What I Drank (July 1, 2024): "Sing My Loves" Cocktail from Revival by Toast (Port Jefferson, NY)
Plus: The rosé report is still coming.
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First, I’d like to welcome all of my new readers who are here because of Tom Wark’s Fermentation newsletter’s recent piece, “The Continuing Evolution of Wine Media.” I’m thrilled you are here and to be included in Tom’s story—especially given the small writing rut I’ve found myself in for the past month.
But I’m back at it today with a regular Monday feature — “What I Drank” — where I highlight something delicious from the weekend.
Revival by Toast is a small, fairly new cocktail bar and restaurant in Port Jefferson, NY, that inhabits the space that used to be one of our favorite brunch spots, Toast (which has moved to a much larger location south of Port Jefferson Village). My wife and I had never been, but we met up with some friends there last week, and it may just be a new date night go-to. The menu — food and cocktails — is more creative and interesting than most places in our corridor of Long Island. There are even a few wines on the list that I’d happily drink (including a Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling), which is exceedingly rare in an area where big distributor reps seem to build the wine lists only to make themselves money.
Both of the cocktails I tried were great, but the one I want to highlight here is called “Sing My Loves” — a blend of brown butter-washed bourbon, orange liqueur, and amaro was perfectly balanced, and the brown butter nuance was subtle but distinct.
With some charcoal-grilled olives and a great cheese board, it was perfect.
The Rosé Report is Still Coming…Along With Some Other Fun Thing
The end of the school year (for my kids and my wife) was more chaotic than usual. Or at least it felt that way, particularly with it leading directly into their travel lacrosse schedules. So, I’m behind on several writing projects, my rosé report chief among them. I’ll get that finished and published as soon as possible.
After a three-year hiatus, I’m also zeroing in on a date this fall for #openlocalwine (with merch!) and have an early draft of what I guess amounts to an East Coast wine classification/cru system. Or at least a first tier/growth list.
That should be fun to hear people argue about when I publish it.
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