Disclosure – This article was written from approximately March through the end of August. The long snapshot let me see Scotch & Soda’s ups and downs over the period.
Traveling extensively for work in manufacturing over the years, I’ve found myself in such enticing places as Danville, VA and Tulare, California. In my line of work, it’s not that you don’t find yourself in a major city like Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., it’s just that it’s a lot cheaper to buy a lot of space and pay someone in the upstate of South Carolina than it is to find offsets in costs for manufacturing in the boroughs of NYC. With the price of fuel being what it is, make it where you sell it just doesn’t hold as much water as back when the recession hit.
Despite my travels, I’ve somehow managed to avoid landing in Arkansas until recently.
I grew up in Albany, New York, and while it might not have been as cosmopolitan as those growing up in NYC, it also wasn’t the sprawling farmland and bucolic setting that city dwellers associate with the upstate. Even in our humble capital, if you were ask folks in Albany about Arkansas, you’d probably get some references to the Clintons or an impersonation of the guitar strings from deliverance. Combined with horror stories of a workshop gone wrong at my former employer (apparently Jonesboro in late June is kind of humid – which is like saying the ocean is sort of wet), I wasn’t in much of a hurry to get to Arkansas.
You can imagine my surprise when on a recent trip to Arkansas I found a dynamic cocktail bar slinging top tier cocktails at great prices.
How Would A Potential Top Tier Cocktail Bar End In Northwest Arkansas?
Before we get into the amazing cocktail program at Scotch & Soda in Bentonville, I’d like to take a moment to reflect that my new found appreciation of Arkansas has come with something of a set of warnings from pretty much everyone I’ve talked to in Bentonville. For those who aren’t aware, Bentonville is home to none other than Sam Walton’s baby, Walmart. In the late 90’s Walmart set an edict that if you wanted to do business with Walmart you were required to have an operating prescience in the Northwestern region of Arkansas. If you take a trip through the area, you’ll indeed see a hodgepodge of top tier companies, including Nestlé, P&G, and others. For this same reason, you’ll also see a lot of top tier sales and customer relationship management jobs in Northwest Arkansas.
All of this means that the population of the area has subsequently exploded and level of wealth in Northwest Arkansas is significantly different than in the rest of the state. As a result, you’ll run into a Walmart on what feels like every block, a large number of luxury cars, and traffic problems that you probably weren’t expecting in Arkansas. The city has quite literally overwhelmed its infrastructure with extensive growth that belies the recent past where dirt roads were still the norm. Something older residents, like the charming folks at the Museum of Walmart, still remember from these from their childhoods.
As great as Walmart is at pumping money into the immediate area, the general consensus holds that you’ll still run into that riff from deliverance in just 20-30 minutes in any direction from Bentonville.
Vague similarities to Baghdad’s green zone aside, the cocktail menu at Scotch & Soda was nothing short of surprising. Located in the vibes of main-street anywhere downtown Bentonville, Scotch & Soda’s unassuming façade gives way to a warm, richly wood clad space. True to their namesake, an extensive collection of scotches can be found across the back wall. A closer look reveals a surprisingly well-stocked set of ingredients – including Linie, Genepy, Giffard Pineapple, Borghetti and so many more
Scotch & Soda – The Cocktails
The program at Scotch and Soda features classics in addition to regular creations. There also are 2 cocktails typically on draft. Along the main bar is a station loaded with beautiful fresh citrus and garnishes, as well as a variety of house made syrups, tinctures, and freshly squeezed juices.
The drinks are both creative and delicious. On my first visit I enjoyed the Unicorn Isle – a mix of Drambuie, Fernet Branca, O.F.T.D., lime, cinnamon simple, Angostura Bitters, and Aztec Chocolate. Despite the aggressive set of flavors – the cocktail achieves balance and harmony served with crushed ice in a skull. It’s not just visually stunning though, the intricate mix of menthol and spice richly mixed over a brown sugar backbone with hints of chocolate dances across the palate in a lively and rich drink.
If dark, spicy, and rich isn’t quite your cup of tea, the Lucky Kitty might lift you up instead. Light and vibrant, sake, strawberries, and pineapple play gently with lemon. In the winter, when I first had the Lucky Kitty – it was like a blast of spring. A slightly vinous note plays across the mid palate as well, and gives it a fuller bodied middle.
When I originally wrote about Scotch & Soda, it would have ended here – but I had the fortune to pass back through in the summer and getting to try some drinks off their new menu. The Three Mile Island is a fun addition – well balanced between fruitiness, acidity, and earthy notes. The funk of rum pulls through on the end, and is an interesting end to a journey that starts with an absinthe like nose. The cinnamon and orgeat play their part too, adding lift with the banana.
Their use of black strap rum and cinnamon simple in there Jungle Bird on draft that night was also a pleasant surprise. The cinnamon and spice notes mingled perfectly with the bitterness of the Campari – accentuating the brown sugar and molasses notes. Pineapple levels the whole thing out.
The Duke was also nice, a balance of a smokey-lemon tinted nose. The rich, full body has a hint of dark fruit, but thrives on lemon, peat, and spice. The ending is peaty and lemony – but has a touch of sweetness.
The second visit was a bit like a sophomore album. There’s some good stuff going on, but it doesn’t quite capture the hype of the original. That said, if they have the ingredients – they’ll still take you on the journey from their past menus. If you’re in the Bentonville, Arkansas area, and fancy a drink – Scotch & Soda is definitely worth a visit
Scotch & Soda
121 W Central Ave, Bentonville, AR 72712
http://www.thescotchandsoda.com/
