Nick Farrell, the spirits director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group (Rustico, Evening Star Café, Buzz Bakery), has conjured up a series of take-home cocktail kits for NRG Provisions, an online retail business created to serve customers during the pandemic. For the end of winter and into the spring, he’s devised two $38 mixology packs, each with supplies to make five cocktails. The Cran-Aperol Spritz Kit includes cranberry and rosemary-infused Aperol, plus prosecco, Q club soda and garnishes of rosemary and dehydrated orange wheels. The Après-Ski Spritz Kit includes Amaro Pasubio (alpine blueberry amaro), Yzaguirre white vermouth, prosecco, Q club soda and dehydrated lemon wheels and blueberries for garnish. Orders must be placed a day ahead.
The four-drink Mule Kit ($35) from William Jeffrey’s Tavern on Columbia Pike includes the spirit of your choice (say, for a Kentucky Mule, an Irish Mule, a Mexican Mule or a Dark and Stormy), plus house-made ginger syrup, club soda, lime garnish and even a copper Mule mug—while mug supplies last.
At Falls Church Distillers, $40 gets you any of the seven craft cocktails on the menu as a 32-ounce kit in a mason jar (enough for four ample cocktails). My favorite is the Pepper Mary Kit, a riff on the bloody mary starring the distillery’s Frozen Falls Pepper Vodka—infused with pepperoncini and serrano peppers—plus a mixer containing horseradish, celery salt, black pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. The ensemble comes with four biodegradable/compostable cups, a spice mix for the rims (chili powder, Old Bay and Tajin, a Mexican seasoning) and a bonanza of garnishes, including whole pepperoncini, cubes of cheese (such as havarti jalapeno), beef jerky, lime wedges and leafy celery stalks. Bacon bits can be added to the mixer upon request.