We’re excited (and thirsty) to announce that the whiskey barrel-aged cocktails that Ted Kilgore revealed to Sauce writer Ligaya Figueras in this month’s Elixir column are now available at Taste by Niche in Benton Park, where Kilgore mans the bar, and also next door at Niche.
The cocktails have been aging in used oak barrels since June, an experiment by one of the city’s most talented mixologists. So what’s Kilgore think of his new concoctions? “They couldn’t have turned out better,” he said.
Kilgore uncorked both cocktails a little over a week ago. The first, what he called the Negroni Fresca, was half gone within four days, he said. He’s serving it stirred over ice, with no garnish. “The process brought out some bitterness, that malty kind of sweetness from the barrels and touches of oak and cedar,” Kilgore said. His other drink, the Holy Moly, turned out less spicy than it would’ve had it not aged, he said, with the same touches of wood and sweetness of the malt. “Both are great for different reasons,” he said. “I was very satisfied with the outcome.”
As for that third barrel, Kilgore still hasn’t decided what to put in it yet, though he said he may have to do another barrel of the Negroni Fresca, since it has sold much faster than he predicted. While the cocktails are only at Niche and Taste by Niche right now, Kilgore hopes to serve the cocktails at all three Niche restaurants (including Brasserie) eventually. “It’s definitely something I’m going to continue, and I’ll try to keep a barrel cocktail at all times at at least one restaurant,” he said. Sounds like this was one experiment gone very, very right.
Planning on stopping in for one of these cocktails this weekend? Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.
Cheers!
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2010.