent ing a vibrant green drink that is light and ($12) and King Edmund the Just ($12). refreshing. Peter is a riff on an Old Fashioned, Queen Susan the Gentle ($11) is with three different amari contributanother refreshing crowd-pleaser, ing nutty, caramel and woodsy notes composed of Stonecutter’s Single Barrel and highlighting the red wine barrel Gin, rosé, mixed berries, cardamom, finish of the Heritage Cask Whiskey. lemon, Pimm’s and Aperol. “It’s a winter- The drink’s spiced maple syrup features ized hybrid of two of the drinks from the black pepper, star anise and cinnamon. Mean Girls menu,” Stewart said. “Riff- Edmund is the bar’s Manhattan riff, ing on a previous drink is a cool way of with Benedictine bringing herbal and building cohesiveness even though we’re honey notes. changing the menu all the time.” Tumnus the Faun ($9) is a clarified The cardamom and mixed berries add milk punch with Single Barrel Gin, Earl the winter notes. “The Mean Girls menu Grey tea, port, lemon, pineapple, star was as if the Mean Girls themselves were anise and cinnamon. “Clarified milk cocktails; they were fruity and forward punch is a colonial-era preservation
WHY NOT WARM YOURSELF WITH
A LITTLE WHISKEY AND A LITTLE NOSTALGIA?
technique that endured because it’s also delicious,” Stewart said. The batched cocktail has a backbone of spice that definitely evokes teatime in a cave with a peaceful host who’s half human and half goat. I could almost hear Mr. Tumnus’ SHOPPING FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL? invitation: “Daughter of Eve CORNER OF from the far land of Spare Oom LAKE & MAIN where eternal summer reigns ST. ALBANS around the bright city of War 802-524-3769 Drobe, how would it be if you M-SA 9 A.M. - 6 P.M. came and had tea with me?” SU 10 A.M. - 3 P.M. The final drink on the menu, Turkish Delight ($11), is good enough to make anyone16t-railcitymarket121119.indd 1 12/9/19 2:47 PM sell out their siblings to an evil witch (as Edmund does in the book for hefty helpings of the gel confection). “It’s like a beautiful Negroni pillow,” Cookies • Cakes Stewart said. Stuffing Mix and More! Stonecutter’s gin, Campari, grapefruit, lime, rosewater and simple syrup are shaken with an egg white and kissed with raspberry dust. An optional pairing with a Turkish Delight macaron from Monarch & the Milkweed ($4) takes the fluffy 4 Carmichael St., Essex Jct., 878-1646 pink drink to another level. westmeadowfarmbakery.com “It’s one of the most popular drinks already,” Stewart said. The response to the menu 16t-westmeadowfarm112719.indd 1 11/18/19 12:57 PM has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Stewart. “It’s just fun,” she said. “At the end of the day, we’re in the business of making people feel that they have ownership of a space. It’s already a time of year where you’re feeling a BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER little nostalgic. It’s the holiday season; it’s snowing outside; it’s dark at four o’clock. Why not warm yourself with a little whiskey and a little nostalgia?” While the nostalgia creeps in — for childhood, and soon for Highball Social itself — Stewart and her team will celebrate all month with a packed calendar of events. The bar’s last night is New Year’s Eve, when the send-off will be a Gatsbythemed bash with live jazz, themed cocktails and a Champagne toast. Until then, I’ll be heading through the Ask about our specially designed wardrobe as often as I can. And, like Lucy, menus for your celebration. Edmund, Susan and Peter, when I look back on the creative, damn good drinks at Highball Social, I’ll remember life in that world “as one remembers a dream.” m MON-FRI: 6:30AM-10PM SAT+SUN: 7AM-10PM Contact: jbarry@sevendaysvt.com LOUNGE DAILY: 11 AM-CLOSING
Celebrate the Holidays Gluten-Free!
The perfect place for Holiday Gatherings
INFO Highball Social, 71 South Union Street, Burlington, 540-3000, stonecutterspirits.com
802.660.7523 1117 WILLISTON RD. SOUTH BURLINGTON
SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 11-18, 2019 8v-dukespublichouse112719.indd 1
55 11/25/19 1:08 PM