Old Virginia Cider
The People’s Drug
This cozy cocktail bar with casual fare opened in a former catering space last spring in Old Town Alexandria. Beverage Director Jon Schott embraces Virginia’s signature fruit with a warming combination of Applejack, dark rum and cava. Garnished with an apple chip, the effervescent cocktail welcomes the baking world in with an apple-agave sweetener flush with ginger, cloves and cardamom. // 103 N. Alfred St., Alexandria; thepeoplesdrug.com
2017 Arandell
Briede Family Vineyards
The Winchester winery opened its tasting room this summer and is serving a straight-varietal Arandell, a grape released in 2013 from the famed Cornell-Geneva Breeding and Genetics Program. Developed as disease-resistant, Arandell is well suited for the winery’s organic farming practices. The 2017 bottling, the premiere vintage, shows notes of blueberry and cedar, and good acidity for food pairings. Because of 2018’s wet weather, disease wiped out the entire Arandell crop. Next year the team will try again, and will also release a sparkling wine, currently fermenting at Veritas Vineyard & Winery in Afton. // 450 Green Spring Road, Winchester; thebriedefamilyvineyards.com
Sour Porter
Audacious Aleworks
With 20 rotating taps and no plans for distribution, beer seekers will have to go to the Little City’s Audacious Aleworks, opened in May, to try the chocolatey brown sour that’s unlike any of its lighter, fruit-forward peers. Brewer Mike Frizzell kettle soured a porter base (with a lactobacillus culture), resulting in a dark, malty beer with a sour’s signature bite and a higher ABV. // 110 E. Fairfax St., Falls Church; audaciousaleworks.com
Misugaru latte
Who Seek
In a complementary postscript to his mom’s no-dessert restaurant, Taste of Korea, Wan Bok Lee opened a sweets shop, Who Seek, next door. Beyond the snowflake, honey butter cube and bubble teas, there’s a misugaru latte. The traditional Korean powder—made with 20 different grains, plus nuts and beans, blended and sweetened with honey—is usually enjoyed cold in the summer. But when served warm with milk, it’s like sipping liquid oatmeal with a touch of vanilla in the foamy cap. // 13910 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Chantilly; iseekdessert.com
