COCKTAIL HOUR
A host of excellent new cocktail bars and craft distilleries is shaking things up in California’s Napa Valley, discovers Virginie Boone
Napa Valley may be known the world over for its fine wines, the Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots and Chardonnays, but in recent years, this corner of Northern California has nurtured a vibrant cocktail scene with new bars, distilleries and tasting rooms turning out elevated spirits and handcrafted cocktails and mocktails.
Violetto is among the newest additions, a lively bar and restaurant within the revived Alila Napa Valley Resort in St. Helena. There, executive chef Thomas Lents and general manager Zachary Dortenzio have put together a simple yet refined cocktail list for their guests, which not only include overnighters but locals, too. As with the food, Violetto’s cocktail focus is seasonal, sourcing liberally from the culinary garden and fruit trees on property, with the drinks choices inspired by the aperitifs, digestifs and amaros of Italy.
“We’re drawing on the traditional ethos of Northern Italy and Southern France for inspiration,” says Lents. “We’re doing with cocktails what Napa Valley did with wine, which was also inspired by Italian and French immigrants. They’re traditional drinks with a modern twist.” Lents says people order about 60 percent wine and 40 percent spirits at Violetto, which is pretty sizable for a renowned wine region. Its expansive outdoor bar and terrace is especially popular for cocktails. “Cocktails are having a great run and are permeating throughout the Napa Valley,” he adds. “There’s a lot more variety than before. I like to work with acidity and play on bitterness with my food menu and that is reflected in the beverages, there’s so much more nuance.”
Dortenzio says that many of the drinks use such classic spirits as Cynar and Campari but he is also sourcing local products like Hornbrook Linen Gin, made in Northern California. The gin goes into the bar’s signature Violetto, where it is complemented by elderflower, violet liqueur and egg white, and in the Bitter Hearts Club, made with gin, Cynar, Campari and sweet vermouth. Low ABV options like the Italiano combine such ingredients as Campari with sweet vermouth and club soda; Violetto also offers a selection of vintage amaro from the 1970s and 1980s, from Felsina Ramazzotti to Braulio, Cynar, Campari and Fernet-Branca.
Banner, Violetto’s signature cocktail is finished with the restaurant’s custom Violetto stamp. Violetto’s strawberry and thyme spritz, and executive head chef Thomas Lents
Liquid gold
Up the road, wine impresario Jean-Charles Boisset has recently unveiled his love letter to California spirits history with the Calistoga Depot Distillery. There, he features his own luxury lineup of caviar-and-truffle-infused vodkas, gin and Cognac in addition to a new portfolio of California brandy, rye, bourbon and other whiskeys, as well as a barrel-finished gin. The destination is also home to Casa Obsidiana, an ultra-premium trio of tequilas made in partnership with Jorge and Roberto Beckmann Gonzalez, who are eighth-generation agave growers based in Jalisco, Mexico.
Down valley in the town of Napa is another working distillery worth a stop, Napa Valley Distillery. This family-owned micro-distillery makes small-batch craft spirits using Old World techniques. Tour the Grand Tasting Salon to learn how to taste via “Booze Yoga.” Alternatively, hang out at one of two cocktail bars run by the distillery: ArBARetum downtown, for handcrafted cocktails, spirits and small plates; or The Hollywood Room cocktail lounge inside the main distillery. Signature cocktails include Cleared for Takeoff, made with housemade coconut dry gin, Petit Grain Neutral brandy, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, fresh lime juice, orange juice and foam.
Whiskey is the focus at Cole’s Chop House, also in Napa, where featured whiskey cocktails like the Sazerac are joined by such creations as The Brown Derby, a mingling of Michter’s Bourbon with grapefruit and honey served up with an orange peel. Cole’s boasts one of the deepest whiskey selections in town.
The Sky & Vine Rooftop Whiskey Bar at the Archer Hotel is one of the few rooftop bars in the area and another beacon for whiskey aficionados, with 150-plus rare and one-of-a-kind bottlings on hand. It also batches cocktails on tap, from Mules, Margaritas and Lemon Drops to the much-in-demand Aperol spritz. Meanwhile, gin is the focus at The Bitter Bar, nearly hidden between two restaurants, with a diverse selection of gins from around the world. Known as the place for an ‘infamous after shift drink’, it’s especially loved by restaurant industry folks.
For the best in island-inspired drinks, head to the riverfront Wilfred’s Lounge, downtown Napa’s first foray into tiki, named for “a drifter who brought people together and took things day by day.” Favorite concoction Wilfred’s Flora is made with Caribbean rums, passionfruit, vanilla, lemon, vango bitters (a combo of vanilla and angostura bitters), and egg white, while no-booze Banana Dreams is banana, pineapple, grapefruit, lime and Fassionola.
The team behind popular Cadet Wine + Beer Bar recently opened one of Napa’s most exciting cocktail spots, Chispa Bar, a tequila and agave spirits-centric destination for drinks and food. Get a three-tequila flight, spirit-free drink like Divorce Daisy (Seedlip Grove 42, fresh lime and agave) or go deep on cocktails like the Side Eye (Cimarron Blanco, Granada Vallet, lime and hibiscus). Both Cadet and Chispa are often filled with local winemakers like Samantha Sheehan of POE Wines. Sheehan is the woman behind Mommenpop aperitifs, where she melds locally grown citrus and some of her own wines into inviting low-ABV spritzes.
No matter what you like, Napa Valley has you covered when it comes to cocktails. The culture that gave the region a reputation for being a world-class wine and food destination is now on the same path with spirits and drinks, and it’s as good as it gets.
The Calistoga Depot Distillery
“We’re doing with cocktails what Napa Valley did with wine, which was also inspired by Italian and French immigrants. They’re traditional drinks with a modern twist”
Thomas Lents, executive chef at Violetto
clockwise from top left, kung pao octopus and the gleaming bar at Chispa. Cadet Wine + Beer bar is a local favorite. Violetta’s Dark Side of Italy cocktail with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Campari and pistachio oil. colorful tequila-centric cocktails at Chispa
Photography ©Geoff Harner, Haley Robinson, Justin Lopez, Alex Robin, John Troxell, Calistoga Depot
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