If you’ve seized on the craft cocktail moment, feel like partaking in the bevy of locally produced Missouri spirits or simply plan to spend this relatively chilly weekend with a few warming cocktails, you need to step inside the wrought-iron gates of Lafayette Park. That’s where 13 Missouri distillers are convening for The St. Louis Classic Cocktail Party Saturday, Sept. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m., to usher in St. Louis Craft Spirits & Cocktail Week, which has dizzying lineup of events Sept. 13 to 21.
At Spirits of St. Louis Distillery (part of Square One Brewing), just down the street from the park, owner Steve Neukomm and his staff have been hard at work perfecting two bottled cocktails to debut at Saturday’s party. Neukomm and company will fill 6-ounce glass bottles with their scratch-made Southsider and La Paloma batch cocktails.
Both options are Spirits’ twists on distinctly canonical drinks, and the distillers are taking things one step further. The cocktails are pre-batched in sixth barrel kegs (they hold about 5.2 gallons), carbonated using a Perlini cocktail carbonation system and then piped into bottles.
The Southside mix wisely eschews its usual ginger beer for uncarbonated ginger syrup and uses Spirits’ JJ Neukomm’s single-malt whiskey and Angostura bitters. The ingredients marinate and intermingle until they are transformed into the full-bubbled final beverage. The result is a crisper and more mixed flavor to the cocktail than if it were prepared for you by hand at the bar.
“The whole drink is completely carbonated, so it has a better mouth feel,” Neukomm said. “They are going to be different than the cocktails you taste normally … It’s a newer way of looking at (them).”
The bottled cocktails have a slightly lower alcohol content than their bar-made counterparts, but don’t let that deter you; the JJ Neukomm whiskey, sturdy by any measure, maintains a central, if subtler, presence in the cocktail, while the ginger is dialed up and sweetened, as if somehow fresh-squeezed.
Tastes and full pours are available at the Classic Cocktail Party from each of the 14 distillery booths, using drink tickets available for purchase on site. Proceeds from the night’s festivities support the Arts Council of Lafayette Square and St. Louis chapter of the U.S. Bartenders Guild.
Keep the party going all week long during Craft Spirits & Cocktail Week. Mission Taco‘s “cocktail takeover” will showcase locally produced spirits on a special cocktail menu throughout the week. On Sept. 16 at 5 p.m., The Gin Room at Cafe Natasha’s will host Gin Night, featuring both Pinckney Bend and Spirits of St. Louis.
Whiskey lovers can imbibe on Wednesday, Sept. 17, when The Whiskey Ring will offer a variety of samples from local distilleries, including Pinckney Bend, Still 630, Coulter & Payne Farm Distillery, Wood Hat Spirits, Dark Horse Distillery and Spirits of St. Louis. Beginning at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19, Layla hosts a late-night happy hour showcasing local spirits, burgers, shawarma, and shakes. And on Saturday you have the pick of the litter, as each participating distillery will open its doors for tours. Be sure to call ahead since hours vary.
If you’re still thirsty after all that, end your bender week USBG’s Punch in the Park Sept. 21 from 1 to 5 p.m. The event will offer samples of eight different punches made with local spirits from eight bars. Finally, if you miss out on all this, hit the liquor store: Randall’s, The Wine and Cheese Place and Lukas Liquor will each offer their own specials throughout the week.
Additional reporting by Georgia Kaye and Grace Kennedy
This article appears in September 2014.