When choosing menus or specialty drinks in any space it is best not to fight the look and feel of your surroundings. Inspiration at CANAL 337 can be drawn from so many places; the views of downtown Indy through its large windows, the fountain that feeds the canal just to the west, the vaulted ceilings on the 2nd floor, the classic industrial design of the century old building, etc.
One idea that fits the building beautifully is the Whiskey Barrel Buckets. It all started with wanting to maximize the impact of the fountain and the look and feel of the building itself. Originally the designers were searching for faucets to go in the bathrooms. During that search they came upon a fountain designed for use in backyard gardens. It was quickly realized that the fountain could deliver a specialty drink in a unique way.
The big question was, what would that drink be? The fountain looks like a barrel so the base of the drink needed to be synonymous with a barrel and bourbon whiskey was quickly chosen. A classic libation that is trending this summer. Many options were discussed to use as a mixer, and lemonade was chosen for its refreshing summer appeal and how popular it is with whiskey.
Every specialty drink needs a garnish. The pre-made fountian had 5 holes in the front of it that lead us to the concept of qarnishing our own cocktail. What better to pair lemonade with then strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and mint. And if you are going to have fruit in your specialty drink, you might as well make it “drunken” fruit. So the garnishes were soaked in bourbon for 2 days leading up to the event.
Specialty drinks also need unique vessels in which to be served so once again research lead to the perfect idea, miniature pails. To display the pails a ladder was fashioned out of reclaimed wood and the pails hung from ten penny nails hammered into the ladder. The effect was dazzling and the guests are still buzzing about it.