The month is almost over but The Great Cocktail Hunt still has a few good places to try! Week 3 stops included The White Bull and Kimball House. We had intended to try The White Bull last week, but got sidetracked on the way there by no. 246. Kimball House had always been our intended last stop of the search. We had never been to either but were impressed by both!
To be honest, we had never heard of The White Bull. The Executive Chef and owner is a huge fan of Earnest Hemingway, so most of the decor and drink names pay homage to him. We were greeted by George and told him what we were up to. He suggested a few options (they had 11 very inventive cocktails currently on the list) and we decided to go with Basically (brown butter + pumpkin spice infused vodka, ginger liquer, orange liquer, brown sugar and citrus) and A Whey We Go (bourbon, apple brandy, whey, lemon, olleo - saccharum and bitters.)
Erica -
I ordered the Basically because it sounded like the cocktail version of a pumpkin spice latte, and I am a little basic sometimes. Haha! The brown sugar and spices really came through. I couldn't taste the alcohol at all, which can be extremely dangerous! It was a cold version of fall in a glass. 8.5/10
Adam -
A Whey We Go sounded like the way to go (ha!) when George mentioned that the whey in the drink gave it a little creamy texture. We later found out from Kia, the other mixologist on duty (and the one who made our cocktails), that The White Bull makes their own butter in house and that's where the whey for the drink comes from. So cool! This cocktail was also not spirit forward and sweet without being overly sweet. It was a little too tart for me, but otherwise good. 8/10
After finishing our cocktails, Kia gave us a sample of a new Amaro they had just received - Pasubio. Adam really, really liked it and said it reminded him of a great port wine. Erica wasn't a fan. :)
The Verdict :
The cocktails at The White Bull were both delicious, but JUST missed the mark for both of us. The Basically was the winner at 8.5/10.
We knew that we HAD to go to Kimball House as soon as Decatur was chosen as our neighborhood of the month. They have been nominated five times by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Bar Program and was named one of the Five Best New Cocktail Bars in America by Bon Appetit in its opening year, so, obvious choice. We also needed to celebrate Adam becoming an official licensed Realtor, so we decided to have dinner as well!
Kimball House mostly has classic cocktails and didn't really seem to veer too much outside of the box. Erica ordered a French 75 (cognac, lemon and carbonated muscadet) and Adam had the Sazerac (rye, gomme, bitters and herbsaint.) We had an amazing time at Kimball House and really enjoyed both cocktails. They were perfectly executed! For the purpose of The Great Cocktail Hunt, which is to find the most out-of-the-box, inventive cocktail, I think Kimball House doesn't compete. But we really enjoyed our time!
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