It’s been more than five years since Durham Distillery last released one of its award-winning Conniption gins. The distillery’s Conniption Navy Strength gin and Conniption American Dry gin have held fans over, but we’ve all been eager to see what the esteemed, state-of-the-art distillery comes up with next. Now, the wait is over—just last month, Durham Distillery released an exciting new Conniption Barrel Aged gin, the first in its new annual series of barrel aged Conniption gins, and boy is it good.
Durham Distillery president Melissa Katrincic says that both she and her husband and head distiller, Lee, started thinking about aged gins in 2016, just a few months after they released their first two Conniption bottles. They spent the last few years researching other barrel aged gins, seeking advice from fellow great gin minds and thinking about what botanicals they really wanted to hone in on for the final product. Durham Distillery’s Navy Strength gin served as an inspiration for them, along with a beloved cocktail of theirs, the Martinez, which Melissa describes as essentially a gin-based Manhattan.
Lee, who took charge of the first of the distillery’s barrel aged gin release, played with the botanicals in the Navy Strength gin, adding in and removing flavor notes he thought would work best with the remnant bourbon leftover in the barrels they sourced from High West Distillery in Park City, Utah. The resulting Conniption Barrel Aged gin—which they aged for 10 months—delivers a botanical makeup of plum-iness from dried mission figs they sourced from California and cold distilled at their distillery, lemon, juniper, caraway, cardamom and an oakiness from the barrel itself.
“What you get is this luxurious mouth feel,” Melissa explains. “I’m really proud of it. I feel like it was just such a long thought process to figure out what to do, and then to have it come out and be everything we hoped for… it just feels really good.”
Durham Distillery will release a new barrel aged gin annually, and Melissa, who’s taking the lead on the second release, already has a few ideas up her sleeve. She’s currently looking at using a sherry or port barrel, honing in on flavors of juniper, orange, dried cherry and rosemary. Melissa also wants to look at potentially venturing into rum barrels and tequila barrels for future releases.
“The most exciting thing for Lee and me is really about those flavor combinations,” says Melissa. “You know you’ve hedged your bets—you’re doing what you think is going to work well with that barrel and what used to be in that barrel, but at the end of the day, it’s going to do what it’s going to do.”
When it comes to drinking Durham Distillery’s new barrel aged gin, Melissa recommends first trying it neat—no ice—and to take at least two sips, as she says you can never judge a gin on your first sip because your palette has to get accumulated first. Then, try mixing it into a cocktail. Cheers!
The story behind Raleigh breweries’ unique can designs.
Picking out a can of beer is a personal affair and, for the adventurous, the selection may be based on how the can looks rather than what kind of beer it contains.
“People see something that looks good or sounds like an interesting description on the can—that sells it,” explains Chris Powers, co-owner of Raleigh’s Trophy Brewing Company.
Breweries throughout the city rely on unique, eye-catching can designs to attract customers and tempt them into buying their beer over others. Trophy, Crank Arm Brewing Company and Burial Beer Co. all have professional artists, designers or illustrators that create their beer can designs for them.
At Crank Arm, each beer revolves around the brewery’s cycling theme. Co-owner Adam Eckhardt has worked with former Crank Arm bartender Adam Balding, now of design firm Saturday’s Gravy, since they started canning at the brewery three years ago. Eckhardt says the names for Crank Arm beers always come first, then the can design. Ever since Crank Arm came out with its design for the Road Hazard New England IPA, a colorful, psychedelic can design, the cans have gotten more creative.
“We went from that standard, stylized can to me getting to be able to express some crazy ideas I had, and Adam has made them all happen,” Eckhardt says. “You have to have a good product and then you have to market it well, and the can design definitely helps with that.”
Powers says Trophy’s process is similar and the brewery works with three different designers: Thomas Jennings from Charlotte designs Trophy’s popular core beers; Natasha Walker from Raleigh designs the brewery’s allyship series, and Chicago-based graphic designer Charlotte Croy Hudson designs all of Trophy’s 12-ounce sour cans.
Powers says the entire process of coming up with a design, brewing the beer, getting the label approved by the ABC Commission and manufacturing the cans can take anywhere from six weeks to two months, depending on how long the designer takes and how quickly the design is approved, so breweries, including Burial Beer Co. and Crank Arm, have to plan far in advance for special beer can releases.
Burial releases around 300 new can and bottle designs each year, all of which are done by Minneapolis-based illustrator David Paul Seymour. Burial co-owner Doug Reiser keeps a journal of peculiar things he sees, reads or says during his everyday life and draws inspiration from those anecdotes when pressed to come up with new can designs and names. Most of Burial’s cans hew to the theme of the celebration of life and death.
“We’ve always tried to embrace that natural mystic piece and the regenerative function of existence here,” Reiser says. “Not only are customers stoked to drink the beer but also to check out the art and evaluate the content and think about it.”
Though coming up with new beer can designs takes time, effort, creativity and collaboration, brewers say it’s worth it for them to make sure their beers stand out among the competition.
“Product development is really crucial, from the storytelling perspective,” says Reiser. “We’ve always told people we’d never half-ass their beverage, but we’d never half-ass their experience, either. Every beer has an elaborate story.”
On December 31, Marchell Adams-David will replace Ruffin Hall as Raleigh’s first woman and African American city manager. Adams-David, who has worked as an assistant city manager since 2014, was unanimously selected by the city council out of a pool of 56 applicants. Upon her selection, Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin remarked that it was a “great day for the City of Raleigh”.
“I enter my new role with humility and pride,” Adams-David said. “I recognize that I am standing on the shoulders of others whose selfless sacrifices made this appointment possible. It is with integrity and compassion that I live, and it will be with integrity and compassion that I lead the City of Raleigh into its best days.”
Adams-David is a two-time graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and has worked in local government for over 27 years—she also served as city manager in her hometown of Hamlet, NC. Adams-David also serves on the North Carolina Arts Council Board of Directors, is a member of Richmond County’s United Way Emergency Food and Shelter Program and won Richmond County’s NAACP Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2014.
As the new city manager, Adams-David will oversee the city’s 4,000 full-time and 3,000 part-time employees across 20 departments and recommend the annual city budget to the council; she is also responsible for administering the $80 million affordable housing bond that passed in the recent election. Adams-David has some ambitious goals of her own, including creating a more equitable and inclusive city, addressing the community’s need to expand public transit options as Raleigh continues to grow, developing policies in which neighborhoods and development co-exist in a mutually inclusive manner and continuing to work with local, state and federal partners to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“There are several areas within the city where we can come together as a community to build a better Raleigh to ensure prosperity, opportunity, safety and social and economic well-being for everyone,” Adams-David said. “I plan to work tirelessly to ensure that Raleigh continues to be on the ‘best of the best’ lists of places to live, work, play and learn for years to come.”
Chatham Beverage District PITTSBORO If you’re in a festive mood, a trip to Chatham Beverage District just makes sense. Almost like a food hall for drinking spots, the intimate district features Chatham Cider Works, Fair Game Beverage Co. and Starrlight Mead, as well as Copeland Springs Kitchen—for when hunger inevitably strikes—with a refreshing menu of items made using produce from Copeland Springs Farm. Chatham Cider Works works with local apple growers to make traditional Southern ciders; if you haven’t tried mead yet, Starrlight Mead is a great place to start and Fair Game offers almost anything you could thirst for, including beer, wine, cider and spirits. chathambeveragedistrict.com
Robinson Ferry Restaurant & Spirits WARRENTON Known as “The Ferry” by locals, this neighborhood haunt has been a staple in historic Warrenton—just a block away from Main Street—since 2012. Co-owner and executive chef Ryan Grimm whip up some of the best American food in town using ingredients from local Warren County producers and farmers. Favorite menu items include fried green tomatoes with corn relish and pimento cheese, crab cakes and grilled pork chops with apple chutney and mashed potatoes. Grimm often throws some decadent specials on the menu, too. The Ferry’s classic and signature cocktails are a great addition to any meal and change seasonally; beer and wine are also available. robinsonferrync.com
Drive Thru Festival of Lights YOUNGSVILLE | November 26 – December 27 Hill Ridge Farms’ annual Festival of Lights will deliver holiday cheer from the safety and comfort of your own vehicle this year. While it will be different from the traditional hayride experience, it’s guaranteed to be just as enjoyable. A mile-long path leads visitors through more than a million Christmas lights and spectacular holiday-themed displays, making this year’s festival bigger and better than ever. Christmas jammies are encouraged to fully immerse yourself in the holiday spirit; who’s going to know? Hill Ridge Farms has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in March, so the Festival of Lights is a great way to help support the farm’s operations into the new year. hillridgefarms.com
SPENGA CHAPEL HILL Get a head start on your New Year’s fitness goals at SPENGA, Chapel Hill’s recently opened gym that combines spin, strength training and yoga. Together, these three workouts provide one full hour of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training, what SPENGA thinks are the three pillars of fitness and will ultimately result in one of the best workouts you’ll ever experience. Classes always start with a high-intensity spinning session, followed by personalized strength workouts and finished with restorative yoga. Workouts are fueled by energizing background music as well as rejuvenating aromatherapy in a group fitness setting. chapelhillnc.spenga.com
Refectory Cafe DURHAM Anyone with food allergies knows that sometimes dining out can be a real drag. Not at the Refectory Cafe, however, Durham’s first socially responsible and environmentally sustainable restaurant that caters to all diets, from vegan to gluten-free to plant-based. All menu items are made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible and are free of chemical additives. The cafe also offers a full bar and a bountiful brunch menu featuring Benedicts, open-faced sandwiches, pancakes and more. For dinner, try the vegan ratatouille, mushroom bolognese or award-winning dal makhani, a slow cooked lentil and chickpea stew. You won’t miss the meat, but there are delicious meat-focused dishes as well. therefectorycafe.com
The co-owner of The Rockford will open a new concept in two downtown locations next year.
When you go to The Rockford—whether it’s your first time or your hundredth—you’re treated like an old friend. The only difference from just hanging out at a friend’s house is that The Rockford has to charge you before you leave, jokes co-owner Tony Coulter.
Coulter says The Rockford’s welcoming environment is his way of relating back to Raleigh’s “old-school hospitality,” a trait he first came to appreciate in 1994 when he moved to the city and The Rockford first opened. Coulter recalls spending a great deal of time at the Glenwood South restaurant, standing around the legendary copper bar, smoking cigarettes and laughing with everyone in the room, people from all backgrounds—a businessman dressed in a fine suit, a bartender just getting off work, a group of friends casually enjoying drinks and good company.
“Coming to The Rockford played a major role in defining what Raleigh meant to me and how happy it made me feel,” Coulter recalls. “Everyone felt welcomed and we all felt part of something special…and that is Raleigh. As the current owners, we are stewards charged with the responsibility of preserving that legacy so that it carries on for future generations.”
Coulter, his husband Bill, Woody Johnson and Brad Miller bought The Rockford in January of this year and have taken care to maintain the sincere hospitality and customer service that Coulter has always appreciated. It’s these same values that Coulter plans to instill in two new concepts he’ll open up early next year. One, currently dubbed Gravity—though Coulter is still championing the name Gibby’s—is opening in the former Apero space in City Market. The other is a street level space in The Devon Four25 Apartments building on Boylan Avenue. Within each of the spaces, Coulter says he hopes to embody and adapt to the surrounding neighborhood.
For the City Market location, that means knocking down the wall between the adjoining abandoned retail space in order to create a 2,000 square-foot museum-like concept that will display local art in a gallery-esque environment. Hardwood floors, sophisticated Old-World charm, upgrades to the bar stools and fresh paint will embody City Market’s signature style while delivering a renewed, contemporary feel.
Coulter sees Gravity City Market as being especially lunch-driven, given the downtown employees and families who frequent the area for work and play. The lunch menu will consist of gourmet panini sandwiches by culinary director Kevin Ruiz, who is also the executive chef at The Rockford. In the evening, a revolving selection of charcuterie and cheese will be available, along with more than 300 wines from around the world at a range of price points.
Additionally, the space will feature a local artist onsite every day who will be live painting, sculpting or drawing while guests enjoy their meals. “It’ll be entertaining if you’re enjoying dinner and having a glass of wine while watching [someone’s work] come to life,” Coulter says. “We’re caught in this COVID rut and, once we get out of that, we want to be a place where people can go and have fun.”
Coulter’s Gravity Devon location will offer the same food and drink menu as City Market, but will be more modern and contemporary in its design to fit in with the style of the apartment complex and the demographic that occupies it. Coulter is working with Andy Lawrence, a local architect with experience in design in Raleigh’s restaurant and hospitality scene, to create his vision for the space. It will also include fun charcuterie board tables, where, instead of serving meats and cheeses on a board, staff will pull paper across the entire table and serve charcuterie directly on top, with skewers for parties of people to share.
Although opening not one but two restaurants during a pandemic seems like a daunting task, Coulter says it’s actually been advantageous for him, given the changing market. He says that the coronavirus pandemic has created opportunities within the hospitality industry that have allowed for better leasing terms and buying power that will help grow his businesses and allow him to continue investing in the community. “We want to contribute to the continued growth of our fine City of Oaks,” Coulter says.
And, of course, the same warm and friendly neighborhood watering hole-type feel that characterizes The Rockford will permeate both of Coulter’s Gravity locations, welcoming all new patrons with open arms. “We want everybody [who dines with us] to feel comfortable. Everybody fits in and everybody goes together,” says Coulter. “It’s about that sincerity—that’s the only word that best describes it.”
