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The bar at Taste (shown above) features treats such as the Rosie the Riveter drink (below left), and is shown with Taste’s signature Pigwiches, which are made of bacon buttercream sandwiched between two pig-shaped chocolate cookies.
to 45 years old—don’t generally walk in looking for wine or suds, however. “T e majority are cocktail enthusiasts,” said Kilgore. “T ey are not afraid to be adventurous.” Customers can get especially adventurous exploring Taste’s expanded off erings of gin, rum and American whiskey. Other specialty items on the shelves include a selection of more than 20 vermouths (including a house- made version), aperitifs and digestifs, as well as 45 bitters, ranging from the standard Peychaud’s and Angostura to the obscure, like a dandelion and burdock combination.
UNUSUAL OFFERINGS AND TASTY FARE Taste uncorked a new age in mixology last
year when Kilgore became the fi rst bartender in town to age pre-batched cocktails in spent
16 | APRIL 2011
oak barrels. Among the barrel-aged elixirs on the list are the Unusual Negroni, a mix of Hendrick’s Gin, Aperol and Cocchi Americano, aged for eight weeks; and a seven-week aged Martini made of Plymouth Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth and Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6. Another obsession at Taste is the ice.
Taste relies on a Kold-Draft machine to dispense one and a quarter-inch square cubes and a local ice-carving company to make custom specialty ice for the bar. T e cylindrical cubes, measuring two and a half inches in height and two inches in diameter, are created from a reverse osmosis water fi ltration system that leaves the ice crystal clear. “It’s so clear you can read through it,” comments Kilgore. Drinks at Taste take center stage,
yet food is hardly an afterthought. “It is European tavern fare founded on
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JONATHAN S. POLLACK
