Local Liquors

I’m always looking for ways to go green. In my restaurants, that means sourcing my ingredients locally. I’ve been “cooking local” since my first days in the kitchen in Strasbourg: vegetables, herbs, eggs, dairy, and meat from nearby farms; fish from the river Seine; from the woods, game from hunters and mushrooms from foragers. Since then, I’ve worked incredibly hard to find the best local farmers, fisherman, and foragers to provide the ingredients for my restaurants. Over the years, I’ve developed great friendships with them and owe them a debt of gratitude for making my food what it is.

When I considered what more I could do to support food producers in New York, I began noticing liquors made in the Hudson Valley. We often consider wines from Northeastern wineries, but this is the first time we’re stocking our bars with local liquors. We’re starting with four whiskeys from Tuthilltown Spirits, a distillery not far from my country home. My favorite is the baby bourbon. Made from New York corn and aged in American oak barrels, this smooth drink has vanilla and caramel overtones.

I’m so happy with these whiskeys that I’ve begun looking into other New York beverages too. We make our sodas in-house, but we’re thinking about beer options. We already carry Brooklyn Lager, but I saw some Coney Island beer in a store near my apartment. The colorful, slightly sinister labels immediately caught my eye. Now all we have to do is taste them.

Of course, I’m just as excited about the end of summer-early fall produce from local farmers. To capture the last of the warm weather harvest, I’ve created a dish with a glass of tomato water, a corn fritter, and a piece of madai sashimi topped with a slice of dinosaur pluot. And for the first days of fall, an earthy mushroom “tea,” spiked with a little chile.

I love offering my diners a taste of New York. I’ll let you know next time I add yet another local item to my restaurants.