The first stop on our distillery discovery tour was to one of the newest facilities in the state — Colts Neck StillHouse, which just opened in November. The brand new, spacious building felt less like a distillery and more like a farmhouse estate. The cocktail parlor is located in a large, circular room with a nice big bar to belly up to, with bartenders who clearly knew their booze and craft cocktails.
Colts Neck StillHouse makes gin, bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey and vodka — but their cocktails are good enough that even if you’re not a big liquor drinker, you’re going to want to try a few.
The Straight Jacket is a gin drink that features burnt rosemary that the bartenders torch right in front of you. The Stillhouse is basically an old fashioned with brown butter instead of simple syrup. But it was The BBC (Butter Beer Cream) that really stole the show. With rum, brown butter, cream soda and whipped cream, it’s how you’d imagine the Butterbeer that Harry Potter drinks to taste.
With space for food trucks and concerts, Colts Neck StillHouse is the kind of place you could see yourself spending a full day. The location right next to Delicious Orchards makes it especially perfect to hit after a day of picking apples and riding tractors in the fall. The StillHouse is still new, but it has the makings of a New Jersey booze institution.