With a new restaurant that opens Friday, Coppercraft Distillery in Holland wants to showcase the possibilities of pairing food with cocktails.
The farm-to-plate-to-glass gastro/southern-themed operation features a limited small-plate menu steeped in seasonal offerings that will change frequently under the direction of Head Chef Kelsey Winter-Troutwine.
According to General Manager Brandon Joldersma, the idea behind the menu is to demonstrate how to pair cocktails with food, a practice that “gets short shrift” in comparison to other beverages. With cocktails, a mixologist can dial in the right acidity or sweetness, which isn’t an option with beer and wine, said Paul Marantette, Coppercraft’s restaurant’s manager.
“We have the opportunity to bring more people out here for the food and beverage experience,” Joldersma said.
With the experience in mind, the distillery’s former cocktail menu has been paired back to be more approachable for patrons, according to Marantette, but all the base spirits remain.
The addition of the restaurant is one of the first major changes for Coppercraft’s Holland location after the company was acquired last year by members of the DeVos family. They also added a Saugatuck tasting room in 2016.
Members of the family are also buying a stake in Ridge Cider in Grant, which should offer some opportunity for collaborations and cider-based cocktails, according to the executives.
When Revue stopped by Coppercraft for a preview earlier this week, we still found a handful of interesting in-house cocktails and old standbys. For appetizers, we sampled the bacon-wrapped dates and the roasted cauliflower with bacon. The catfish po’ boy didn’t disappoint this writer, while others favored the gnocchi entree. They were still working out the kinks on the service side, but that’s to be expected with a new staff and entirely new offerings.
Go there for: Handcrafted cocktails, and enjoy some seasonal food along with it.
