In early February, Kingston Bread Lab baker Aaron Quint launched Kingston Bread + Bar, in partnership with Rough Draft Bar & Books owners, Amanda and Anthony Stromoski. Located in the former home of upscale Greek taverna Kovo, Kingston Bread + Bar pairs the business partners’ strong suits: an all-day bakery, restaurant, and bar.
Crimson Krier-Glading, a veteran of Park Slope craft beer mecca Mission Dolores, is the bar and service manager at Kingston Bread + Bar, and developed its beverage program. Her goal is to curate tipples that pair well with Quint’s food. The main focus is on the 12 rotating craft beers on tap, but, like Rough Draft, there are also a couple draft hard ciders, kombucha, and cold brew coffee. Kingston Bread + Bar is also serving small pours of spirits from a rotating selection of 12 bottles, as well as wines by the glass and bottle.
And then there are the two batched cocktails on tap. One is Bamboo, the classic sherry drink; the other is the Toasted Rye Sazerac. For Krier-Glading, the Sazerac is the prefect drink. “It’s a little medicinal, with bright flavors, a twinge of citrus, and rye’s potency,” she says. “It’s not masking anything and it’s not fussy.”
To take her batched Sazerac to the next level, Krier-Glading decided to infuse the Deadwood rye whiskey with some of Quint’s rye bread. Actual bread. How on the nose can a bakery + bar get? To make the cocktail, she toasts the bread, pulverizes it into a powder, and infuses the whiskey with it for 10 hours before straining it and adding the rest of the ingredients. Herbsaint is added as a rinse at service. The result is literally a bready twist on a classic. “It’s no surprise to anyone that rye bread in rye whiskey is a delight,” Krier-Glading says.
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Kingston Bread + Bar
This article appears in March 2020.
