Enjoyed: Friday, September 5, 2025

Listed on the menu: No, but the bartender told us he had been mixing drinks professionally for decades, and he had fine-tuned his recipe.

Ingredients: Wood Duck High Rye Bourbon, sprinkle of turbinado sugar, Amarena cherry, muddled orange

The occasion: The day was warm and sunny, so Husband and I decided we needed one last summer swim at Sherando Lake, beautifully situated just a short way from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Devil’s Backbone Basecamp was on the way home, so we stopped in for food and drink. The Shanty was closed when we were there earlier in the summer, so this time we took advantage of sampling the company’s bourbon. The bartender was chatty yet grumpy and served as the entertainment.

My rating: **** out of 5. The cocktail was barely sweet, with definite notes of cherry, caramel, and vanilla. I was surprised that the sugar dissolved so well, and I would have preferred a little less of the orange flavor, even though this is a very traditional way to prepare this drink.

Final thoughts: Devil’s Backbone is perhaps the most successful of our local breweries, since the product is distributed nationwide and the company is now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The Basecamp is impressive, a multi-building campus dedicated to alcohol and food. Happily, our meals were well-prepared, the beer is delicious, the endeavor helps the local economy, and the scenery is pretty, so we felt a little less bad about leaving our money with this huge corporation.

Enjoyed: Thursday, August 14, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Strawberry Rhubarb Old Fashioned”

Ingredients: Dawson’s Reserve Bourbon, Strawberry, Campari, Rhubarb Bitters

The occasion: We were in the mood for a drive down Virginia’s pretty roads, so we headed north toward Sperryville. We last visited this distillery probably ten years ago, so we were curious to see any changes. Indeed, the selection of products has expanded, and now there is outdoor seating, in a pretty garden overlooking the Thornton River. We each tried a flight and then a cocktail. Sperryville is a charming town, so we explored a bit afterwards and found a lovely spot for lunch.

My rating: **** out of 5. The first flavors I tasted were the sweet and spicy notes of the bourbon, followed then by the strawberry’s juices. I would guess only a few drops of Campari were added, maybe mostly for color. I have only eaten rhubarb baked along with strawberries, so the use of rhubarb bitters made sense. The cocktail was a bit more nuanced due to these additions, I suspect, but the strawberry lingered longer than the other flavors.

Final thoughts: Cute little towns like Sperryville are popular weekend destinations for the Washington-area crowd, especially since Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive are so close. We yet again are happy to be retired, so we can experience these places on weekdays, at a gentle pace.