Nine times out of 10, I’m ordering gin or whiskey — especially if there are Angostura bitters somewhere in the mix. Angostura bitters have been nestled behind bar tops since the 19th century; a Berlin-born army doctor named Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert developed the herby, botanical bitter in 1824 while based in the Venezuelan town currently called Ciudad Bolívar, formerly known as Angostura.

Angostura bitters take a temperate hand; the stuff is strong and easily overdone. But the cocktail dubbed the Trinidad Sour at Waterworks Food + Drink is a case of pristine balance: Old Overholt rye, housemade almond orgeat, fresh lemon and an aromatic backdrop of Angostura (both the “sour” and the “Trinidad” component of the drink; the noted House of Angostura is located on a 20-acre complex in Trinidad and Tobago).

My first whiskey “cocktail” was made by my father, who would tip a half-ounce pour of the liquor — probably Michter’s, sometimes Jameson — into a glass with in an ice cube when I felt a cold coming on. I had my first Clancy “cold remedy” when I was 8, and promptly swore off the burning brown liquid. I even opted for my mother’s cure-all instead: a salt-pickled umeboshi plum plucked from the enormous jar in our cabinet, pitted and then swallowed in one go.



It wasn’t until I moved to Vermont that I began to taste whiskey once again, this time appreciating the intricate palate of the spirit from local distillers like WhistlePig, Stonecutter Spirits and Mad River Distillers (though the Distilled Spirits Council of Vermont proves there are more spirited stops across the state).

As if to further stoke my affection for gin and whiskey, Waterworks Food + Drink is taking over the bar at Stonecutter Spirits this Friday, October 28, for Stonecutter’s second annual Soirée Noir. The team-up will transform the distillery's cocktail bar and barrel room into what co-founder Sas Stewart calls “adult Halloween party splendor.”

"The Waterworks team will debut Halloween cocktails mixed just for that night," says Stewart. "We'll also have games in the barrel room so people can win prizes and glory."

Details are on the distillery's Facebook page, but the gist is simple: 21+, free entry, don some black attire. Day of the Dead-themed bites from chef Tessa Holmes (of Blossom Whole Food Kitchen and Catering) and a special release of Jess Messer’s Savouré black soda — brewed with lemon, ginger, lemon balm and activated charcoal — will help fuel the bash. That and cocktails.