3 Cocktail Tasting Menus With One-of-a-Kind Experiences

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Tasting menus paired with cocktails are one thing. Cocktail tasting menus are quite another. At bars across the South, bartenders are flexing their creativity and skills to use cocktails as a vehicle for intentional storytelling and to deliver one-of-a-kind experiences to open-minded bargoers.

Cocktail Tasting Menus Lucky Star Courtesy of ChingYao Wang — Image courtesy of ChingYao Wang

At Rosebud Cocktail Lounge in Raleigh, North Carolina, which draws inspiration from Japanese minimalism and cocktail culture, this takes the form of an omakase-inspired experience. Each monthly theme showcases the seasoned bartenders’ craftsmanship and takes guests on a journey.

“We see each one as a three-act film structure, just like a screenplay,” says filmmaker and hospitality entrepreneur Patrick Shanahan, who looked to Star Wars for inspiration for Rosebud’s first tasting menu. “You get this first cocktail that maybe wakes you up or ignites the senses. Then the next cocktail brings a boldness or presence to it that really weights the entire experience. And the third one sends you on your way.” The $50 experience lasts up to an hour and a half and includes three to four cocktails, paced for controlled ABV (some drinks may be low- or no-alcohol).

In addition to providing a curated experience with a thoughtful progression, cocktail tasting menus allow bar pros to get creative, generating an even more exclusive experience for an increasingly discerning clientele.

“I want people to have drinks unlike they’ve ever had before,” says Colleen Hughes, beverage director at Supperland Speakeasy in Charlotte, North Carolina. “They’re willing to play along and try things that are a bit more out of the box than most bars would [offer].” Hughes shares that bartenders often employ molecular techniques like nitro chilling, nitro muddling, spherification, foams, and airs to create texture, concentrate flavor, or add visual appeal.

Supperland Speakeasy’s themed tasting changes every 10 weeks (along with the décor) and includes four full-size cocktails paired with four courses for $175. Tickets go quickly for the twice-nightly seatings at the 10-seat bar—the full run of a Harry Potter-inspired tasting sold out in 24 hours. And while cocktails drive the menu, Supperland’s chefs get creative license to develop dishes to enhance the narrative. To wit, a Disney Villains menu opened with Ursula Deep Sea Sangria topped with chipotle pineapple sea foam, paired with crispy octopus with chipotle pineapple glaze and preserved lemon aïoli.

Summer Cocktail Omakase Courtesy of ChingYao Wang — Image courtesy of ChingYao Wang

Bars typically don’t release cocktail tasting menus ahead of time, inviting the possibility of surprise and delight, a rarity in our restaurant- and bar-obsessed social media era. Lucky Star, a restaurant serving Taiwanese-inspired dishes and craft cocktails in Atlanta, has followed this practice since it launched its $85, five-course cocktail experience last June (pours vary by ABV; a tasting totals two- and-a-half drinks). And it’s paid off—the two seatings, offered three nights per week, often sell out, and some guests have returned for every menu, which changes every two months.

Beverage director Kirk Gibson notes that guests appreciate trying a variety of drinks and flavors, but that tasting menus are a boon for staff, too, who get to build more labor-intensive cocktails that can’t be scaled for regular bar service. For instance, a kiwi gin and tonic relied on a centrifuge to spin the pulpy, opaque kiwi juice into a crystal- clear green juice that, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, allowed it to hold carbonation better and yielded an improved texture on the palate. A rotary evaporator, which distills ingredients at lower temperatures to better capture flavor essences, helped distill horseradish to a spicy brightness without any of its vegetal savoriness, making it a perfect accent in the kiwi gin and tonic.

During the tasting, bartenders are happy to get into the science as much as guests want. If you fancy yourself a mixologist, check Lucky Star’s Instagram: After a menu run ends, Gibson posts the drink names with recipes and technique explainers.

Lucky Star’s cocktail tasting doesn’t include food pairings, but guests can order bites exclusive to the experience, like Taiwanese chicken nuggets with caviar. Some even opt to keep the evening going: “The coolest thing is, multiple times people will make friends at the bar during the seating and when they’re done, they all move to a table and will eat and drink with strangers,” Gibson says. “And that always warms my heart. I think that’s what every bartender envisions [as] their role.”