Stone Fence

It’s been a busy year here at the Firewater Lounge, with Cindy and I taking second jobs and having our first high schooler running wildly to and fro, finding time to seriously sit down for cocktail hour with the Lounge Lizards has been pretty tough. But it’s Christmas, and we always find a way to give all the Lounge Lizards something liquid for Christmas. And hopefully, from our glass to yours, you will find a little cheer and love as well.

This year we were showered with gifts from the Jensen family who has been very good to us over the last year. From sharing their tremendously talented and intelligent daughters for more mock trial successes to helping Cindy get her photography into the Wisconsin Artist Showcase to helping with an emergency at one of my crime scenes, the Jensens were there.

The Jensens also sent a holiday basket of goodies to Cindy for some photography that she had shot, so we thought it apropos to share with everyone at the Firewater Lounge because, well, it’s Christmas.

Since the basket contained Martinelli sparkling cider, we choose one of the oldest cider cocktail recipes in American history, the Stone Fence. Tracing its rabble-rousing reputation to the draught which pre-fueled Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys’ victory at Fort Ticonderoga during the Revolutionary War in 1775, the Stone Fence has always been liquid courage in a glass. Potent, yet drinkable, the Stone Fence has always been 1 part whatever liquor you have, 2 parts cider (or hard cider if you are Ethan Allen) and bitters. We most often have them with bourbon; Allen would have used the more available rum.

We’d like to give you two Stone Fence recipes. The first is the classic rum variety; the second is a modern rendition from Black Twig Cider House in Durham, North Carolina. Enjoy. Thank the Jensens for the inspiration if you see them before we do, and, as always, have a Merry Christmas!

Stone Fence (Classic Pours Series)

1 part dark rum (we used Smith and Cross)

2 parts apple cider (we used Martinelli)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Pour rum and cider into a rocks glass filled with ice. Float the bitters on top of the drink to allow the drinker to decide whether they want to stir or drink through the bitters. When Stone Fences are garnished, it is usually with mint or freshly-grated nutmeg; since it’s Christmas time, we chose the nutmeg.

Black Twig Stone Fence

1 part gin (we used Vikre spruce)

2 parts apple cider (we used Martinelli)

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Same routine as a traditional Stone Fence. This time, though, the garnish is a clementine swath.

Fox Barrel Pear Cider

We haven’t reviewed hard cider in a few years so we grabbed a Fox Barrel from Viking Liquor up in Reedsburg. I was intrigued by the label since it declared that it was flavored similarly to a Belgian ale. Fermented by Belgian Wit yeast which is fed honey, Fox Barrel is also mixed with orange peel and coriander for complexity.

The pour is a pale yellow and noses a bit of yeast and a bit of honey, but mostly pear. I was expecting a sweet pear flavor, which I got upfront, but was surprised on the heavy tide of coriander on the finish. Honey is present throughout, although the finish almost makes Fox Barrel savory. The orange peel bitterness is lost; in fact, there isn’t much pf a trace of orange in it at all, which isn't a detriment since the lack of bitterness and acid allows for summer day-drinking last all day long without gut rot.

Now, it looks like Fox Barrel themselves are no longer. They have sold out to Crispin, so to try their version of this pear hard cider, you have to look for Lion Belge pear cider under the Crispin label.

As for a cocktail using this pear cider, try a shandy made with your favorite lager 1 to 1 with pear cider (known as a Snakebite). Or replace the pineapple juice with pear cider in a modified Pepper Pot. Recipe below.


Pepper Pot
Drinking Notes

5 ounces chilled pear hard cider
1 ounce amaretto
3-5 dashes Tabasco (or muddled Jalapeno)
splash freshly-squeezed lemon juice
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch curry powder

Pour all ingredients, except curry, into an iced highball glass. Stir gently. Top with curry if desired.