Have you been to the small hotel with a wishing well and now a fabulous new bar helmed by today’s guest? I’m pretty certain that if Rogers and Hart had taken even one sip of any of the new cocktails, their famous song may have turned out very differently.

If you are a Sinatra fan, you might be aware of his rendition of the song There’s a Small Hotel written in the 1930s by Rogers and Hart for the musical On Your Toes.

This sweet ditty was inspired by Hart’s stay at the Stockton Inn in Stockton, New Jersey, a place also dear to my heart. My family has had a house nearby for the past 30 years. When new folks had acquired the inn, we held our breath.

Then I discovered Brian Miller was in charge of the bar, and I knew there was nothing to fear!

Brian is a veteran of the New York bar scene having worked in some of the most famous bars in the world like the Pegu Club and Death and Company.

He has a special penchant for tropical cocktails, which culminated in the creation of Tiki Mondays with Miller - a Polynesian & pirate-themed pop-up bar. And his own bar, The Polynesian, which was nominated for Best New American Bar at Tales of the Cocktail and recognized by Esquire Magazine as one of America’s Best Bars/

So how did this self-described pirate find himself in that small hotel with the wishing well in the woods of New Jersey?

You’ll have to listen in to find out.

Before we begin, you can always watch this episode on Youtube, plus all the other Lush Life episodes as well as a whole lot more; just head to youtube.com/@lushlifemanual.

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The cocktail of the week is the Jack Rose:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 dashes orange bitters
• ½ oz lime juice
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz grenadine
• ¼ oz cane syrup
• ¼ oz Jacoulot crème de framboise liqueur
• 1 oz Laird’s bonded apple brandy
• 1 oz Domaine de Montreuil “Selection” calvados

METHOD

• Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and add ice
• Shake until chilled
• Strain into a coupe glass

You’ll find this recipe and all the cocktails of the week at alushlifemanual.com, plus links to most of the ingredients.

Full Episode Details: https://alushlifemanual.com/stockton-inn-with-brian-miller

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