With all the wonderful bounty northern Michigan has to offer, it’s not only easy to eat local, it’s delicious! But why should your plate have all the fun? We love coming up with unique handcrafted cocktails, often with an unexpected twist. We believe a drink’s ingredients are the most important difference between a good drink and amazing drink. Soooo….we decided to take advantage of some of the best ingredients our area has to offer, and showcase them in a weekly cocktail feature.
The Sara Hardy Farmers Market, a well-rounded market that we visit weekly, was the perfect spot to source our farmers market finds for our farm to glass creations. Each week, we visit the market and let the creative juices start flowing. Highlighting the local ingredient in our handcrafted cocktails is always the goal, letting the quality of these products shine.
Here are a few examples of how we’ve incorporated some of these local ingredients into our special drink features:
Strawberries and elder flowers – tequila blanco, Dolin Blanc
Vermouth, fresh lemon, house made Loma Farm elder flower cordial, and local strawberry purée
Blueberries – Buchans Blueberry Hill blueberries, roasted, and basil margarita
Watermelon – local Watermelon Agua Fresca
Black raspberries and lavender – local smashed black raspberries and housemade lavender cordial, with bourbon and lemon
Sweet corn – Hall Farm sweet corn muddled with house made chili tequila, agave, and lime
Beets – negroni made with Loma Farm’s beets
Tomato – tequila blanco, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, fresh local tomato water, and a hint of citrus
Squash – local butternut squash and Sleeping Bear Farms maple syrup with fresh lemon and vodka
Our Farmers Market Find Cocktails will be available at The Little Fleet at least through the end of October while the Sara Hardy Farmers Market remains open.
If you’re interested in stepping up your cocktail game at home, check out our “Get Schooled!” Cocktail workshops this fall and winter.
Don’t forget to drink your veggies!
The Little Fleet, 448 E. Front St., Traverse City, MI 49684
Gary and Allison Jonas are the owners of The Little Fleet. Contact them at [email protected]