Dry Fly may have made its mark with its vodka. But their whiskey is where the local distillery truly flourishes. And when whiskey's good enough, you don't want a cocktail's cockiness to distract too much from its subtleties. The Old Fashioned at Anthony's in Coeur d'Alene and Melting Pot's classic Manhattan both use Dry Fly's Bourbon 101. (The Melting Pot also gives Dry Fly's gin its due, with a Vesper Martini featuring the Dry Fly Gin, Dry Fly vodka and a touch of Lillet Blanc.)
Meanwhile, Central Food's Blue Jay cocktail features Dry Fly Triticale Whiskey — among Dry Fly's best offerings — with Fernet-Branca and Angostura bitters.
Still in the mood for vodka? Warrior Liquor's vodka makes numerous cameos in Restaurant Week, including in the lime, orange and cranberry flavored Nancy's Cosmo at Durkin's.
There's an entire stampede of Moscow Mules at Restaurant Week this year. The Backyard Public House serves up Mary's Mule (including Warrior Blood Orange Vodka, agave nectar, muddled orange and basil and ginger beer). The Ref Sports Bar's Crisp Apple Mule combines apple and cinnamon vodka, lime juice and ginger beer.
And if you really want to get in the Inland Northwest mood, you need to infuse your drinking with a bit of huckleberry action. (Grizzlies do it. You should too.) Get a Huckleberry Lemon Drop at Beverly's or Luigi's Italian Restaurant; Huckleberry Moscow Mules at Longhorn Barbecue and Cedars Floating Restaurant; a Huckleberry Negroni at the Gilded Unicorn, and a vodka-spiked Huckleberry lemonade at the Dockside and Scratch. Remedy Kitchen and Tavern's "Fruit and Forest" cocktail mixes Warrior Huckleberry Vodka, with ginger simple syrup lemon and sage. The Clemson at the Backyard takes Huckleberry Vodka and adds Cointreau Liqueur, sweet and sour, and a splash of cranberry in a float of champagne.
Prefer your fruit with a bit of kick? Try the Spicy Gin-Berry at the Boiler Room, which stars serrano peppers and a huckleberry puree.
