For our annual Drinking Issue, we chatted with a handful of Cincy bartenders and mixologists to pick their brains about which cocktail they make that’s their favorite and where else they drink when they aren’t at work.
Name: Molly Wellmann
Title: Owner of Wellmann’s Brands — Japp’s Since 1879, Myrtle’s Punch House, Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar — mixologist and author
Favorite Drink to Make: At Myrtle’s, I like to make punches that are seasonal and have history — some of these recipes date back 500 years and I like to bring them back to life. It’s all kind of what I fancy at that minute; that’s why I like to change the menu up a lot. I like this drink we have on now called Admiral Russell’s Punch. It’s brandy and lemon and sherry and it’s so good. It dates back to the 1690s and there’s this story of how Admiral Russell stopped off in this town in Spain and decided to throw a humungo party and they didn’t have a vessel big enough to make punch for 600 people, so they ended up using the fountain in the courtyard of the governor’s house. They made this huge punch and the fountain was big enough that they got this cabin boy and put him in a little boat to serve all the people punch. I keep thinking how fun it would be if Mayor Cranley would let me do that on Fountain Square.
Favorite Place to Drink After Work: I love Arnold’s — they have the best bourbon selection in downtown Cincinnati. There’s something about that bar, man. I love Arnold’s. I was also on the rooftop of The Phelps (recently) and had such a great time.
This article appears in Jun 13-20, 2018.