Foodie Friday: Dry Line Artisanal Gin

On Tuesday night I attended the launch of Dry Line Cape Cod Gin at Outlook Kitchen in the Envoy Hotel on the Boston Waterfront. Although it’s hard to get me to an event, there was no way I’d miss this.

Dry Line Gin is crafted by South Hollow Spirits at the Truro Vineyards. I spend many summer afternoons on the lawn enjoying lunch from the food truck Crush Pad. (They also produce Twenty Boat Rum, which you may have spotted on my bar tray.)

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Distilled With Peppercorns

South Hollow Spirits is the Cape’s first craft distillery since Prohibition. Dry Line Cape Cod Gin is a small batch, twice-distilled spirit made from organic sugar cane juice that is fermented for three weeks. After the first distillation, the gin is moved to steel drums to steep for 48 hours with botanical-filled hemp bags.

The botanicals used to distill Dry Line include Eastern Red Cedar juniper berries (sourced on their own property), orange peel, lemon peel, cardamom, allspice, coriander, orris root, grains of paradise, angelica root, anise, and dried cranberry. The spirits absorb essential oils from these botanicals, then redistilled, and brought to 94 proof.

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Bottle + Launch Party Invite

Local graphic designer, who also used to own Farm Gallery, Susie Nielsen, designed the bottle and labeling, which is exquisite. Here are images from the launch party on Tuesday. Everything was delicious, including the four gin drinks served. (No, I did not drink them all.)

Cocktails Made With Dry Line Cape Cod GIn

Dry Line gin drink served upon arrival.

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Launch At Outlook Kitchen + Bar

We were seated in a private dining room with a glass wall to the kitchen. I was lucky enough to sit between Kristin Roberts and Dave Roberts Jr. (head distiller). It’s a family business. Their dad was there too.

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Boston Tea Party Cocktail

The arugula and pear salad was served with the Boston Tea Party Cocktail made with Dry Line gin, peppermint lemon infused tea, lemon juice, muddled strawberries, and basil. My favorite. (Please serve this at the Truro Vineyards drink shack this summer!)

Outlook Kitchen + Bar Wall Installation Lighting

Cool lighting installation on the wall behind our table.

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Party At Outlook Kitchen + Bar

Tagliatelle pasta with onion puree, cherry tomatoes, peas, spinach, and Grana Padano.  Served with SeaPORT Martini made with Dry Line gin infused with citrus, pink & black peppercorns, and port. (Sorry I didn’t take a photo of that one, which was actually too strong for my sensitive self.)

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Launch Party Menu At Outlook Kitchen + Bar

The evening’s menu. (Oyster shell from last month’s Timberland dinner at Row 34, but hey, it’s Cape Cod appropriate.)

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin Bee's Knees Cocktail

Lemon tart made with Meyer lemon curd, meringue, and mint for dessert. Served with Bee’s Knees cocktail: Dry Line gin, lemon juice, honey syrup.

Craft Spirits In Cape Cod


All photography by Marni Elyse Katz / StyleCarrot

Dry Line Cape Cod Gin is available in select bars, restaurants, and liquor stores throughout Massachusetts starting May 20, 2016. Also available at South Hollow Spirits/Truro Vineyards or online.

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Scheming: Setting Up My Home Bar

I’ve been saying that I want to set up a home bar for my husband forever. Last month, I updated my post 50 Bar Carts, Serving Carts  & Trolleys for inspiration. (Of course, we can’t actually have a cart on wheels in our house or our son would be taking it for a ride all around the condo.)

Unsurprisingly, I haven’t had a chance to move forward on this. (So many gift guides to write, so little time.) But then I got a message from folks at Absolut, offering to send me the new Limited Edition Andy Warhol Absolut Vodka bottle, a lacquer tray, and an Amex gift card so I could style a festive holiday bar. As you can imagine, I told them to send it all right over! Motivation? Done.

The bottle, which is fun, colorful, and sure to be celebrated hostess gift to bring to holiday parties (though I’ll be keeping mine on my newly styled bar tray), is a new creation based on Andy Warhol’s depiction of Absolut’s iconic bottle that he painted back in 1986. This year, Absolut transformed that artwork into a three-dimensional bottle, using the tagline “Make the Holidays Pop” as the inspiration behind the collaborative campaign.

Since I don’t have an unused corner for a full-on bar, a bar tray is the perfect small space home bar solution. While I’m not sure the new tray is styled to perfection yet, I did pull together some must-have bar accoutrements—copper shaker, stainless steel strainer, wine glasses, martini glasses—plus the Absolut Warhol bottle, gin, and Twenty Boat Spiced Rum from Truro Vineyards on the Cape. To prettify, I added a stalk of bamboo, green button mums, mandarin oranges in a Jonathan Adler dish, and a silver dreidel, set beneath my new swimming pool photograph from Gallery. (Scroll down for all the shopping links.)

Create a bar in a cleared out section of a bookshelf, on a lacquered tray atop a console table, a tray table, an armoire, etc. If I did, you can too. Of course, I admit, sipping that Absolut Warhol helped get me in the mood.


StyleCarrot's Home Bar With Turquoise Lacquer Tray And Absolut Warhol

Bar tray styled & photographed by StyleCarrot

S T Y L I N G  M Y   B A R   T R A Y 

How To Style A Bar Tray For Your Home

S H O P P I N G
1 Splash by Joy Mckinney Framed Print, $370 at UGallery.

2 Aalto Vase by Iittala, $155 at Horne

3 Orb Copper Shaker, $24.95 at Crate & Barrel.

4 Twenty Boat Spiced Rum, $44.99 at Truro Vineyards.

5 Absolut Vodka Bottle by Andy Warhol.

6 Preston Martini Glass by Libbey, $18.85/four at Amazon.

7 Oak Mug Coasters by Sagaform, $24.95/six at Burke Decor.

8 Stainless Steel Cocktail Strainer, $9.95 at Sur La Table.

9 High Gloss Swoon Tray, $29.995 at CB2.

10 Copper Plum Tongs by Tom Dixon, $50 at A+R.  

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