Cocktails in the time of Corona

For all the distinct memories we will carry with us when we look back upon this time, I suspect great swathes of it will come to seem like a dream. If anyone had told us six months ago that a global pandemic would lead the majority of people around the world to willingly put their lives on hold, then, in the wake of a single act of violence reflective of centuries of racial injustice hundreds of thousands across the country and the world would march to demand real systemic change, it would have been unfathomable. Yet here we are. Even as we continue to be swept up in the convergence of fears around Covid-19, there is suddenly an opportunity to work through societal vulnerabilities that affect us all, whatever our race or ethnicity. Giving voice to anger is understandable, but no means to an end. The Black Lives Matter movement is tugging at the edge of our collective soul. Even for those of us who do not live in ethnically diverse communities, hard questions must be asked and answered about what led us to this moment in history, and what role we can all play to provoke and support real change.

In the midst of all this incredible upheaval, Covid-19 is still very much with us. In navigating our direction as we re-open for dining here in Healdsburg, a great deal of our focus has been on how Barndiva’s version of bespoke hospitality can best serve the present moment. Food is obviously essential, but dining out is not, it’s a luxury and a privilege. We want to honor that while strengthening support for our food shed and all who work within it, specifically our purveyors and our workforce here in Healdsburg who make everything we do possible. If we can give you a great time while doing that, cooking food we are passionate about, surmounting the challenges of the past few months will have led us to better place.

We don’t need to look too closely at Barndiva’s To Go Cocktails sales to know that ‘Cocktail Hour’ has taken on new significance during the quarantine, these days it qualifies as a self care ritual. If you Zoom it can offer brief respite from isolation, a chance to catch up with friends. When dining out cocktails are often the opening act, a chance to shift gears. In addition to the classics and Barndiva favorites we’re now shaking up a series of cocktails we hope you will find both delicious and suggestive: an invitation to sit back, take in the gardens, relax and enjoy. Our days may still be long and challenging, but your time with us doesn’t have to be.

Lift, Flirt, and Slide reflect a thoughtful, curative message, embracing the fact that all cocktails are mood enhancers - therein lies their charms. We’ve been making them for years now, one or more is usually on the bar menu. Lift appeals to anyone just looking for a cocktail to hit the spot and bring the moment into high relief, energizing it. Flirts are a bit more expansive as they seek connection, to the room, the music, the people around them. Slides cater to the (increasingly) frequent desire for a comfort driven few hours - a cocktail, a great bottle of wine, a wonderful meal - before gliding home and to bed.

The series showcases seasonal fruits and fresh herbs and garnishes grown here in our gardens. They are complimented with a dash of a specific elixir made from the roots, rhizome or flowers of organically grown herbs. Herbal remedies have been used for centuries to boost the immune system and bolster recovery from a variety of ailments, both physical and psychological. The Egyptians, West Indians, and the Chinese used them in the 1st and 2nd centuries before they made their way to Europe in the 18th century and the German Dr. Samuel Hahnemann gave them the name and nomenclature we use today as being ‘homeopathic.’

While we always take great care in our choice of spirits - St. George gins are made in the North Bay, Young and Yonder right here in Healdsburg - Lift, Flirt and Slides are built in such a way that they are delicious with or without alcohol.

Barndiva’s bar team, like all members of our staff, are currently working masked and gloved, but I didn’t have the heart to publish this blog without giving you an unmasked glimpse of the three talented women who created these cocktails and will command the bar this summer. Here’s a brief description of what they are shaking up this June.

Terra’s LIFT : two St George gins, Botanivore for its floral notes, and Terroir, intriguingly forest forward. They are complimented by a house made strawberry shrub, Pamplemousse Rosé, and black pepper syrup, St John’s Wort. The flowers of St John’s Wort contain antioxidants - Rutin, Quercetin, and Lutein. A roadside wildflower from Europe that dates back to ancient Greece, it’s commonly used to combat ‘the blues’ and lift the spirit. It’s also thought to ease tiredness and nervousness.

Hayden’s FLIRT : lightly infused rosemary tequila, garnished with fresh rosemary tips from our farm. It has fresh watermelon juice, fresh lime, an intriguing hibiscus Tajin syrup, a hit of peach bitters, Rhodiola. Documented use of the fragrant Rhodiola Rosea Root, also known as Roseroot, to enhance mental and physical endurance dates back to 1725.

Isabel’s SLIDE : Young and Yonder vodka, raspberry syrup, Navarro Verjus, Lillet Rose, Caperitif, fresh mint and Valerian. Native to Europe but cultivated in the US since the early 19th century, numerous human clinical trials conducted on the use of the Valerian rhizome have shown positive results to support a restful night’s sleep.

Adaptogens are natural substances that help your body deal with stress and promote mental balance - they need to be grown, harvested and made into tinctures or pastilles with great care. St John’s Wort tinctures use the flower of the plant while use of Valerian relies upon the rhizome, or root of the plant. Many adaptogens - mint, ginger, tumeric - are likely part of your grocery list. Dan grows both at the farm (see above) but the small amounts of the adaptogens used in these cocktails were sourced from HerbPharm and Nature’s Best. Gaia Farm, located in the Blue Ridge mountains and a Certified B Corporation has been around since 1987 and has a beautifully informative website and blog about a range of herbal remedies and their suggested usses. They grow organically and sell online. https://www.gaiaherbs.com/pages/herb-reference-guide.

Wednesday at the Barn Menu.....Giving As Good As You Get.....

After the sun goes down...

Peace, love and happiness is not a phrase that normally rolls off my tongue, not since the 60’s at any rate, but that’s the only way I can describe the extremely mellow mood that flowed through the gallery and it's gardens Saturday evening when over two hundred kindred souls came to the opening of Salon des Sens.

It didn’t hurt that the weather was sheer bliss, warm and soft, with magical early summer light. Nor that thanks to St. George Spirits and Copain Winery there was copious amounts of excellent drink to enjoy with Ryan’s infamous Quail Egg BLTs, Compressed Watermelon Gin Fizz' and Aviation Bon Bons. At one point, when I thought the evening had peaked, K2 laughed and said "Are you kidding? Have you been outside?” The garden was full. Everyone was smiling. No one had any intention of going anywhere soon.

But if anyone passing by thought the genuine bonhomie of this crowd was just down to alcohol and a sugar rush, they would have been mistaken. In fact, when the next night rolled around and the same mood prevailed as Freddy Cole sat down to play the piano beneath the chandeliers on Barndiva’s rear patio, I realized that while art and music were clearly the driving force behind both evenings, something else was at play besides Freddy.

Salon des Sens is an exhibit brim full of fresh ideas about how we view food, while the music that came out of the fabulous Freddy Cole Quartet was so comfortable and familiar it had all the ease of slipping your hand into a soft leather glove. What made these two remarkably different experiences similar was how well they both captured, without a complicated political or social agenda, something we’ve come to miss in our increasingly isolated WiFi lives. Communal good will.

There is a lot of talk these days about how the “old” Healdsburg is disappearing, and indeed, we do live in a town that’s increasingly benefiting from the kindness of strangers, thanks to our emergence as the new heart of Wine Country. But the crowds that flocked to the barn and the studio this weekend weren’t tourists looking for the latest wine thrill. I saw a lot of familiar faces as I helped pour JCB’s sparkling before the Freddy Cole concert, but I also got the sense that even folks new to Barndiva felt they had found safe harbor; a beautiful garden where for a few short hours they were exactly where they wanted to be.

Which was true. Barndiva hosted the evening, but the concert was made possible because Tommy Sparks and Jean Charles Boisset who joined forces and stepped up to support the festival. Ditto the Bay Area artists who exhibited alongside local artists at Salon des Sens  ~ strangers committed to working together to extend an important conversation about food.

It doesn’t take a social anthropologist to see that the zeitgeist Healdsburg is channeling at the moment is consistently drawing from a mindful collaboration of old and new. It takes it’s cue from the town's most cherished traditions ~ farming, food and wine ~ recharging the mission to protect them in exciting new ways, essential if we are going to survive this current economy without selling out and losing what made Healdsburg so great in the first place. It’s no accident that all the exciting new ventures coming to town ~ Ari and Dawnelise’s new Campo Fina, Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel’s Shed project, Pete Seghesio’s Salumeria are all backed by people with deep ties to the community and a genuine investment in its long term health. All of them, along with newcomers like JCB recognize, as we did seven years ago, that however unique they hope their new ventures will be, ultimately we are all drawing from the same well. Keeping the water clear, making sure it continues to flow even as more and more come to drink from it, must be a shared goal.

Two moments exemplified what I can only call the quality of worthfulness ~ an old-fashioned concept that needs to come back into use. The first was watching Alex Lapham’s beautiful son’s face light up with pride as he watched his dad farming in the video Drew and I made that had it’s ‘world premiere’ at Salon des Sens. What Alex does ~ what all the other ‘stars’ of Eat the View do ~  is backbreaking work, far too long under appreciated as the culture has shifted it’s focus of what’s laudable to a grandiose definition that equates being rich or famous with being valuable.

The second occurred the next night, listening to my friend Joanne Derbort speak about her husband David Dietz moments before Freddy Cole took the stage. Though most of the people attending didn’t know David, who died last year of cancer, the concert was in his honor. A man of rare intelligence and charm, his loss was greatly felt throughout our small community. In a short but eloquent speech Joanne managed to communicate to hundreds of strangers the true measure of a man who believed most of life’s problems, large and small, could be solved by working thoughtfully together. This weekend took a lot out of us ~ extraordinary efforts on the part of everyone here, especially Dawid, K2, Amber, Rachel, Daniel, Ryan and the entire kitchen staff ~ but along with the exhaustion there was a great sense of pride of jobs well done.

It’s an old-fashioned concept that gets no respect in Washington these days, but is very much alive in small towns like Healdsburg, where quite a bit gets accomplished before the sun goes down. Then we party.

St. George's Botanivore Gin includes the following ingredients: Fennel seed, Caraway Seed, Bay Leaf, Cinnamon, Cardamon Seed, Star Anise, Citra Bergamont Peel, Orris Root, Black Peppercorn, Angelica Root, Juniper Berry, Celery Seed, Cilantro Seed, Seville Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Lime Peel, Dill Seed, Coriander Seed, Ginger Root

All text Jil Hales. All photos Dawid Jaworski, Jil Hales (unless otherwise noted.)