The Bear and Star’s The Greens, with muddled mint, cucumber, thyme sprig, green chartreuse, white rum, sparkling wine & lime juice. Courtesy photo.

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! by Leslie Dinaberg 

The Bear and Star in Los Olivos not only showcases excellent refined ranch cuisine, created primarily with ingredients from the 714-acre Fess Parker Ranch that’s just a few miles away, but the heirloom fruits, vegetables herbs and wildflowers have also inspired a creative new cocktail menu for spring.

The Bear and Star’s Herb Gin ‘n Tonic, with Cutler’s artisan gin, lime juice, simple syrup, quinine powder & seasonal fresh herbs from the garden. Courtesy photo.

The Spring Shandy is made with vodka, blonde beer, lemonade & lime juice.

The Herb Gin ‘n Tonic has Cutler’s Artisan Gin, lime juice, simple syrup, quinine powder & seasonal fresh herbs from the garden.

The Bear and Star’s The Revive, with yellow chartreuse, aperol, kumquat shrub, muddled strawberry & white wine. Courtesy photo.

The Revive is made with yellow chartreuse, aperol, kumquat shrub, muddled strawberries & white wine.

The Greens features muddled mint, cucumber, thyme sprig, green chartreuse, white rum, sparkling wine & lime juice.

Each of these hand-crafted cocktails are priced at $12 and available throughout the season.  

The Bear and Star’s Spring Shandy, with vodka, blonde beer, lemonade & lime juice. Courtesy photo.

“The bar at The Bear and Star focuses on crafting variations classic cocktails using the best seasonal ingredient available, many of which come from our farm just six miles away,” says General Manager Robert Williams. “And collaborating with our farmers is by far the most exciting aspect of what our bar program has to offer. We have only just begun.”

The Bear and Star is located at 2860 Grand Ave., Los Olivos at the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn.

Cheers!  Click here for more cocktail corner columns.