Take a spirited tour of the Hudson Valley with our latest craft beverage and bar roundup. From Rhinebeck’s whimsical C. Cassis Tasting Room to Woodstock’s cozy Small Talk, discover distinctive libations and atmospheric locales. Join us as we explore the region’s vibrant drinking scene, one sip at a time.
C. Cassis Tasting Room | Rhinebeck
With writeups in Bon Appetit and the New York Times to name a few, Rachael Petach’s take on the classic French elixir creme de cassis was a well-timed addition to the local liquor cabinet. Petach debuted the whimsical tasting room for C. Cassis in a rural barn in Rhinebeck last fall. Made with botanicals like cardamom pods, bay leaf, citrus rind, and lemon verbena, the resulting cordial is less syrupy and more herbaceous than its classic counterpart. At the tasting room, visitors will be able to try C. Cassis in various bespoke cocktails designed by mixologist and author Natasha David. Limited-edition products like barrel-aged cassis and the canned CC Spritz will also be on offer, as well as a selection of New York State wine, beer, spirits, NA drinks, and shareable snacks.
The Hereafter | Hudson
The Hereafter bills itself as a “cocktail bar for the curious.” To that end they boast over six pages of cocktail offerings, which are broken down into the following categories: fun, classy, eccentric, and deep. The Good Denim typifies the deep category with mezcal, fernet, vermouth, and pear brandy ($18). The eccentric Tiger pairs tequila blanco with roasted pineapple brandy, mango and kaffir lime cordial, lime, and a cilantro salt rim ($15). Beyond the local cheese and charcuterie plates ($20-$22), there are five “small dinner” choices. With guajillo chile, fresh herbs, and the requisite egg yolk, the steak tartare is a standout ($17). There’s also a pork shoulder steak ($22) and a trout in escabeche ($20) as well as a couple of veggie dishes.
Small Talk | Woodstock
Former co-owner of Station Bar in Woodstock Mark Landsman has worked everywhere from the Waverly Inn to seasonal restaurants out on Montauk and as the cocktail manager at Silvia. Taking what he had learned over years in the service industry, in 2021 he transformed Hunter Village Wine & Liquors into Elevated Wine & Spirits. Now he returns to the hospitality scene as the owner of the bar Small Talk. The shoebox location (formerly Que Lo Que) overlooks the village green in the heart of Woodstock and serves classic cocktails; a mix of low-intervention, classic, and uncommon wines; cheese boards; mezze platters; and chicken pot pies. The vibe is cozy and evocative of the natural surroundings with rustic wood grain and dark tones.
Oda Wine Bar | Margaretville
In the Delaware County village of Margaretville, the tiny interior of a former barbershop has been transformed into an intimate wine bar by a pair of New York City hospitality veterans. Oda is a 18-seat dining room with crisp white walls, birch-hued wood chairs and barstools, and a thick wood slab bar. Soviet-era posters and advertisements for Georgia adorn one wall. Out front, the pea gravel patio seats 20 or more. The menu focuses on the rich culinary and winemaking heritage of countries in the Balkans and Caucasus regions. The 14 wines offered by the glass ($11 to $17) during our visit ranged from stony whites from Spain and Greece to a peppy rosé from Catalonia, a tannic, bone-dry Georgian amber, and complex, lesser-known reds from Croatia, Slovenia, and Georgia, with a few more familiar French options thrown in for good measure.
Flying Goose | Kerhonkson
Kerhonkson might still be among the sleepy hamlets of the Hudson Valley, but it now boasts a cozy neighborhood bar, Flying Goose, next door to the recently opened restaurant Mill & Main on its historic Main Street with a focus on curated selections of beer, wine, and spirits that are equally pleasing to palates and wallets. Wines are available by the bottle and glass but also on tap. “When tap wines first started, you’d get these iffy brands—now a lot of good vineyards are bringing better products on tap,” says co-owner Roger Jaghoo. “We have this great Italian Barbera, a French sauvignon blanc, a French orange for all seasons, and we’ll rotate.” Wines go for $10 per glass on tap or $10 to $15 per glass from the bottle.
Cooper’s | Beacon
After Beacon’s beloved watering hole Dogwood abruptly closed last summer, months of speculation followed. In mid-January, the spot reopened with a bang as Cooper’s under new owners Brendan McAlpine and Marjorie Tarter. The couple are no strangers to the region’s hospitality scene, other current projects include the Beacon Movie Theater and the Wonderbar Cocktail Lounge contained within, and the Bird & Bottle Inn in Garrison. The squat brick building touts more than a century of history as a bar, and in its latest incarnation things haven’t changed that much from Dogwood—some seating upgrades, a kitchen remodel, and uncluttered walls that await time’s natural accumulation. The menu offers the classic American bar fare mashup, with selections ranging from fish & chips to a kimchi rice bowl to tuna nachos and a wedge salad. The drink options are many, with PBR holding down the affordable end of the spectrum at a sunny $5. Cocktails are in the $12 to $16 range and the dozen wine options come by the glass or bottle.
Dassai Sake Brewery | Hyde Park
Last fall, high-end Japanese sake brand Asahi Shuzo, opened its first sake brewery in the US in Hyde Park, just down the road from the Culinary Institute of America. The $85 million brewery, Dassai Blue, is capable of producing 140,000 cases a year for an expanding domestic market. (According to Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association, exports of sake to the US more than doubled in little over a decade, going from four million liters in 2011 to over 10 million liters in 2022.) Open for tastings and tours Friday, Saturday, and Sunday by reservation.
Lone Wolf | Kingston
The boxy building on Foxhall Avenue that housed glam cocktail and Polish tapas bar Lis sat dormant for a year and a half until reopening in early November. Lone Wolf, the brainchild of Anton Kinloch and Lisa Dy, owners of the now-defunct Fuchsia Tiki Bar in New Paltz, brings craft cocktails and Asian-inspired eats to Midtown Kingston. Think spicy tuna crispy rice ($12) and pork belly ($15) for small plates and for cocktails a mix of historic (Penicillin, Paper Plane) and modern classics (Sasha Petraske’s Sherpa). A daiquiri and Mexican Mai Tai Tia Mia scratch the tiki itch, plus Fuschia lives on as a pop-up on Sundays.
All for One One for All (AOOA) Distillery | Goshen
On April 5, nonprofit farm All for One One for All (AOOA) will reopen its seasonal farm stand as well as debut its new farm distillery. AOOA is a regenerative silvopasture farm, a model that combines grazing animals with edible trees and shrubs to create a multifunctional landscape that improves the soil and ecosystem. Stepping away from the region’s profusion of whiskeys, AOOA’s line of liquors goes in a different direction with spirits and French-inspired liqueurs, like walnut, cherry, and blackberry, made with nuts, herbs, fruits, and vegetables from the property. Their take on Chartreuse packs more than 17 herbs picked fresh on the farm and macerated for months.
This article appears in Spring/Summer 2024.
