click to enlarge - Daria Bishop
- Mena Boyah making a cocktail
The Wild Hart Distillery tasting room may not quite capture the vibe of an urban jazz club, but its sophisticated cocktails would befit any vanguard lounge.
In a Shelburne industrial park behind Fiddlehead Brewing and Folino's pizzeria, the distillery has a cordoned-off area at the entrance where small round tables and a pair of velvet love seats create a cozy nook. On a late afternoon when I visited, patrons were as likely to walk out the rear sliding-glass doors to relax in an Adirondack chair or play cornhole in the grass.
The bar dominates a smaller, darkened room to the side, where bench seating across one wall evokes late nights and clandestine rendezvous. On Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 p.m., Wild Hart jazzes things up with live music on inside or outside stages. This week will bring Phil Cohen's indie folk on Friday, August 18, and rock and soul from Danny & the Parts on Saturday, August 19.
Distillery co-owner Craig Stevens cofounded Wild Hart in 2017 and added the cocktail bar and events this spring, giving Shelburne a much-needed spot just to sit and enjoy a mixed drink. The tasting room's six-page cocktail menu also provides a showcase for Wild Hart's vodka, signature gins and rum.
click to enlarge - Daria Bishop
- Craig Stevens in the Wild Hart Distillery tasting room
"There is no better way to experience the spirits," Stevens said, referring to both the cocktails and the atmosphere. "We're giving [people] what they want, which is the experiential part of it."
Bartender and mixing guru Mena Boyah created the catalog of concoctions, including the drinks' names and colorful descriptions. The Chai Mojito, for example, is "the intersection of Bad Bunny & Bollywood."
Boyah divided the list into sections by style — Refreshing, Bitter, Bright, Tropical. Nonalcoholic Placebos include a bubbly Cherry Bomb and a mojito without the rum. Visitors also can order straight-up pours from Wild Hart's lineup, including Burning Embers vodka, Pear and Ginger gin, and Corn Whiskey.
The Refreshing category appealed most to me, since I lean toward fruity and dry. I went for the Happy Gilmore ($11), with a base of Wild Hart vodka blended with Assam-rose tea and housemade lemon cordial.
Boyah cold-brews the tea, he said, then soaks rose petals in it at room temperature for 24 hours, giving the drink a deep-pink hue. He adds a spritz of rose water to bring out the floral notes just enough to stand up to the alcohol and tops the drink with a dehydrated lime slice. The result was citrusy and plenty refreshing.
click to enlarge - Daria Bishop
- 9th Planet (left) and C.R.E.A.M. (Coconut Rules Everything Around Me)
Another enticing mix among Boyah's favorites is the C.R.E.A.M. ($15), or Coconut Rules Everything Around Me, from the Tropical section. It combines Wild Hart Chai Spiced Rum washed in coconut fat with Special Reserve rum, crème of coconut, pineapple and nutmeg.
The tasting room is open Thursday and Friday starting at 3 p.m. and Saturday starting at noon. On Thursdays, Wild Hart offers a selection of eight "neighbor" cocktails, each for $8. Customers can order from a rotating selection of small bites such as misubi (sushi made with canned Spam), tacos or handmade doughnuts, Stevens said. The cocktail menu will change seasonally.
Wild Hart's infused spirits not only add nuance when customers drink them neat but also allow for easy mixing at home, with flavors built in. A good tonic over the Blood Orange gin needs little more than a squeeze of lime, Stevens said.
"We're trying to help elevate cocktails and make [them] relevant to people's lives," he said.
The tasting room takes that creative process to another level. "People shouldn't have to go to Burlington to get a nice cocktail," Boyah said.
Or, for that matter, to a jazz club in a big city.