Raising Cane

Someone once sang that he got no kicks from champagne. We don’t know what that guy was talking about. Here at Holeman & Finch Public House, we get a lot of kicks from champagne, and we share them with you.

In his desire to craft a cocktail that could pay homage to both the classic Champagne Cocktail, and the foodways of the South, Greg Best was visited by three spirits; namely, Wathen’s Kentucky Bourbon, Regan’s #6 Orange Bitters and Jacques Pelvas Brut.   From this trinity, we have the genesis of a fine drink.  And Best saw that it was good and he named it Copper & Cane.  The title refers to the copper-pot stills used to distill the whiskey, and to the tall canes of grass which when pressed provide us sorghum syrup (otherwise known as the sweet nectar of the southern gods).  

Great care and creativity go into every cocktail we make.  This starts with each ingredient.  There’s a lineage of respect, dedication, patience and preservation behind every bottle from which we pour.  Wathen’s Single Barrel Bourbon is produced by Charles Wathen Medley, from a recipe that’s been passed down through eight generations of Wathen and Medley family members. That’s 250 years of distilling expertise—and you can taste it in every drop.  Before Wathen’s arrives at our bar, it has gone through an exhaustive process that includes selecting and milling only the finest grains, and the addition of the Medley family yeast to spur the fermentation process. All ingredients are added to the spring water filtered through Kentucky limestone before undergoing the 100% copper doubling. Add to this elixir a little fresh lemon juice, wicked orange bitters, a dash of sorghum syrup, a spot of brut and a pinch of freshly shaved nutmeg, and you’ve got the ultimate holiday sip-fest. The Copper & Cane represents a fine mix of regional wonders and cosmopolitan tradition, makes for good company before a meal and will warm up any cold fall or winter’s night.

“I need more whiskey in my whiskey.” The memorable line from the Felice Brothers tune, is a lyric we can definitely get behind, but sometimes its fun to put champagne in your whiskey.  Stop by the Public House tonight to experience a champagne whiskey cocktail at its finest.  Those of you who would rather to play along at home can make a stop at H&F Bottle Shop to pick up a Copper & Cane cocktail kit—it has everything you need to make this potent potable.

Mea Coppa, Tua Coppa!

The statement on the homepage of the EcoFriendly Foods website could just as easily be a Holeman & Finch Public House motto: “Eating EcoFriendly Foods is a celebration of the shared meal.” Chances are you’ve already joined us for such celebrations.  We are proud to serve a number of eco-friendly foods, including products from Bev Eggleston’s farm in Moneta, Virginia. 

Eggleston, whose pastures sit in the Blue Ridge not too far from the historic farmlands that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, has become an agricultural celebrity due to his principles and practices when it comes to growing and cultivating food. An embodiment of Slow Food, he believes that farming should contribute to the welfare of animals, workers and eaters alike. Whereas the Agribusiness Industrial Complex can process about 130 chickens in a minute, EcoFriendly Farms handles only 400 chickens per day.

Eggleston also raises sheep and pigs—or as Frank Bruni once put it, “outrageously fine swine.”  We enjoy a fine swine as much as a fine wine, like you probably do. Our Chef de Charcuterie, James Ellington, is particularly jazzed about the swine that comes from EcoFriendly Farms. He is using it for the Coppa currently on the menu.  James notes that Coppa, a cut from the rear neck and shoulder region of the pig, is perfect for the season, particularly when cured in a marvelous mix of winter spices like cracked black pepper and cloves that add spice and warmth to each delicately thin slice.

This unsmoked cut of meat has been particularly popular in Italy for centuries, where it is sold as "coppa fresca" in most cases, and tastes best when braised or roasted. Coppa is, essentially, an even mix of meat and fat, adding pronounced flavor to stews and soups, or as the star of a small plate with sides. At Holeman & Finch, it is being served with tempura-fried pickled ramps, which are temptingly positioned on a small bed of griddled endive.

We look forward to sharing this meal with you, and suspect that it will become an instant favorite.

If you'd like to make some ramps at home, see the recipe below:

Tempura-Fried Pickled Ramps

4 ramp bulbs, root end removed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup corn starch
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup dredge

1)      Combine water, peppercorns, vinegar, and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Pour over ramp bulbs, making sure they are completely submerged. Refrigerate in sealed container for 2 weeks.
2)      Remove ramps from the pickling liquid. Separate bulbs into several hollow, bell-shaped layers.
3)      Drop ramps into dredge and toss to coat thoroughly. Remove and shake off any excess dredge.
4)      Dip into batter, then add to fryer or pan of frying liquid. Fry until golden brown, approx. 3 minutes, remove to let cool. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to serve.

Honorable Minchow

We love making cocktails as much as we love sharing them, but we are committed to sharing more than just drinks. We also want to share knowledge and skill. Perhaps none among us is more devoted to proselytizing than Mr. Andy Minchow. A steadfast prophet of all the spirits, Mr. Minchow has a special fondness for gin. Which is why two of his concoctions have found their way onto the pages of a new (good) book, All the Gin Joints: New Spins on Gin from America’s Best Bars. The book includes recipes for ‘101 Artisanal Cocktails,’ compiled by Michael Turback, a longtime champion of Slow Food whose other recent tome is the Ithaca Farmers Market Cookbook.

In his introduction, Turback traces the history of the cocktail back to the Prohibition era mixing of ‘bathtub’ gin with various tinctures and botanicals, the history of gin back to a 16^th century distillation of barley wine infused with juniper berries (thank you, Dutch physician Sylvius de Bouve!), and the history of the juniper plant back to ancient Egypt, where it was used in burial rituals and believed to secure eternal life for the pharaohs. At the Public House we are always humbled by the rich history of culinary, botanical, and libationary arts that precedes us. We strive to honor that history, at the same time as we pursue, with religious fervor and glee, the new.

Andy’s first drink in Gin Joints, called The Clean Getaway, may be considered a variation on the French 75, that classic combination of gin and champagne. This concoction is distinguished by Amaro, which lends a slightly bitter, herbal note, and Mosacto d’Asti, a brighter, sweeter sparkler. Throw in the gin and some fresh lemon juice, and you’re ready for a party.

His 2^nd offering, Wolf’s Bite, is named in honor of H & F partner Greg Best, who’s earned the nickname Wolf for his ‘ferocity and courage.’ The bite comes from the addition of pungent Chartreuse to the gin, rounded out with a splash of grapefruit juice.

Both drinks have been shaken, stirred, and served at the Public House, and are always available upon request.

The dedication page of Gin Joints features a quote from David Augustus Embury that enthuses a well-made cocktail’s ability to make “the whole world…a better place in which to live.” We couldn’t agree more! We encourage you to visit the H & F Bottle Shop, where you can purchase not only the book, but also everything you need to make the drinks, thereby doing your part to make the world a better place.

#14 Has Arrived

Since opening in 2008, we've never stopped questing to grow, learn and keep it interesting --- for our guests and for ourselves. Changing it up is imperative, not just because our sourcing (from small-batch, sometimes obscure producers) demands it, but also because that's one way we keep it interesting. Pushing ourselves to gain more knowledge, try new things and always get better. One of our favorite change-ups has just transpired. We proudly present to you Cocktail Menu #14.

These carefully crafted harbingers of fall are conceived and artfully executed by an all-star pirate team including Shooter, Hopscotch, Timber, Captain Snake and, of course, Wolf. Stop in soon to begin the journey of sipping through them all. We promise it'll be interesting, deep and delicious.

Oysters – the 13 Mile High Club

Coca isn’t the only Cola getting play on the Holeman and Finch Public House menu. Apalachicola is known as the oyster capitol of the world, and 13 Mile is the jewel in the crown. We are pleased to offer cornmeal fried oysters from 13 Mile Oyster Company, served with a creole remoulade and scallions.

This week our staff viewed Working the Miles, a documentary Joe York made for the Southern Foodways Alliance about Johnny and Janice Taylor, who have made their living in Apalachicola Bay. As the film says, Johnny oysters and Janice shucks. Watching the boats, slow and isolated in the waters dappled by sunrise and sunset, and hammers cracking open shells, you realize how much work goes into bringing oysters from their home to your plate. Last year’s oil spill turned our attention in general to the men and women who bring us shrimp, fish, and oysters. York’s film does a wonderful job of bringing just one family to the forefront of an industry.

We believe the more you know about your food, the better it tastes. So watch the film, then come in for a glass of Lemelson Vineyards Pinot Gris and a plate of delicious 13 Mile catch.

Lunch & Learn - H&F Style

Part of the fun of being Holeman & Finch is that sometimes we get to host interesting and delicious private events. Recently, we hosted a lunch for Hendrick’s Gin and the US Bartenders Guild. A lunch and learn of sorts --- a gin tasting complete with 10 o'clock burgers and Mary Randolph's fried chicken. It was great fun for everyone involved, guests and staff alike, and as a result we’re now even more smitten with this most amazing gin.


Hendrick’s Gin is the result of a good idea and a simple experiment conducted in twentieth century Scotland. The “gin craze” of the nineteenth century had just swept through England, prompting William Grant & Sons to try to create their ideal gin: lighter with subtle essences of cucumber and rose petal.

At an auction in Girvan, Scotland, the company bought two different types of stills which they then restored. The two stills operate by different methods, producing very different tasting spirits. The idea was to blend these two spirits for a uniquely subtle final product. The first, a small pot still, creates a spirit with a heavy and oily character and a strong juniper flavor. Sometimes called the Bennett still, this small vessel allows for most of the aromas of the botanicals to pass into the spirit during the distilling process. The three ingredients, a neutral spirit, the botanical recipe and water, are steeped together and then boiled. Initially, this still can produce gin with up to 92% alcohol, but as the distillation continues, the spirit’s alcohol content will gradually decrease, and the final spirit will be about 75% alcohol. The second still that Grant & Sons bought was a Carter-Head still, a very rare kind of still invented by the Carter Brothers and first constructed in 1948. The Carter-Head produces a gin with light floral and sweet fragrances. Only a neutral spirit, a clear, colorless liquid with a very high ethanol content, and water are added to the still’s pot. The botanicals are added up at the top of the still. Rather than being steeped and boiled in, the Carter-Head bathes the botanicals in the alcohol vapors before they are condensed, making a much lighter gin.

The idea proved to be a good one, and the resulting spirit, the Hendrick’s Gin of today,is indeed a blend of these two different distillations, with the addition of cucumber and rose petal essences. The gin is created in batches of only 450 liters, which allows the distiller to carefully control the entire process, ensuring an artfully perfect concoction, which is then bottled in a dark blue, almost black-looking, apothecary-style bottle, giving it a unique look to match the signature taste.

In 2003, Hendrick’s Gin was awarded the Wall Street Journal’s “Best Gin in the World” award, and since then has merited numerous awards and high ratings.

The creators of Hendrick’s say that it is best served with tonic water over ice with a slice of cucumber as a garnish rather than the traditional citrus or olive. Our staff finds many creative applications for the product. At the upcoming Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, we will be using Hendrick’s Gin in a Gazpacho Martini --- a perfect choice due to the gin’s cucumber essence.

Come in to H&F Public House anytime we're open to discover Hendrick’s Gin for yourself, or bring some friends in for a private lunch or dinner party. You can write to info@holeman-finch.com to arrange such a thing. Cheers!

What Is Wurst and Why Curry It?

Currywurst is a dish of German descent. It is a spicy, generally pork sausage (or wurst in German) seasoned with curry. How did curry get into Germany, one might ask? After World War II there was a huge influx of foreign workers who made their way into Germany, bringing influences from around the world into the culture. Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences began fusing with German traditions, leading to the marriages of tastes and the creation of yummy dishes.

Traditionally, currywurst is a fast-food dish, usually served from food trucks. Legend has it that currywurst was first made by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949 with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and curry powder that she got from British soldiers stationed in Berlin. Now, it has become a traditional “diner” food and a favorite of many. It is found most often in the metropolitan areas of Berlin and Hamburg.

This dish is back by popular demand at Restaurant Eugene. Chef de Charcuterie James Ellington of Holeman and Finch is making his currywurst with lamb. “I’d say it’s about 90 percent lamb, 10 percent pork, and about 78 percent lean and 22 percent fat.” The lamb comes from Border Springs Farm in Virginia and the pork comes from Riverview Farms in Ranger, Georgia.

After being ground and combined with curry and spices, the currywurst will be piped into a casing and poached. The H&F currywurst will be made with cream, to give the meat lightness and just the right texture.

It is estimated that 800 million servings of currywurst are sold in Germany every year, and it seems that currywurst is growing in popularity in the states as well; overwhelming demand is what inspired James to put it back on the menu. “We usually serve it in early spring, but everyone likes it a lot and wants us to bring it back, so I’m making it now before it gets too hot.”

Currywurst is on the menu at Holeman and Finch now, being served with roasted beets and cucumber chutney, topped with pea shoots and beet greens. Come see what you think.