The Perfect Handcrafted Cocktail
After a day on the beaches of the Outer Banks, there’s nothing better than the taste of a refreshing cocktail made with fresh, local ingredients. Luckily, you don’t have to look far for creative flavors. Some of coastal North Carolina’s most well-known waterfront restaurants are also the best places to find must-try craft cocktails.
Sailor’s Delight
Just north of Duck Village, Village Table & Tavern is another waterfront destination that you should head to for its cocktail menu alone. Everything is tasty. Check out the Sailor’s Delight first for an herbal, citrusy take on a gin martini. The cocktail has similar flavors to a Paloma – if a Paloma were a martini – but the smoky mezcal adds an extra layer of complexity.
- 1.5 oz. Mother Earth gin
- 0.5 oz. Aperol
- 1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
- 0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz. house simple syrup
- 1 twist orange, smoked
- A bar spoon’s worth of VIDA mezcal
Shake gin, Aperol, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker and pour over a coupe glass. Garnish with a smoked orange peel and add a float of mezcal.
Owner Kenan Watkins created the cocktail, which you can order alongside other favorites like the Watermelon Cooler and Rebel Old Fashioned. On the dinner menu, you’ll find chili roasted tomatoes, artisan cheeses and cured meats, and main dishes like the seafood primavera.
Primo Loco
Everybody loves a margarita, but The Blue Point’s tequila-based creation is in its own league with a lemon base rather than lime and a kick of jalapeño flavor. The Primo Loco was inspired by bartender Erin Moore’s travels to Costa Rica and features jalapeño simple syrup and a half-salted rim so you can get sweet, salty, and spicy flavors all at once.
The cocktail is the perfect drink to sip on The Blue Point’s deck overlooking the Currituck Sound. Ask for it at the indoor bar before or after you dine on pan-fried local jumbo lump crab cakes, hand-cut fresh pasta, or smoked beef short rib. You can find other creative cocktails on The Blue Point’s menu too like the bourbon-based Wright Flyer and the Passionfruit Daquiri made with Kill Devil Rum.
- 2 ½ oz. Olmeca Altos reposado tequila
- 1 oz. lemon juice
- 1 ½ tbsp. jalapeño simple syrup (reserve some for rim of glass)
- 1 twist lemon
- Ice / salt
Jalapeño simple syrup:
- 2 jalapeños
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 2 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 3 cups water
To make the simple syrup, slice the jalapeños in half with seeds and add all ingredients to a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently until all the sugars have dissolved. Remove from heat and let the syrup steep for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove all pepper and seeds. Store in a sealed container; it will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
In a cocktail shaker, combine ice, tequila, lemon juice, and jalapeño simple syrup. Shake vigorously. Place salt on a plate, and dip the rim of a martini glass in jalapeño syrup and roll over salt. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Cedar Breeze
Set on the edge of Roanoke Sound in Nags Head, Lone Cedar is a family-owned restaurant that serves fresh-caught Outer Banks seafood caught only in North Carolina waters. The ever-changing menu features favorites like bacon-wrapped scallops and seared swordfish over cheese grits, but don’t miss the standout cocktail menu curated by co-owner Vicki Basnight either.
Basnight is inspired by North Carolina ingredients like peaches from the Sandhills region and mint grown right in the Lone Cedar garden. She crafts syrups using herbs that her father grows and infuses liquors to create memorable flavors. One of her most recent concoctions is the Cedar Breeze made with Kill Devil Rum and local strawberries and blueberries. You might even catch a view of the restaurant’s resident ospreys while sipping your libation.
- 1 pt. North Carolina strawberries (reserve some for garnish)
- 1 pt. North Carolina blueberries (reserve some for garnish)
- 1.5 oz. Kill Devil Rum
- 0.5 oz. Gypsy Cupboard Elderberry Syrup
- 0.5 oz. demerara syrup
- 1 oz. homemade lavender lemonade
- 2 fresh mint leaves
Puree and strain strawberries and blueberries. Pour rum, elderberry, and demerara into a shaker with cubed ice. Shake gently to bruise mint. Strain into a highball glass and add 1 oz. of puree and the lemonade. Stir lightly until well mixed. Add shaved ice and garnish with a blueberry, mint, and strawberry skewer.
Author: Lexi Holian
Born between the ocean and sound on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Alexi Holian can’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. Along with contributing to island publications like My Outer Banks Home, The Wedding Guide to the Outer Banks, and Outer Banks This Week, she has covered everything from Miami food festivals to St. Barth sailing for travel and hospitality brands around the world.
