Dine out and drink up to toast to the 10th Anniversary of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW), one of the largest restaurant weeks in the nation, which runs from March 7 to 20 throughout seven New York State counties. We’ve compiled 10 NEW spring-inspired cocktails crafted by some of the leading mixologists in the Hudson Valley for customers to try when dining out during Restaurant Week – many feature brews and spirits from local distilleries including: Tuthilltown Spirits; Black Dirt Distillery; Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery; Hillrock Estate Distillery and others.
A record number of restaurants, more than 220, have already registered for the two-week culinary event that offers diners the chance to experience the restaurants of the region at a fraction of the normal price point. For a seamless and safe evening, diners can feel free to indulge since nearly 80 participating restaurants are within walking distance of a Metro North Railroad station.
Here’s a sampling of what’s NEW to drink during spring HVRW, including recipes so you can try at home too .
- Baja 328 – Beacon, NY
Raspberry Smash
Ingredients:
5 Muddled raspberries
1 1/2 oz. Casadora Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz. Fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz. Agave nectar
Preparation:
Combine raspberries, tequila, lime juice and nectar into shaker. Pour over ice. Garnish with mint.
- Broadway Bistro – Nyack, NY
Bistro Martini
Ingredients:
3 oz. of Absolute Mango Vodka or Still the One Distillery’s Comb Vodka
1 oz. of Cointreau
Splash of cranberry and orange juice
Fresh squeeze of lime
Preparation:
Combine Cointreau, cranberry juice, orange juice, and fresh lime juice. Place into a shaker with ice and shake. Garnish with fresh cranberries.
- Iron Horse Grill – Larchmont, NY
Hudson Valley Drake Manhattan Recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/4 oz. Tuthilltown Hudson Baby Bourbon
1 oz. Graham’s 10-year Tawny Port
1 (1/2 oz.) bar spoon maple syrup
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Preparation:
Pour all ingredients over ice into a mixing glass. Stir the drink and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with brandied cherries.
- Madison Kitchen – Larchmont, NY
Westchester Whiskey Sour
Ingredients:
2 Sprigs fresh rosemary
3 oz. 287 Whiskey
3/4 oz. White Oak Farm maple syrup (Yorktown Heights)
1/4 oz. rosemary simple syrup
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. Triple Sec
Preparation:
Crush large sprig of rosemary by hand and add to shaker. Add all ingredients and ice to shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain mixture into martini glass and garnish with remaining rosemary sprigs and orange slice.
- Red Hat on the River – Irvington, NY
Taconic Roadwork
Ingredients:
2 oz. Rolling Hills Rum from Taconic Distillery
1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Harney & Sons Black Tea
½ oz. Harney & Sons Earl Grey simple syrup
Orange peel
Preparation:
Glassware: rocks glass. Fill shaker with ice Add run, lemon juice, tea, and syrup. Shake well. Garnish with an orange peel. To make the simple syrup, boil equal parts of water and sugar, remove from the heat. Add earl grey tea bags and steep for an hour.
- The Tap House – Tuckahoe, NY
The Hudson Hop
Ingredients:
1 oz. Blood Orange Juice
6 dashes of The Hudson Standard Lovestruck Bitters
1/2 oz. St Germaine
Preparation:
Shake and pour over snifter with ice. Top it off with Capt. Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale
- Tavern at Diamond Mills – Saugerties, NY
Blackberry Jalapeno Cocktail
Ingredients:
Muddle:
4 blackberries
3 basil leaves
2 oz. Catskill Distilling Company’s Peace Vodka
1 full pressed lime
2 slices of jalapeños
1/2 oz. simple syrup
Preparation:
Toss in a shaker. Pour in a highball. Glass and rim with crystallized basil. Garnish with a lime twist, basil sprig & a jalapeño.
- The Valley at the Garrison – Garrison, NY
Cornelius Peach Apply Brandy
Ingredients:
2 oz. Cornelius Peach
1 oz. Cranberry Spice Amore
1 fresh lime
Preparation:
Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain in chilled martini cocktail glass.
- Tuthill House at the Mill – Gardiner, NY
Blackberry & Plum Gin Gimlet
Ingredients:
2 oz. Tuthilltown Spirits Half Moon Orchard Gin
1 dash Plum Bitters
1-2 blackberries
1 gg white
1 oz. limejuice
1 oz. Demerara syrup
Preparation:
Muddle blackberries in a shaker tin. Add all ingredients into your shaker tin without ice. Dry shake ingredients for 12 seconds. Add ice & shake for 12 more seconds. Double strain ingredients into a large coupe glass
- Woodnotes Grille – Emerson Resort & Spa – Mt Tremper, NY
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients:
2 strawberries
1 tsp. Tea Thyme Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
3 dashes Rhubarb Bitters
3 lemon wedges
¾ oz. Yellow Chartreuse
¾ oz. Saler’s Aperitif
1 ½ oz. Ophie London Dry
Preparation:
Muddle jam, lemon, 1 strawberry and Rhubarb bitters in shaker. Add gin, chartreuse and Saler’s to shaker. Shake with ice, single strain on to double rocks. Garnish with strawberry
