Arrive Magazine - September/October, 2011

In 1905, O. Henry published the short story The Lost Blend. The plot centered on two Americans opening a bar in Nicaragua who, to avoid the tax on imported bottled goods, poured multiple liquors into two barrels for transporting. Upon arrival, the first was decidedly rancid.

“But the other bar-
rel! Say, bartender,
did you ever put on a
straw hat with a yellow
band around it and go
up in a balloon with
a pretty girl with $8
million in your pocket
all at the same time?
That’s what 30 drops
of it would make you
feel like … Yes, sir, that stu; in the
second barrel was distilled elixir
of battle, money and high life. It
was the color of gold and as clear
as glass, and it shone after dark like
the sunshine was still in it. A thou-
sand years from now you’ll get a
You don’t have to wait 900
years. At high-end cocktail bars
around the East Coast, boozy,
stirred cocktails are being mixed to
proportion, funneled into barrels
and left to age—some for weeks,
others for months. And it’s undeni-
able that they do, in fact, shine after
dark. —Jenny Adams
opening a bar in Nicaragua who, to
avoid the tax on imported bottled

THE SUMMIT BAR NEW YORK CITY

This East Village haunt sees a lot of bartenders on their nights o;, thanks to creative libations like the Born & Raised: honey bush tea–infused Oak Cross Scotch, Dolin sweet vermouth, agave and the Summit’s house-made orange bitters. After six weeks, the mix is siphoned and poured over a large piece of crystal-clear ice. “I think tea just reacts in such an amazing way in a barrel,” says Greg Seider, co-owner and the drink’s creator. “And Scotch is one spirit that needs that mellowing in a drink.”

the summit bar.net

NEGRONI/LUC Y SHERMAN

TEMPLE BAR BOSTON

Customers and the press raved
over Temple Bar’s aged Negroni and

Martinez. Now the menu includes
the Cherry Valance—a measure
of velvety Pyrat XO Reserve rum,
Heering cherry liqueur, Fee Broth-
ers Aztec Chocolate
bitters and a few dashes
of Bittermens Xocolatl
Mole bitters. Seven
weeks in a four-grain
whiskey barrel yields
a drink as smooth as
a pickup line. For late
summer, expect Karls-
son’s Gold vodka,
Amaro Meletti, Maurin
Quina and Angostura bitters from a
barrel. templebarcambridge.com
Negroni

PUB & KITCHEN PHILADELPHIA

Here, the Dahlia cocktail o;ers a respite from the heat—of tequila. Twenty-eight days in wood soothes and smoothes Espolón blanco tequila, Fernet Branca, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters, and agave nectar to the perfect summer sipper. “We test run all our barrel-aged ideas,” bar manager Ed Hackett says, “to see what works and what doesn’t before it goes on a menu.” Next up: a Cruzan light rum and apple brandy cocktail, aged in a medium-charred, new American oak barrel. thepubandkitchen.com

JAKE’S AMERICAN GRILLE WASHINGTON, D.C.

Brand new to the scene, Jake’s came out swinging, with barrels as part of the décor and concoctions like the D2 Manhattan. Old Overholt rye, Dolin vermouth and Angostura bitters spend 54 days in a newly charred oak barrel. The result is “a softer Manhattan with the mellow but slightly tempered, fiery quality of rye,” says Jake’s cocktail consultant Gina Chersevani. “You have to baby the barrels a bit,” Chersevani jokes. “But when you age a cocktail, it takes all the edge o; the drink and gives it a mellower mouth feel.” jakesdc.com