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Fall cocktails from the Volstead Lounge
Justin Elliott (formerly of downtown absinthe bar Peche) was hired as the new Bar Manager at Volstead Lounge last month. The first cocktail menu, featuring a small but carefully chosen handful of craft cocktails debuted at the bar last week.
Elliott’s goal with the cocktail program was to create a menu that will appeal to people who want to enjoy craft cocktails casually. It’s creative but also concise, offering a tidy balance between classics and modern inventions.
“Drinking should be fun,” Elliot remarked when I went out to shoot photos of his creations. He went on to explain how one of his main priorities to is create drinks that are easy to drink and delicious to match the bar’s unpretentious atmosphere, but also offer some of the time honored staples mixed with precision such as the Old Fashioned and Aviation.
The Volstead, which is relatively new to the East 6th district, seems like it was created for the kinds of drinks Elliott is prepared to concoct. It’s perfectly tattered vintage interior provides an atmosphere that’s hip but still dingy enough to be relaxed and far from intimidating.
While many of the drinks on the house menu feature spirits on the more exotic side for those not well-versed in the language of craft cocktails (including Zucca, a rhubarb-based amaro, and Purkhart, an Austrian pear brandy), the price point is so much lower than other cocktail bars around town ($7-10 instead of $10-13), that it’s easy to be adventurous and try new drinks without breaking the bank.
Below are a few of the highlights on the new menu. My personal favorite is the Indian Summer. The chai tea infused vermouth acts as a mellow base, rounded out with the warmth of the Smith and Cross Jamaican Rum. The Zucca and Angostura provide a bold and bitter kick, and the orange wheel aroma from the garnish ties all the flavors together with a bright citrus kiss.
Indian Summer
1.5 oz. Chai infused Dolin Rouge
.25 oz. Smith and Cross rum
.25 oz. Rabarbaro Zucca
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Sugar Cube
Orange peel
Muddle the sugar cube with the orange peel and Angostura Bitters. Add the spirits. Stir with ice until chilled. Top with crushed ice. Garnish with orange wheel and grated nutmeg.
Old Country Daisy
.75 oz. Boomsma Genever Oude
.75 oz. Pear Williams Purkhart
.5 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
Sugar cube
Lemon wheel
Muddle the yellow Chartreuse with the sugar cube and lemon wheel. Add the spirits and ice. Stir until chilled. Top with sea-salt soda water (.5 tsp sea salt added to liter of soda water, or added to one liter of water and then carbonated). Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Punsch + Judy
1.5 oz. Batavia-Arrack van Oosten
.75 oz. Lime juice
.75 oz Orgeat
Egg white
Angostura bitters
Star Anise
Combine the ingredients (except the bitters and star anise) in a shaker. Shake without ice to emulsify the egg. This will take at least a minute of shaking. Add ice to the shaker. Shake until chilled. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with several drops of Angostura bitters and grated Star Anise.
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