Alley Twenty Six bartender, owner crafts cocktails with homemade ingredients
At Alley Twenty Six in downtown Durham, Shannon Healy not only makes drinks but the liquors, syrups and mixers that go into them .
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Being a bartender at a cocktail bar means knowing cocktails – not just recipes, but also the histories behind those recipes and what formulas work together.
It also means making your own mixers and always using fresh ingredients. “There’s no soda gun back there,” Shannon says. “If you want cola, I made the cola. If you want tonic, I made the tonic. If you want anything with lemon or lime, I just squeezed the juice today. If you want stuff that comes in a can, I don’t have any of it.”
Basically, Shannon makes everything but the booze, including liquors, syrups and bitters. “I don’t have Kahlúa, I have coffee liquor,” Shannon says. “I can dictate what sugar goes into it, what water goes into it, what coffee goes into it and what rum goes into it. I have complete control of these ingredients.”
At Alley Twenty Six, those flavors are always meant to highlight the spirits, never hide them. “If I make you a drink with bourbon, you’re always going to know there’s bourbon in the drink,” Shannon says. “You’re going to recognize the vanilla and charred tones, that crème brulee taste. Here, we want you to taste the booze.”
- 2 oz. apple brandy (Carriage House Apple Brandy is preferred)
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- 6 dashes angostura bitters
- Orange peel
In a mixing glass, cover sugar with bitters and stir to dissolve. Drop a strip of orange peel (roughly a half-inch by two-and-a-half inches) side down in glass and gently grind it into bitter sugar solution. Add apple brandy. Add four or five large ice cubes. Cover with a mixing tin and roll four or five times. Empty all contents into a cold double old fashion glass. Enjoy!
