The mixtress, as 23-year-old Frankie DiBona calls herself, is shaking up Springsteen-inspired cocktails she creates for one of Jersey’s (and the Shore’s) two newest distilleries: Little Water, opened in Atlantic City in March.
“I mix drinks with a lot of spunk,” she says. “It’s the tattoos, the purple hair. I might just start dancing or making silly faces if I catch a customer’s eye.”
DiBona combines Little Water’s American whiskey and her homemade watermelon shrub for her Girls in Their Summer Clothes. Little Water rum and her orange-cardamom shrub go into the She’s the One. You can visit the distillery and treat yourself to a cocktail after taking the mandatory (free) tour.
“Little Water is bringing attention to Atlantic City other than casinos and politics,” DiBona says. “This is something new that’s cool, with a lot of positivity.”
The newest operation, Asbury Park Distilling, next to the Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten (in guess where), should be open by the time you read this. There are two other Shore distilleries where you can tour, taste and buy: Lazy Eye in Wildwood (opened 2015) and CMY in Cape May (2014). Both have won awards.
Shore breweries offer tours and tastings, too. The new Cold Spring Brewery at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May lets you imagine history. “We brew German- and English-style beers that we believe resemble what early settlers were making,” says brewer Mark McPherson.
At Icarus Brewing in Lakewood, owner/brewer Jason Goldstein says he’s found Jerseyans open to “interesting styles that might not receive as much love as they deserve: Smoked Pilsner, Mango Habanero Pale Ale, Mexican Coffee Brown Ale, Tiramisu Stout and a Sangria Saison.”
Manafirkin Brewery opened this past month in Manahawkin, NJ. The beer is amazing!!! One is infused with Tea yum