Guide to Drinking 2019

lemongrass shochu highball at the bao, p. 18

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D R I N K I N G ST. LOUIS’ Guide to Drinking 2019INDEPENDENT CULINARY AUTHORITY

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WE'VE

GOT

SPIRIT

St. Louis has firmly established itself as a top craft beer city, but craft distilling has recently gained more than just a foothold in the beverage scene. Here are some of the area’s newest spirits producers. – Matt Sorrell

T RULY FLORA L S P IRIT S St. Louis, trulyfloral.com Truly Floral stepped onto the local spirits stage this year with its Truly Floral Blue gin, distilled by Distillery of Defiance and named for the colorful array of botanicals used to create it. Co-owners Kelley Hall-Barr and Ian VanDam originally made some small-batch gin for their store, Civil Alchemy, in 2018. Demand took off, and the rest is history. Look for a pink gin coming early this fall.

1 220 S P IRITS 1220 S. Eighth St., St. Louis, 1220spirits.com From the minds behind 4 Hands Brewing Co., 1220 takes a similarly inventive approach to its spirits. The distillery, founded in 2018, uses a variety of fruits, herbs and spices to create unique drams, including Encrypted Vodka, Origin Gin, Barrel Reserve Gin, Spettro Amaro, Flora Aperitif and a line of canned cocktails.

RIGHT EOUS ROAD C RAF T S P IRIT S St. Louis, 314.800.1026, righteousroad.com Righteous Road debuted in St. Louis this year with its Righteous Seven liqueur, a kosher tipple that incorporates the biblical seven

Guide to Drinking 2019

species representing the bounty of Israel: wheat, barley, olives, dates, figs, pomegranates and grapes.

The spirits community has found Righteous Seven heavenly too. The liqueur won double gold at both the SIP Awards and the San Francisco World Spirits competition this year.

ARDENT SPIRITS 115 E. Clay St., Collinsville, 618.855.8027, oldheraldbrewing.com Part of Old Herald Brewing Co. in Collinsville, Ardent began production this year in the former Old Herald newspaper building.

Guests can sip Ardent straight or in a variety of cocktails at the brewery restaurant. The distillery’s rum and agave spirit recently medaled at the San Francisco World Spirits competition.

EDELBRAND PURE DI S T I L L I N G Marthasville, 314.282.7528, edelbrandpuredistilling.com Nestled in the countryside outside of Marthasville, Missouri, Edelbrand is the epitome of the small, familyowned and -operated distillery.

Edelbrand produces European-style fruit brandies utilizing traditional Swiss distilling methods. The spirits are most definitely small batch: The distillery only puts out about 1,200 bottles a year.

Nobletons Distilling House, Beaufort, 314.252.8990, nobletons.com There’s a new rum in town. Learn about Nobletons Distilling House and its founder, Demetrius Cain’s obsession with perfection on p. 25.

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ROU N D TR IP

These flights never leave St. Louis

BY LAUREN HEALEY

Cocktail and spirit flights are experiencing a resurgence in popularity around town, particularly because they offer a great way to try something new without committing to a full drink.

otherwise spend the full pour amount for and also to compare side by side,” Edwards said. “It’s a new way to understand and appreciate the complexity and depth of whiskey.”

Typically a series of three half-pours, flights are often designed with a progressive or educational goal in mind. Some may begin with moderate tipples, moving into more robust flavors, while other flights may simply be put together in a way to demonstrate the differences between similar spirits or cocktails.

At the Angad Arts Hotel, beverage director Meredith Barry is serving up some spectacular martini flights.

“Right now, we offer seven different whiskey flights, but we can build new flights specifically for guests if they talk to us about what they’re interesting in trying,” said Ray Edwards, bar program manager at Boundary. “Scotches absolutely do not taste the same, so we want people to understand the different mash bills, how it’s aged and so on.”

“Currently, one has Hendrick’s original gin, one has Orbium and the other has the Midsummer Solstice,” Barry said. “We have a really creative serve with these cute, little glasses and bowls that people are wowed by. They are just excited to order technically only one drink but get three different flavor experiences.”

Flights can also be an effective way to order beverages for your entire meal, particularly if you choose lighter drinks in the beginning and go bolder as the meal progresses.

“Our digestif flight is wonderful after dinner, but our Hendrick’s and wine flights are approachable across the entire meal,” said Olivia Vitale, general manager of Oaked in Soulard. “We love giving our guests an opportunity to compare and contrast things of a similar nature and experience something they may be familiar with, but enhanced in a new way.”

At Small Batch, general manager Nikki Brown recommends different flights for various fare.

At Boundary, Balvenie and Glenfiddich single malt scotch whiskies are top of the line, offering a range of flavor profiles within a single expression.

Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood is finished in Olorosso sherry casks, but the 14 Year is finished in Caribbean rum casks. And Glenfiddich SMSW moves from light fleshy fruits and citrus with its 12 Year to bold, sweet American oak with the 14 Year and back to darker, rich fruits with the famed 15 Year Solera Reserve.

“Flights allow you try something you might not

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“I recommend a lighter bourbon with our charcuterie board,” she said. “With a bolder dish such as the rigatoni, the rye flight would be an excellent choice, as the spiciness of the ryes can stand up to a hearty dish. As for dessert, I recommend the scotch flight. Or simply a pour of your favorite.”

Known for their cocktail programs, havens like Planter’s House in Lafayette Square and Taste in the Central West End also boast incredible spirits lists. Chat with their bartenders about what you’re looking for, and they will cater specific flights to your taste. And if you’re confused about where to start on your journey, don’t be afraid to ask for help: A well-trained professional can always help you navigate the skies.

PHOTOS BY ED ALLER

Above: Martini flight at Angad Arts Hotel Right: Glennfiddich flight at Boundary

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T R E N D W A T C H guide to drinking edition

BY CATHERINE KLENE AND MATT SORRELL

SEASONAL GIN Local and national distillers are releasing seasonal gins that highlight the floral, botanical and herbal notes of spring, summer or fall. Earlier this year, Hendrick’s created Midsummer Solstice with notes of lemon zest, orange and flowers, while Leopold Bros.’ seasonal features notes of blood orange and lemon myrtle.

Locally, 1220 Spirits released a spring gin that lent drinks a violet hue thanks to butterfly pea flower, and Webster Groves-based Truly Floral has plans to release seasonally inspired gin soon.

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Guide to Drinking 2019

fitness beers

Replenishing your body with a cold beer after a hard workout is a staple of many fitness regimes, and there have even been some scientific studies to back up the practice.

Michelob Ultra was one of the first to aggressively market its beer toward athletes. Now, more breweries are putting out brews specifically designed for the workout set. Sufferfest Beer Co. out of San Francisco offers a trio of styles – pale ale, Kölsch and Pilsner – for thirsty athletes. Earlier this year, local NA brewer Wellbeing Brewing Co. introduced Victory Citrus Wheat, an alcohol-free brew enriched with electrolytes, vitamins, protein and antioxidants.

We’ve mentioned this exponential trend in previous issues, but modern drinkers continue to get more serious about managing their booze quotients. One of the latest low-alcohol trends is the rise of hard seltzers, which combine spirits and bubbles for a low-ABV, low-calorie tipple. From the folks who brought you Mike’s Hard Lemonade, White Claw has been at the crest of the spiked seltzer wave this year, outselling nearly all craft beer brands, according to numerous reports. And Neilsen data shows overall hard seltzer sales are up 200 percent from last year. Other brands making inroads include Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer, Truly Hard Seltzer, Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer and Henry’s Hard Sparkling Water, among many others.

hard seltzers

mexican lagers

The craft beer scene is obsessed with lagers right now, and many are looking south of the border to inspire these Corona-esqe creations.

Mexican lagers – essentially Vienna-style lagers inspired by the flavors of Mexico – are light, crisp and endlessly crushable. Mission Taco Joint commissioned 4 Hands Brewing Co. to create Vigilante, an amber Mexican lager only available at the St. Louis-area taquerías. Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.’s Castaña Urbana features notes of blue corn, while Ferguson Brewing Co.’s take on the style is served with or without a lime wedge. Excel Brewing Co.’s spring seasonal El Pistolero is a darker amber lager made with a yeast strain from a Mexican brewery. O’Fallon Brewery consulted the experts when they collaborated with Monterrey, Mexico-based Cerveza Rrey to create Cerveza Amigos with hints of lime and hibiscus tea.

canned local cold brew

First, wine hit aluminum, then cocktails. Now, local coffee roasters are canning their best cold brews.

Sump Coffee kicked off the trend in April, using 4 Hands Brewing Co.’s canning line to package its singleorigin cold brew. In July, Kaldi’s launched its canned Haya Cold Brew, and Coma Coffee recently released its wee 8-ounce cans of single-origin coffee sourced from Cauca, Colombia.

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Gunn’s, and he wanted a beer from us that paid remembrance to their late son, Ollie,” explained Phil Wymore, Perennial co-owner and brewmaster. “This style is versatile and light enough to be food friendly with enough substance to stand on its own.”

Perennial also does a festbier lager called Brew for the Crew for Farmhaus, as well as a Belgian-style Dubbel called Dubbel Block for The Block. In addition to having a full-service meat counter, The Block offers a meat-forward menu, making it a good candidate for a more aggressive beer. Wymore and his team were up to the challenge. “[Co-chef] Brian Doherty wanted a beer that would really stand up to the heartiness of some of their dishes, as well as their desserts,” Wymore said.

“This beer is fermented on dates to give it an extra-rich mouthfeel.”

2nd Shift Brewing has long partnered with Mission Taco Joint to create Sub-Mission IPA. “We wanted to create a beer that represented the West Coast,” said 2nd Shift operations manager Michael Sweeney, adding that Mission owners Adam and Jason Tilford grew up in California. “We used a hop blend in that one. It’s really nice, really citrusy, really reminiscent of the old-school West Coast IPAs. The malt base is very clean.”

PE R F EC T PA I R I N G S IMAGE COURTESY OF JAKE HUBER

BY ADAM ROTHBARTH

Sometimes you just want a beer to go smoothly with what you’re about to eat, whether it’s a cheeseburger, a green salad or a complex seafood dish. Fortunately, some St. Louis breweries have made the ordering process easier by working directly Guide to Drinking 2019

with local restaurants to create beers that beautifully complement the food they’re served alongside.

Perennial Artisan Ales does a number of custom brews, including one for Olive + Oak, a restaurant that serves everything from prime steak tartare to carrot-dill soup to fried green tomatoes and dover sole. The beer is a heavily dryhopped, hazy pale ale called Ollie. “[Perennial co-founder] Emily [Wymore] and I have been good friends with [Olive + Oak owner] Mark Hinkle since his days at Annie

Naturally, the beer is best paired with tacos. Back when they were still bottling the beer in-house, Sweeney said, they actually had the recommendation on the bottle. “IPAs typically do really well with spicy foods. They tend to cut through the spiciness, so having that little bit of bitterness actually helps,” he said. “I recommend it with any kind of dish that has a kick to it. It definitely goes great with the ancho sauce.”

Rockwell Beer Co.’s Yellowbelly, a dry-hopped lager, is made for the eponymous, colorful Central West End seafood restaurant. Hoppy and floral, but still crisp and light, the Yellowbelly beer goes with basically

anything on the restaurant’s menu – and that’s by design.

“It’s a pale lager that we hopped with Wakatu and Motueka hops from New Zealand,” said Jonathan Moxey, Rockwell’s head brewer.

“What’s cool about those hops is that they’ve got some German lineage, so you get a bit of the traditional floral, spicy aroma that you’d expect with a German hop.”

Why does it work so well? “The New Zealand hops give a vibrant, citrusy flavor,” Moxey said. “It’s just really bright. It’s something I would think about drinking with the food they’re serving there, whether grilled or raw fish. [We brewed] something versatile that would go really well with that type of food.”

Moxey said Yellowbelly owners Travis Howard and Tim Wiggins have been big supporters of the brewery since its early days, so the partnership just made sense. Full disclosure: This beer is hard to find because it runs out quickly, but Moxey promises it’ll be back.

BUY IT Olive + Oak 102 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314.736.1370, oliveandoakstl.com

Farmhaus 3267 Ivanhoe Ave., St. Louis, 314.647.3800, farmhausrestaurant.com

The Block 146 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314.918.7900, theblockrestaurant.com

Mission Taco Joint multiple locations, missiontacojoint.com

Yellowbelly 4659 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314.499.1509, yellowbellystl.com

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a whole new old world wine B Y

K R I S T I N

S C H U L T Z

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t’s time to switch off your wineshopping autopilot, skip the chardonnay, and set your sights on a new cluster of European grapes that have put down roots in the United States.

Four lesser-known white varietals from Spain, Austria and France are flourishing in the vineyards of the Northwest and New York’s Finger Lakes region, offering a pleasant yet accessible departure from your go-to bottle. While our Continental counterparts have long quaffed albariño, grüner veltliner, chenin blanc and sémillon, American growers have seen the most success with big, oaky chardonnay and easy-drinking riesling. Now, however, domestic vintners are capturing the adventurous spirit of the modern wine drinker and creating off-the-beaten-path wines for an audience thirsty for something new.

“It’s a whole different generation of wine drinkers,” said Patricia Wamhoff, advanced sommelier and certified wine educator. “They’re more knowledgeable and open to trying new things.”

To give this new breed of vino-wise imbibers a glass of something different, winemakers are also trying new things and taking advantage of their land and weather.

“The third-wave producers in California are super exciting,” said Juliette Dottle, sommelier and assistant general manager at Elmwood. “It’s a swing to a local focus.

They’re working with their microclimates, and [California] has every soil type, so they’re not constrained.”

This quartet of grapes is not commonly aged, so they all boast a young, fresh quality. They also pair well with food due to higher acidity.

From the shores of Saranac Lake in New York to the hills of Lodi, California, winemakers are putting a new crop of white wines in the spotlight.

Guide to Drinking 2019

SÉMILLON

GRÜNER VELTLINER

“It’s peachy with candied citrus [notes],” said Dottle. “It has a nice texture that makes it food friendly.”

“It has this green, vegetal quality that comes off as tender pea shoots,” Blackwell-Calvert said. “It is unique but has qualities you find in regular varietals.”

Sémillon is a golden-skinned, full-bodied white that ages well, and you can often find it blended with sauvignon blanc. Its neutral character and clean flavor make it an excellent companion to most dishes.

EUROPEAN ROOTS France ON AMERICAN SOIL California S O M M E L I E R S WA P If you like sauvignon blanc, shake it up with sémillon.

V I N E YA R D O F N OT E Little Frances, Lake County, California

ALBARIÑO “The nose is deceiving,” Wamhoff said. “[The nose] is of just-ripe peaches, but the taste is crisp and tart with green apple and citrus.”

This high-acidity varietal thrives in cool, breezy locales. Without the warm, buttery notes of oak (which it rarely touches), albariño is bright, fruity and dry.

“It is versatile and can pair with almost everything,” said Alisha Blackwell-Calvert, certified sommelier at Elaia.

EUROPEAN ROOTS Spain, Portugal (alvarhino in that neck of the woods) ON AMERICAN SOIL California, Oregon S O M M E L I E R S WA P If you like pinot grigio, try albariño.

V I N E YA R D O F N OT E Bokisch Vineyards, Lodi, California

It has mineral underpinnings but is soft and juicy with a touch of spiciness.

Grüner veltliner may be Austria’s grape, but you don’t have to climb every mountain to find this food-friendly wine that can also stand on its own.

EUROPEAN ROOTS Nearly one-third of all grapes grown in Austria are grüner veltliner.

ON AMERICAN SOIL New York, California, Oregon S O M M E L I E R S WA P If you like sauvignon blanc, give grüner veltliner a go.

V I N E YA R D O F N OT E Hermann J. Wiemer, Himrod, New York

CHENIN BLANC “Chenin blanc is one of my favorite French grapes grown domestically,” Blackwell-Calvert said. “When it’s grown in California, it’s riper with fresh apple and more floral flavors [than French-grown grapes].”

This highly acidic wine is rooted in the Loire Valley in France but, as it turns out, is equally suited to the Napa Valley.

“It’s food friendly and has this crunchy, green apple note and a lanolin texture,” Dottle said.

EUROPEAN ROOTS France ON AMERICAN SOIL California S O M M E L I E R S WA P If you like unoaked chardonnay, trade it out for chenin blanc.

V I N E YA R D O F N OT E Peter Franus, Napa, California

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H I G H B A L L I N '

BY M AT T S O R R E L L / / P H O T O S BY I Z A I A H J O H N S O N

LEMONGRASS SHOCHU WITH HIBISCUS HIGHBALL AT T H E B AO

order highballs here The Blue Ocean, 6335 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314.726.6477, blueoceanstl.com The Bao, 14 N. Central Ave., Clayton, 314.899.9089, thebaostl.com Juniper, 4101 Laclede Ave., St. Louis, 314.329.7696, junipereats.com

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Basically just spirits and soda, highballs are a bartender’s best friend during a busy shift. But these refreshing concoctions are not only simple – when made with care and attention, they can also be surprisingly sublime.

Classic cocktail tomes The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury and The Savoy Cocktail Book take care in prescribing the exact way to mix the perfect highball. Both say any spirit can be the base (around 2 ounces or so), and Embury specifies the drink should be a long one at 6 ounces or more. Seltzer water is the preferred source of bubbles, though both books grudgingly admit ginger ale or cola may be utilized, and a lemon twist is an acceptable addition.

More recently, highballs made a serious, high-end comeback. In The Way of Whisky: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky, esteemed spirits writer Dave Broom relates how Suntory Liquor’s executive officer Tetsu Mizutani began a campaign to increase sales of Kakubin whisky with a highball promotion in Japan during the early 2000s. The marketing idea became a trend that took hold, and Japanese bartenders’ trademark obsession with detail has elevated the humble highball to the realm of art.

the bao beverage manager kira webster

Guide to Drinking 2019

Now, inspired by the Japanese respect for highballs, many top cocktail bars on these shores have started exploring the nuanced marriage of liquor and bubbles. Locally, The Blue Ocean offers a traditional Japanese highball made with Toki whisky, Topo Chico sparkling mineral water, grapefruit and a shiso tincture. At The Bao, lemongrass shochu with hibiscus makes for a refreshing sipper, while Juniper has an entire section of its drinks menu dedicated to highballs, made with spirits ranging from Japanese whisky to vodka. saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 19

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SAYONARA

SAKE!

PHOTO BY JONATHAN GAYMAN

T H E R E ’ S M O R E T O J A PA N E S E DRINKING THAN WHISKY AND SAKE. – MATT SORRELL

TA K A R A SHOCHU JUN

NIKKA COFFEY VO D K A

This clean spirit is made with a selection of grains, including barley and corn, along with molasses. It has citrus notes and light minerality, making it ideal for pairing with food (think oysters) or as a cocktail base replacing vodka or white rum. $14. The Wine & Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

This spirit follows in the footsteps of Nikka’s popular Coffey whisky. Distilled in a traditional Coffey column still from barley and corn and filtered through white birch charcoal, this vodka is smooth, creamy and delicate. $36. The Wine & Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

ROKU GIN

HAKUTSURU PLUM WINE

Japanese for “six,” Roku gin features six botanicals, including cherry blossom leaf and flower, green tea and sansho pepper, cultivated during all four seasons. The result is crisp and clean, well suited to cocktails or sipping with ice or a splash of tonic. $24. The Wine & Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

Guide to Drinking 2019

This tart wine made with the Japanese ume plum is intended as an aperitif or digestif, but it’s flavorful enough to stand up in a cocktail as well. Hakutsuru Royale, anyone? $12.

Total Wine & More, 13887 Manchester Road, Town & Country, 636.527.0482, totalwine.com

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PURE SPIRIT one man’s quest for unadulterated island rum in missouri

nobletons distilling house founder demetrius cain

BY M AT T S O R R E L L P H OTO S BY I Z A I A H J O H N S O N Guide to Drinking 2019

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Nobletons Distilling House rums are available at Intoxicology, 4321 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.833.3088, intoxicologystl.com

W

hen Demetrius Cain became enamored with rum about 10 years ago, there wasn’t much to love.

inherent in building a distillery. He had spent time working as a farm and ranch hand and as a welder when he was younger.

With the help of friends and family, the Cains built everything themselves. “We kind of pieced everything together because we didn’t have outside investment for purchasing large equipment,” Cain said.

“It’s hard when you look at what everybody [with big investors] has, but you lose some of the integrity of the product that way.”

“Back then, you couldn’t find funky Jamaican rums or anything. Pretty much, it was Captain Morgan, Kraken and Bacardi,” Cain said. “There wasn’t much of a variety.

Appleton [from Jamaica] was about as good as it got.”

So, naturally, the young Kansas City bartender decided to make his own grassroots juice.

Knowing there was no way he could afford to hire someone to do the legwork, he researched all the regulatory issues and sifted through mountains of paperwork and red tape. More important, he studied distilling and fermentation methods essential for a top-notch product.

I

nstead of investors, Cain brought in his friend, Dan Combest, as a partner to help develop and maintain product control.

Combest has a doctorate in chemical engineering, which helps a lot when it comes to consistency.

Rum production is more Wild West than many other spirits.

There are traditions, but not a lot of rules. With few hard requirements for designation, the spirit varies widely in quality and ingredients.

“I think too often rum gets a bad rap for being a sweet spirit, when in actuality it doesn’t come out sweet,” Cain said. “It’s the postprocessing that makes it sweet – they call it dosing or sugaring. Our aged rum tastes like whiskey because there’s no sugar in it.”

After a couple years experimenting with

molasses and molasses-cane blends, Cain decided to pursue the French style of rum, which uses sugarcane juice. He switched to raw sugarcane and took a good two years more to dial in the recipe.

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D

uring all this time, Cain and his thengirlfriend, now-wife Laura Cain moved back to her native St. Louis. The climate was right for aging spirits, and the laws were favorable for aspiring distillers. In early

2018, the couple bought a farm in Beaufort, Missouri, and Nobletons Distilling House had a home.

Nobletons uses a single cognac still, a hybrid of pot and column stills, to produce all of its spirits. “One still and lots of batches,” Cain said.

Everything that comes off that still is unadulterated with no added sugar or color. Everything is done onsite, including aging in American white oak, finishing in French oak, bottling and labeling.

Originally from Oregon, Cain was uniquely suited for many of the tasks

“He does a lot that no one else does,” said Retreat Gastropub and Yellowbelly co-owner Guide to Drinking 2019

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cain working in his distillery [Foursquare’s] products – we think they’re some of the best in the world,” Cain said.

Tim Wiggins. “He ages his water that he then dilutes the distillate with, which is super strange. I don’t know if anyone else does that. He uses dunder management, which is exclusive to Jamaica, really – wild that he’s doing that in Missouri. He’s a wild man.”

A

ll the hard work came to fruition in March 2019 when Nobletons’ first Duckett rum, named after Cain’s grandfather, hit the market.

This unaged white rum was soon followed by 6-month and 1-year versions. More recently, Cain started making curaçao with a recipe he got from a family of distillers on the island of Curaçao itself utilizing laraha peels, the bitter orange fruit used in authentic curaçao.

Wiggins was the first person outside the Nobletons fold to sample Cain’s rum.

“It was probably eight months ago that he came in with a bottle of his rum,” Wiggins said. “He was like ‘I made it agricole-style.’ And I was like, ‘No you didn’t. Who are you and why are you lying?’ But he actually did it – and it’s really good.”

“My favorite of his is the gold. It’s like the perfect cocktail rum: super dry, mildly spicy, super clean, with no sweetness,” Wiggins said. “A lot of rums have the same flavor profile but too much sweetness, so they throw everything out of balance.”

F

rom the start, Cain has done things his way, from using dunder (the acidic leavings of the distillation process that are added to subsequent batches to help jumpstart fermentation like sour mash in whiskey) to producing everything he sells.

Duckett Golden Rhum, aged exclusively on French oak, will be released this month. Not one to sit back and relax, Cain said he’s also working on a few new liqueurs, as well as some rums finished in sherry casks. Nobletons just started distribution via local company Vintegrity, so fans should have no problem getting their fix around town and beyond.

“We don’t source a single drop of alcohol from anybody, and we do everything from start-up fermentation all the way through maturation and bottling,” Cain said. “Even though it’s the hardest way possible, we want to make something any St. Louisan can pick up and say, ‘This was made here.’”

Nobletons spirits could technically be considered rhum agricole, the French term for rum made with cane juice, and Cain uses the spelling ‘rhum’ on some labels to indicate the products’ inspiration, but

he won’t use ‘agricole’ out of respect. “We wanted to focus on following the traditions of the islands, but we’re not trying to be an island rhum,” he said. “Rhum

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agricoles should be made in the French Caribbean. To us, that’s what it stands for.”

Foursquare Rum Distillery, has been an important exemplar and adviser.

Cain said Richard Seale, the force behind Barbados’

“We really look up to him and respect the heck out of

Nobletons Distilling House nobletons.com

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AU NAT U R E L Characterized by organic growth and low intervention, natural wine is a trend gripping many local institutions and consumers. “Natural wine is a category that isn’t for everyone; it’s a wild animal,” said Brian Hobbs, owner of Chateau Maplewood. “But you know it’s made with as little manipulation as possible.” Here’s what a few local experts had to say about their current favorite bottles. – Adam Rothbarth 2017 VATER & SOHN SILVANER TROCKEN

2018 STIRM LOS CHUCHAQUIS METHODE ANCESTRALE ALBARIÑO

Chateau Maplewood: $15 “This is a Silvaner from Germany. It’s in the same vein as like a riesling, so you have those petrol, mineral notes to it. Really nice citrus, nice herbal complexity to it. Great, long finish.

It’s a really pretty one.” – Chateau Maplewood owner Brian Hobbs

Vicia: $50 “This is made in ancestral method/ pétillant naturel. Elegant, lighter bubbles. Unrefined and unfiltered. It reminds me of salty lemonade. What’s more refreshing and food friendly than that? If you have a wine drinker, a cocktail drinker and a beer drinker sitting at the same table, this would be a catchall.” – Kara Flaherty, sommelier and beverage director, Vicia

get your naturals here

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2016 MAÎTRE DE CHAI S TA M P E D E Z I N FA N D E L Elmwood: $75 “This one is so clearly from California with the beautiful ripeness and opulent fruit, but it has this really great underlying spice to it and earthiness. It pairs great if it’s a cold day and you’re eating some comfort food.” – Juliette Dottle, sommelier and assistant general manager, Elmwood

2018 FIELD RECORDINGS BLANC DE FRANC Elmwood: $52 “We’ve been really into pét-nats [pétillant-naturels] over at Elmwood.

It’s got a little bit of a softer bubble.

It’s not super foamy. It’s just really clean and crisp and a great aperitif.

It’s a really great way to start a meal.”

– Dottle

Guide to Drinking 2019

PHOTO BY JONATHAN GAYMAN

Chateau Maplewood 7326 Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.899.0105, chateaumaplewood.com Elmwood 2704 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314.261.4708, elmwoodstl.com Vicia 4260 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, 314.553.9239, viciarestaurant.com

Guide to Drinking 2019

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