Enjoyed: Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Listed on the menu: No, but I wasn’t expecting a cocktail menu in a small yet historic pub (“cash or local check only” and “serving the community since 1815”) in a small yet historic town of 719 residents. The bar was well-stocked, however.

Ingredients: Woodford Reserve bourbon, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, muddled orange slice, muddled maraschino cherry.

The occasion: While planning this trip, I looked for a comfortable place to stop for the night between Missouri and Kentucky. I spotted New Harmony, which I recalled learning about in my fourth grade Indiana history class. I suspect I remember this because I was intrigued by the concept of a Utopian society, where education was free and personal wealth was abolished. Sadly, both attempts at establishing such a society (by the Harmonists in 1814-1824 and by Robert Owen in 1825-27) failed, yet its contributions have shaped American life. New Harmony, for example, encouraged scientific research and intellectual curiosity, established the first free library, and opened its public schools to both men and women.

My rating: *** out of 5. The cocktail fulfilled my expectations for the “traditional” Old Fashioned, made by-the-book by a confident young bartender. Woodford was her recommendation for the bourbon, and that’s always a smart choice. 

Final thoughts: New Harmony is a tranquil little town. We walked  from our inn to visit the Roofless Church, and to peek into a few gardens, and then to find supper at the Yellow Tavern. During that entire time outdoors, right before sunset, we did not see another human being or a single moving car. We remarked that it felt like we were on a movie set, or perhaps transported to a post-death location like the characters on a TV show such as The Good Place or The Twilight Zone. There were people inside the Yellow Tavern, and as I sipped my cocktail and munched on my pork tenderloin, I decided that New Harmony was a lovely place to visit.