HOUSE COCKTAILS

St. Elmo sets its sights on whiskey

Written by Neil Charles / Photographed by Dave Pluimer

Distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, then finished and bottled by Cardinal Spirits in Bloomington, St. Elmo Straight Bourbon Whiskey begins life as a traditional three-year-old straight bourbon that is subsequently infused with natural dark cherry and vanilla beans. Unlike many flavored whiskies that are bottled at 60 proof and taste diluted when mixed or served over ice, St. Elmo’s version packs a generous 44 percent alcohol, producing a robust spirit that blends perfectly in cocktails and works nicely on the rocks without losing any of its punch. Versatile and seductively easy to drink (as we recently discovered), this flamboyant spirit makes a wonderful aperitif with a splash of cola and excels in any number of time-honored cocktails, some of which we have featured below.

Elmo Manhattan 2 oz. St. Elmo Bourbon 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth, Cocchi or Carpano Antico 3 dashes Regan's orange bitters Combine over ice and stir Strain into martini glass

St. Elmo Steak House has always been famous for its substantial cocktails, three of which, back in the ‘50s, might have accompanied a modest lunch, but today would more or less constitute an entire evening’s drinking. Before the mixed drinks revolution of the early 2010s, the majority of cocktails at the restaurant had been vodka-based. “Back in 2011 we hardly had a cocktail list,” says Craig Huse, president and co-owner of Huse Culinary*. “It was a 1902 steakhouse: most of our cocktails were martinis. Our clients knew what they wanted, and we would make it for them.”

But then the bourbon revolution happened, and the hitherto unfashionable working man’s libation overnight became a benchmark of social one-upmanship and a must-have on any self-respecting bar. Bourbon also became the focus of a legion of craft cocktails, many of which were laborious, time-consuming, and required a myriad of special ingredients, a process antithetical to the rapid turnaround of a busy steakhouse bar.

Never really embracing the craft cocktail movement for mostly practical reasons, but seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the burgeoning bourbon trend, St. Elmo set about developing a signature cocktail based on whiskey. “We didn’t have a signature cocktail, and we really needed one. That was the motivation behind this,” continues Huse. After a lot of research, a new cocktail was introduced that would not only have broad appeal but would also be easy to prepare: cherry and vanilla-infused bourbon with Coke. “The bourbon and Coke has been with the restaurant since 2011, and pretty rapidly it became our best selling craft cocktail,” explains Bryn Jones, St. Elmo’s vice president of marketing and retail. “Initially, it was made with Maker’s Mark whiskey, infused in-house with Luxardo maraschino cherries and natural vanilla beans. It took about seven or eight days to complete the infusion. We call it our adult cherry cola.”

Elmo Cider 1 1/2 oz. St. Elmo Bourbon 1 oz. hot apple cider liqueur Cinnamon stick

Simple as it was, consisting of only two ingredients mixed to taste by the customer, the cocktail developed a broad appeal amongst both men and women and even with, in Huse’s words, “sophisticated bourbon drinkers. We have patrons who will insist on drinking their bourbon neat, but they will take a recess from that and enjoy our mixed drink as well.” Such was the popularity of the bourbon and Coke that plans were hatched over the following years to make the spirit more readily accessible to the consumer, to drinkers who might not otherwise have an opportunity to taste the legendary Elmo’s original at the restaurant’s bar.

“When we went to make the product, the biggest consideration was to source a bourbon that was close to the original. Then we wanted to make sure that the flavors were made from natural ingredients, not artificial additives,” continues Jones. “We did 70 or 80 different rounds of testing on the blend to get the product to match what we were serving in the restaurant.”

Elmo Highball 2 oz. St. Elmo Bourbon 3 oz. club soda Lemon wheel Combine ingredients over ice cubes in a highball glass.

Launched in 2019 as a natural extension to the wildly successful St. Elmo’s line of cocktail sauces, horseradish, and rubs, both the whiskey and the premixed Cola Cocktail were an overnight sensation. Initial sales far exceeded expectations and reorders were even more impressive. During the course of the first year, over 14,000 cases of St. Elmo Straight Bourbon Whiskey have been sold at retail in Indiana, a number that compares favorably with many medium-sized bourbon brands. “Our goal ultimately will be to open our own distillery, but that’s a couple of years away,” says Huse. “So far all of our sales have been off-premise. We haven’t even introduced it to our own restaurants yet because retailers have accounted for our entire production.” Now preparing to move into neighboring states, St. Elmo’s whiskey looks set to become a major player in this highly competitive field.

*Huse Culinary is an upscale restaurant and food group that includes St. Elmo Steak House, Harry & Izzy’s, 1933 Lounge and The HC Tavern + Kitchen. For more information, visit stelmofoods.com