68 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • AUGUST 2020
MAIN DISH
PORT IN A STORM CLASSIC SAILS ON By CJ ARLOTTA
TRADEWINDS BREWING COMPANY
NEW BREWS BREEZE IN
BY BERNIE KILKELLY
Opening a new craft brewery is stressful
enough when there’s not a pandemic
afoot, but veteran Long Island brewmaster
Duffy Griffiths was up to the
tall task.
A pioneer of craft brewing on LI,
Griffiths was the original head brewer
at John Harvard’s brewpub in Lake
Grove before launching Crooked
Ladder Brewing Company six years
ago and moving over to Greenport
Harbor Brewing a year after that. His
latest venture, Tradewinds Brewing
Company, debuted in June on West
Main Street in Riverhead in a space that
housed Crooked Ladder, which closed
last year.
“I’m excited to be back brewing on a
smaller scale and will be focusing on
making high-quality craft beers in a
wide range of styles,” says Griffiths.
Tradewinds took over the 7-barrel
brewing system previously used by
Crooked Ladder, which also includes
six 15-barrel fermenting tanks.
The new brewery, which is owned
by Griffiths’ wife Wendy and their
business partner and friend Kristi
Macdonald, aims to get involved with
brewery tours in Riverhead.
In addition to its taproom, beers from
Tradewinds will be available on tap at
neighboring Diggers Ales & Eats and in
cans at Duffy’s Deli in Jamesport, also
owned by Griffiths.
Griffiths says the initial beer lineup at
Tradewinds focused on summer seasonals
and IPAs, with offerings such as
Lilly light lager, No Paddle pilsner, Alsatian
Hefeweizen, and Breaking Tide
double IPA. Tradewinds also brewed
and canned The New Guy! IPA, a New
England-style hazy IPA that is being
offered online as part of the recent Craft
Aid festival to raise funds to support
North Fork breweries.
The opening of Tradewinds increases
the number of craft brewery taprooms
in Riverhead to five, with two more
under construction and planning to
open later this year. Twin Fork Beer
Co., founded by identical twins Dan and
Peter Chekijian in 2014, is working on a
new brewery and taproom on Raynor
Avenue. And brand new craft brewery
Peconic County Brewing is being built
on East Main Street by Jeff Schaeffer,
who named it for a long-ago proposal
for the five East End towns to secede
from Suffolk County.
The East End may not be its own county,
but Riverhead is looking more like the capital
of craft beer on LI, with Tradewinds
being the latest gust of momentum.
Tradewinds Brewing Company is located
at 70 W. Main St. in Riverhead. For more
info visit tradewindsbrewing.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher
of LIBeerGuide.com.
Tradewinds Brewing Company
opened in June.
While the dark ‘n’ stormy highball
cocktail is known for its simplicity, its
ingredients, even though there are only
a few, can still be adjusted to give the
imbiber something extra to talk about.
Tossing overboard the old adage that
loose lips sink ships is PORT Waterfront
Bar & Grill in Greenport, which
has tongues wagging with its take on
the drink first mixed in Bermuda after
World War I.
“PORT in a storm is a classically made
dark ‘n’ stormy,” says Alison Bavaro,
owner of PORT Waterfront Bar & Grill,
which offers a range of fresh seafood
and pub fare, wine, and cocktails. “A
longtime favorite of baymen, sailors,
and landlubbers alike, the drink pays
homage to the long and storied sailing
and fishing industries that make Greenport
so special. We renamed it PORT in a
storm as a play on words with the name
of the restaurant, and as a nod to that
special feeling you get when enjoying a
cocktail after a long day — after you've
‘survived the storm.’”
The base spirit in PORT in a storm is
Goslings Black Seal Dark Rum, the
key ingredient in any dark ‘n’ stormy.
But what gives this particular dark ‘n’
stormy its distinct taste is the brand of
ginger beer used.
“After much taste-testing and experimenting,
we concluded that Barritt's is
the best ginger beer for the cocktail,”
she says. “Fresh and spicy and not too
sweet. We top it with a thick wedge of
lime.”
She describes the cocktail as “classic,
refreshing; the spicy ginger beer leaves
your tongue tingling, but the dark rum
smooths out the edges.”
“This drink definitely packs a punch,”
Bavaro adds.
If imbibers are looking for something
familiar yet surprising, PORT in a
storm is only one of the many cocktails
to try at PORT Waterfront Bar & Grill
this summer.
“People who drink dark ‘n’ stormies
are fanatical and particular about the
cocktail,” she says. “We've been told
that ours is perfectly balanced and
uses the finest selection of ingredients.”
PORT Waterfront Bar & Grill is
located at 104 3rd St. in Greenport.
It can be reached at 631-333-2501 or
portbarandgrill.com
PORT in a storm is a fresh take on a
dark ‘n’ stormy.
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