Farm Fresh Cocktails at Chef Fest

Chef Fest is just around the corner. Have you bought your tickets yet? If not, we’d like to introduce you to our line-up of craft cocktails.

If you don’t know much about the craft cocktail scene, that’s okay. All you have to know is that the Chef Fest cocktails dreamed up by Laurie Harvey and Kris Sowell, the beverage directors of I’ll Have What She’s Having, are made from locally sourced ingredients including fresh produce from Loam Agronomics, just down the road from Harvest Green.

Why use local ingredients in your cocktails and mocktails (yes, our Ladies of Libation have crafted non-alcoholic drinks as well)? For one thing, fresher is better. You can taste the difference. It’s also nice to know where your ingredients come from so you know what you are putting in your body.

Then there is the attention to detail. Laurie and Kris have 30+ years professional beverage experience and since 2017, have donated generously of their time and leadership to IHWSH. Which means these cocktails are carefully curated and like nothing you’ve ever tasted before.

Take a look at what’s on the cocktail menu (If you scroll down, you'll find one of recipes adapted so you can make it at home):

Urban Harvest Citrus Blossom
Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka, rose syrup, grapefruit vanilla shrub, Waterloo Grapefruit soda

Chef X Fest Collins
Snow pea-infused Roxor Gin, cucumber water, lime, pink peppercorn, rose, Waterloo Soda

Spring Harvest Bloody Mary (scroll down to see a home version)
Deep Eddy Vodka, Bloody Revolution Bloody Mary Mix, pickled and fresh house veggies, fresh garden herbs

Bee Stung FarmStock Sour
Whistle Pig FarmStock Rye Whiskey, charred Meyer lemon sour, local honey, cayenne pepper

Non-Alcoholic Beverages include:

Hibiscus Lemonade

Fresh Herbed Agua Fresca
Mint, lime, and cucumber

Want to try more? We still have VIP tickets available. We’re almost sold out, though, so act fast. Among the many perks you get are two more cocktails to try:

El Betabel
Beet-infused Herradura, fresh ginger, lime, agave and chili powder

Coffee-Infused Old Fashioned
Woodford, Old Forester, coffee-infused agave, mole and angostura bitters

Ready to buy those tickets? General tickets including all food and five drink tickets for adults 21 and over are $95 for adults, $30 for children ages 5 to 16 and free for ages 4 and under. A VIP experience is available for $130 and includes access to on-site parking, a unique dessert experience and a private lounge with a bar serving premium cocktails. A portion of the proceeds benefits I’ll Have What She’s Having, whose mission is to support women's health initiatives.

Lone Star Bloody Mary (Inspired by our Spring Harvest Bloody Mary )

12 oz Deep Eddy Original Vodka

24 oz Bloody Revolution Smoked Habanero Mix

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. pickle juice from pepperoncini bottle

kosher salt to rim glasses

1 lime sliced into wheels

pepperoncini, cherry tomatos, dill fronds, pickled green beans for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a tall pitcher. Fill with ice and let the pitcher rest while you prepare your garnishes and salt your glasses. Run a lime wheel around the edge of 4-6 glasses and dip into the salt. Take a cocktail pick and skewer two pickled green beans, a halved cherry tomato, and a pepperoncini (then repeat so that you have one for each glass). Give your pitcher a good long stir to combine. Take to the table and pour from the pitcher into your prepared glasses and garnish with your veggie skewers and top with a little dill frond. Share with friends over brunch.