It is January 28, 2014, and Olympia goes wild for the taste of prohibition period cocktails. This taste, merged with the authentic ambiance of a refurbished historic bank, creates an immediate relationship with a certain time and place. An era that we often tend to romanticize has come alive again. Dillinger’s Cocktails & Kitchen has successfully rejuvenated this period by keeping an aspect of our history current and relatable with reinvented classic drinks and reliable service.
During the first few months Dillinger’s was open, the business experienced a high demand for crafty, harmonious, historic cocktails. As the saying goes “If you build it, they will come in thirsty masses…” was a quick realization. The idea of expanding the speakeasy was in fruition long before Burial Grounds moved to their new location. Owners Sandy Hall and Lela Cross have been working fast to put in an additional bar next door in the old Burial Grounds location. The new bar will be an attachment to the existing space at Dillinger’s but features a new individual focus, rum.
When it comes to drinking rum, one might automatically imagine a carved out pineapple or coconut drink, on a cruise to a white sandy island. There is more to rum though. Sugar cane is very malleable in the right environment and can produce different flavor profiles that shine through in the finished product. “Just as wine has terroir, different rums carry many flavors of the islands,” Sandy says.
Although there are not many facilities to distill rum in the Pacific Northwest, Bar Manager Donnie Drake says they do have the capabilities of barrel aging it at Dillinger’s. Their methods for aging rum simply consist of taking a light rum and letting it age in various rum barrels. They have refined their skills with aging and have created barrel aged cocktails in the past.
Rum cocktails have been dramatically reinvented in the past 15 years and is now truly a staple of society, especially in areas such as Seattle and Portland. Drake explains that this phenomenon is referred to as the “Tiki Boom,” thanks to Portland Bartender Jeffery Morgenthaler. Drake is focused on making an “Ode to Rum” by pulling out “old hidden cocktails to make approachable for modern tastes,” he says. The end goal is to produce a mixture that resembles early century Havana, Cuba rum culture.
This new bar will be a beautiful embellishment to the Olympia speakeasy community. Lela is “excited to be a part of a supportive community with a passionate staff,” a strong team that is focused on craft cocktails and the history of how they came to be. The community’s reaction towards the Dillinger’s opening in 2014 was welcoming and enthusiastic. The same excitement rumbles around town as history pleasantly repeats itself. Samantha, a steadfast regular since the opening, remarks Dillinger’s as being a good meeting place for the “great ambiance and great food.” Bar regular Terry says he frequents Dillinger’s for their “great cocktails, and friendly service. It’s a place that when you come in they make you feel at home.”
Whether it is celebratory toasts, after work drinks, or solo sipping at the bar, Dillinger’s provides a drink for every occasion. As Bartender/Server Jason Webber puts it, “There is no right or wrong way to make a cocktail, as long as you like it.”
Along with rum, the new bar plans to gear toward authentic Cuban cuisine with small plates and entrees available. Their expected opening date is the first week of October, just in time for Fall Arts Walk. This space plans on offering the festive option of private parties and can act as a meeting or banquet room.
Whichever poison tickles the fancy more, gin or rum, the Dillinger’s family is certain to keep the atmosphere of the early 20th century alive and well with fine spirits, savory morsels, and beautiful moments with great people.
Dillinger’s Cocktails & Kitchen is located at 404 Washington Street SE in downtown Olympia.
