I never went to Spuyten Duyvil much. Oh, I had nothing against the Williamsburg bar. In fact, I respected the hell out of it as a pioneering craft beer bar that paved the way for many others. But, since I write mainly about cocktails and spirits—and Spuyten Duyvil had neither—it was never a destination bar for me.
That situation is going to change.
In one of the more interesting business pivots the pandemic has begat, Spuyten Duyvil is now an amaro and vermouth bar. For proof, just look at the facade, which never had a sign. It now has the words “Amaro” and “Vermouth” painted above the door. Inside, the chalkboard that once featured the beers on offer is gone. It has been replaced by shelving lined with more than one hundred kinds of amari, both foreign and domestic, as well as some vintage offerings. The draft system includes both white and red vermouth, as well as sherry and orange wine.
And, for the first time in the 18-year history of the bar, Spuyten Duyvil has a cocktail list! It includes classic aperitivo-style cocktails like the Bicicletta and Aperol Spritz, as well as originals like Sensa Spritz (dry vermouth Aveze, cucumber lime) and Fernet About It (fernet, red vermouth, cherry bitters, cherry garnish).
There is even a house fernet, the Czech-made R. Jelinek, which is dispensed chilled via a repurposed Jägermeister machine.
Owner Joe Carroll said that he knew he wanted to change things up at Spuyten even before Covid shut all his businesses down in March of 2020.
“For the 18-year period I’ve been doing this, the entire beer world has changed not once, but probably two or three times,” said Carroll. “It’s a different world from when we opened in ’03. In ’03, if was difficult to get enough domestic craft beer from anywhere in this country. Our focus at that time was imported—Belgian, French, German, Dutch.
“When we opened,” he continued, “we served an important function in the craft beer world. We carried stuff you couldn’t find. That was our bread and butter forever.”
But then the rest of the world caught up to Spuyten Duyvil. More craft beer bars opened. Restaurants began to serve artisanal brews. Even the humble corner delis got in on the game.
“We’re at a place today where our entire role, our function is useless,” said Carroll. “There is no need for a destination craft beer spot the way there was. Beer is everywhere. Every bodega has an incredible selection. At the same time, all the cool shit we used to get doesn’t leave the breweries anymore. The breweries sell all that stuff at the breweries.”
Carroll used to have a special relationship with Grimm to carry and sell their beers. Now Grimm Artisanal Ales has a brick-and-mortar spot on Metropolitan Avenue, just a few blocks down from Spuyten. The same goes for Evil Twin Brewing, another company whose products beer geeks would go out of their way to find and sample.
The Covid shutdown afforded Carroll the time to press reset on Spuyten. He shopped around and put together a large collection of amaro from Italy, France, Germany, the United States and elsewhere. There are sections on the menu dedicated to fernet, gentian liqueurs like Suze, Americanos, anise liqueurs like sambuca and anisettes, and amaretto. All are served in two-ounce pours. The most expensive is a 1967 Fernet Branca, which goes for $67 a pour.
So far, Carroll has managed to keep his beer-loving regulars, while attracting some newer patrons.
“They are a little thrown by it at first,” Carroll said of his regulars. “They get the obsessive quality of having all the amaros. It’s very similar to what we did with beer.” Diners who eat at Carroll’s restaurant St. Anselm next door now sometimes stop by Spuyten afterward for a digestif.
As for the new signage outside, that was just something Carroll finally got around to after 18 years. “We planned on having a sign” in 2003, he said. “We just ran out of money. Then it became a non-issue. For some people, it was a kind of a cool thing.”
Odds and Ends
Don’t sleep on the smoked trout tartare with nori chips at Grand Army. It’s fantastic… Gumbo Bros., the tiny and dependably good Brooklyn dispenser of New Orleans grub, including gumbo and po’ boys, has closed up its location on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn… Mercado Central, a new boutique that carries a wide variety of foodstuffs from Spain, including various tinned fish, olives, hams, cheeses and olive oils, has opened in Carroll Gardens… The Cream City Cocktail bar has opened inside Miller Stadium, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. It is located on the Loge Level near the right field foul pole. The cocktail bar features drinks with local spirits, such as a Wisconsin Brandy Old-Fashioned and the Sidecar, each made with local brandy… North Carolina has another Gary Crunkleton bar! The Crunkleton, a longtime Chapel Hill favorite, will join Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow development. It will open this fall. The third Crunkleton location is in Charlotte.
I brake for Amaro and Vermouth! Or is it, I break with Amaro and Vermouth?