It’s Okay To Say N/A
Why we love cocktails with ample creativity & flavor, but no booze
BY: JOSHUA GANDEE
Beverage Director, Watershed Kitchen & Bar
I’m quite fortunate to work behind a bar known for its cocktails and the amazing food created by a talented team. I’m also aware that my circumstances as a Beverage Director are a bit different because our restaurant and bar are attached to the distillery that bears the same name. Our menus prominently feature drinks that use the product made right behind the glass, and they are odes to their creation. At Watershed Kitchen and Bar, we act as the clubhouse to all things Watershed. We are the tastemakers, and we get to lead the conversation about the spirits. We have restaurant guests who didn’t know we were a distillery but leave with a new favorite gin. We have folks who show up for a tour of the distillery, not knowing we had a restaurant, and who leave with a new favorite dish.
Education is a big part of what we do. It often takes a few conversations to share with people not only what we do with the big, shining tanks and stills, but how and why we do it, and what the guiding principles are that keep people like me showing up for work every day. At the end of the day, it isn’t just about the spirits that we make—it’s about the people, and having options ready to help them make the most of their time with us.
One of the options that I’m most proud of is our non-alcoholic cocktail program. We make an effort to have not just one, but many selections available for those guests who want to enjoy themselves and their experience but aren’t drinking that night, or perhaps don’t drink at all. We’ve been lucky enough to receive press about our n/a selections, which seems odd for a distillery/restaurant but, for me, it goes back to the principles of Watershed as a whole. We realized early on, before the restaurant was open, that we don’t live in a vacuum. That’s why you see other gins and bourbons on our shelves. Even though we make fantastic versions in-house, we carry them because there are other brands that we admire, or that may offer a different perspective on the style of spirit. As a tool, they can be sipped side-by-side next to Watershed spirits as a way of educating on a larger scale.
In some ways, constructing a non-alcoholic cocktail can be more difficult than its alcoholic counterpart. If you remove the gin from the gimlet, is your lime and sugar balanced? If that was served on its own would you be proud of the limeade you created? Our bar team is fortunate to have Executive Chef Jack Moore and his team in the kitchen because they are a guiding voice in our menu development. Jack is able to give the bar team a forecast of what produce we can expect throughout the life of our menu, which helps us shape an identity and flavor profile for our drinks. Those are questions we ask when we approach our n/a selections. What do we have available? What’s the best practice for this fruit or vegetable? What other flavors would guests like, and what would make them raise their eyebrows a little?
We change our cocktail menus twice a year—in spring/summer and fall/winter—so there are many flavors reflective of those times that we can tap into, which is quite exciting because Ohio farms have a lot to offer. Our n/a cocktails are the yarn that ties the rest of the cocktail menu together. Essentially, they are the rawest form and truest expression of seasonal flavor. Without their base, our spirits could not sing.
The reason I’ve referred to them as n/a cocktails and not “mocktails” comes down to the way the drinks are ordered. In my experience behind the bar, mocktails have often been reduced to mimicry. They are meant to help someone look like they are drinking when they don’t feel like telling their group that they aren’t partaking that particular evening. N/A cocktails, however, are thoughtful, crafted with purpose, and allow those who are taking a night off, or just don’t drink at all, the same liberties as those who peruse the cocktail list. They may scan the offerings with the same spectrum as their spiritous counterparts. They may choose from bitter and bold, to crisp and refreshing, and they won’t have to place an order expecting something syrupy sweet and over-garnished in return.
We’ll always have brilliant, colorful, and thoughtful cocktails on our menu, for it’s the best way to make our spirits shine. Each drink is crafted for or from the spirits we make behind the glass here at Watershed and proudly display on our shelves. But for those who are taking a break, taking it easy, or don’t take at all, we’ve got you covered.
