Vodka, rum, peach schnapps, orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice make The Shoalfinder, a summer drink at the Channelside Restaurant in Clayton. Photo by Justin Sorensen/ NNY Living
North country mixologists offer seasonal favorites with a kick
Summer might be winding down, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t time left to sample some of the north country’s favorite seasonal beverages. From the A-Bomb to the Thousand Islands Iced Tea, we bring you Northern New York’s signature drinks of summer 2013.
Restaurant: Aubrey’s Inn
Where: 126 S. James St., Cape Vincent
Drink: Thousand Islands Iced Tea
Recipe: Gin and vodka from the Clayton Distillery, triple sec, sour mix, splash of soda and a lemon wedge “to make it look like a nice refreshing iced tea,” says owner Mike Chavoustie. The drink “uses all the same ingredients as a normal Long Island Iced Tea,” but is uniquely targeted to those who love the 1000 Islands, he said.
The backstory: Aubrey’s Inn made the Thousand Islands Iced Tea for the first time for Cape Vincent’s French Festival this July, where it “went over quite well,” Mr. Chavoustie said. He hopes to soon be able to make the drink completely with alcohol made at the Clayton Distillery, which does not yet have a license to sell its moonshine, according to Mr. Chavoustie.
Clayton Distillery started vodka production at a new 2,560-square-foot facility in February, fermenting corn, rye, wheat and oats from owner Michael L. Aubertine’s nearby family farm in Cape Vincent. As the Inn is located just one block from the ferry, Mr. Chavoustie said he gets a lot of Canadian traffic. While the Thousand Islands Iced Tea isn’t targeted to anyone in particular, tourists might be more attuned to the drink’s namesake and therefore more eager to try it, he believes. He has also created a special collectable cup for the beverage — a reusable, 20-ounce glass with the Clayton Distillery’s logo printed on one side and Aubrey Inn’s logo on the other.
“We’re hoping to help cross promote the distillery,” he said.
The Inn also prides itself on its selection of more than 80 types of imported beer, he said.
***
Restaurant: Channelside and Foxy’s restaurants
Where: 506 Riverside Drive, Clayton; 18187 Reed Point Road, Fishers Landing
Drink: Shoalfinder
Recipe: Vodka, rum, peach schnapps, orange juice, pineapple juice and cranberry juice
The backstory: Channelside owner Peter Beattie said that the Shoalfinder “came with” Foxy’s Restaurant in Fischers Landing and that Foxy’s has been serving the bar’s nearly ubiquitous drink for at least 10 years.
“From everyone and everything I know, I’ve heard that it was invented here,” Mr. Beattie said.
Neither Mr. Beattie nor Paul Picunas, a bartender at Foxy’s and Channelside, could pinpoint the exact origins of the drink, though, speculating that its inventor likely left the restaurant on a boat and “hit one of the thousands of shoals in the region,” Mr. Beattie said. The Shoalfinder is Channelside’s most popular summer drink and that it is “popular with anyone who tries it, both locals and tourists.
Mr. Picunas described it as a strong drink perfect for a hot summer day.
“There are lots of people that strictly drink [the Shoalfinder] when they come to the river,” Mr. Picunas said.
***
Restaurant: The Paddock Club
Where: Paddock Arcade, Watertown
Drink: Key Lime martini
Recipe: Vanilla vodka, sour mix, fresh lime juice, touch of crème, rim glass with graham cracker crumbs
The backstory: Paddock Club owner Robert Dalton described the Key Lime martini, one of 80 different unique varieties at the bar, as a longtime summer staple.
Mr. Dalton’s repertoire of summer drinks also includes a watermelon mojito, a blueberry mojito, summer sangria made with fresh fruit and a popsicle tini. Mojitos, which are usually made with light Bacardi, are very popular in the summer, he said. The Paddock Club sells summery flavors of Bacardi, including orange, coconut, blue raspberry, watermelon and blueberry.
His summer sangria, made with Moscato wine, peach schnapps, ice, club soda and fresh fruit, is also popular.
Mr. Dalton said that the club tries to come up with its own creative drink recipes and tailors them to the season, in the fall making apple cider and pumpkin spice cocktails and 10 different holiday cocktails and martinis for the winter season.
***
Restaurant: The Hops Spot
Where: 214 ½ West Main St., Sackets Harbor
Drink: Raspberry Ginger Splash
Recipe: Fresh ginger, fresh raspberries, 1½ oz. of Hendricks Gin, ice, soda water, lime garnish
Drink 2: The Go-To
Recipe: Fresh mint and cucumber muddled, dash of simple syrup, 1½ oz. Stoli Vodka, ice, St. Germain ElderFlower Liqueur Floater, soda water, cucumber slice garnish. Can substitute vodka with house-infused cucumber gin.
The backstory: Bar manager Brent Cramer said both drinks, which have been the restaurant’s two most popular this summer, are new this summer. The Hops Spot opened in June 2011 and focuses on local, organic food and wine and American craft beer. For more information, visit www.thehopsspot.com.
***
Restaurant: Cavallario’s Top of the Bay
Where: 1 James St., Alexandria Bay
Drink 1: A-Bomb
Recipe: Top of the Bay is widely known as the “Home of the A-Bomb,” but the recipe is kept top secret, even to employees, according to Adrienne Cavallario, whose husband owns the restaurant and bar. All she would reveal is that the famed drink is made with dark and flavored rums; “everything else is kept a secret.” The mystique behind the drink, she added, is key to its popularity.
The backstory: According to Mrs. Cavallario, the A-Bomb was invented about nine years ago when Top of the Bay opened. With limited ingredients at their disposal, bar tenders creatively “made a rum concoction.”
“It just caught on and we named it,” Mrs. Cavallario said. “People come from all over for it, whether they’re 23 or 83.”
Top of the Bay also sells merchandise like cups, stickers and lip balm to accompany the drink.
“It’s become a really popular cult classic,” she said.
Drink 2: Fresh mojito
Recipe: Fresh limes, fresh organic mint, agave syrup (natural form of sweetener used instead of simple syrup), water, Bacardi Limon, lime and mint garnish
The backstory: After the A-Bomb, Mrs. Cavallario said Top of the Bay’s mojitos and Bloody Mary’s are the most popular drinks. Top of the Bay doesn’t use mixes for any of its drinks.
“It might take 60 seconds longer to make, but it’s worth it so that everything is fresh,” she said.
Top of the Bay also prides itself on a varying selection of craft beers, which Mrs. Cavallario said the bar switches out when kegs empty so that return customers always have something new to try. Top of the Bay has about five varieties available at a time, and places a premium on using craft brews from smaller, New York breweries, she said.
Leah Buletti is a staff writer for NNY Magazines. Contact her at 661-2381 or lbuletti@wdt.net.