Keeping up with the King of Cocktails in Rhode Island
Legendary bartender Dale DeGroff shares his craft at The Café in Westerly.
Dale DeGroff participates in a cocktail series at The Café in Westerly, which serves his spirits brand. Photography by Angel Tucker
Home to a high density of dining and drinking options in a walkable downtown area, Westerly has become a hub for Rhode Islanders looking to enjoy a night out.
Westerly, says “King of Cocktails” Dale DeGroff, is “a town that’s changed dramatically because it’s become kind of a resort destination all of a sudden.”
And with those changes come new places like The Café, which evolved alongside the restoration of the United Theatre and an emerging cocktail scene. The restaurant serves New England-influenced classics alongside a sophisticated cocktail menu.
DeGroff is author of the book The Craft of the Cocktail and the updated The New Craft of the Cocktail.
DeGroff is a regular fixture at the bar and part of The Café’s story. The bartender and author grew up in Rhode Island and returned to the area after serving as the original chief bartender at the famed Rainbow Room in New York City. He’s penned two best-selling cocktail books and now has his own spirits brand, including DeGroff Bitter Apertivo and New World Amaro, which are on the shelf and in the drinks at The Café.
DeGroff is part of The Café’s ongoing Cocktail Hour at The Café series. Every month, usually on the second Tuesday, he’s there in an ongoing hands-on cocktail series. His classes fill up quickly and include expert instruction on crafting cocktails like Old Fashioneds, Manhattans and espresso martinis, as well as a welcome drink and some light bites.
Great cocktails at The Café were a priority from the get-go, explains Stephen Corrigan, the restaurant’s director of operations and general manager.
“Part of a real focus was the bar and the beverage program, cocktails being at the front end of that,” he says.
The program focuses on classic structures, using modern techniques, premium products and creativity. “We’re doing things at The Café that guests simply won’t find at other places,” he says, “from made-in-house vermouths to crystal clear, artisan-made ice.”
The Dipper’s Sipper is a love letter to South County, made with soupy-washed bourbon. Soupy — the locally beloved, dry-cured pork sausage — is rendered down and infused into the bourbon, giving it a clarified, lightly spicy and smoky flavor that is balanced with demerara, a brown sugar, and bitters.
Every tender behind the bar can tell the story of how this drink, and all the others on the menu, are created.
The Café, 3 Canal St., Westerly, 357-0300, thecaferi.com
