A spirited haunt lies in the heart of Colorado Springs
By Kristian DePue
The Vieux Carré cocktail is a post-Prohibition classic known as one of the “unforgettables,” first imbibed during the 1930s in The Big Easy. Its name is French for Old Square, referring to the French Quarter — the historic New Orleans neighborhood.
The creation of this herbal, slightly more complex Manhattan occurred at the Quarter’s famous Hotel Monteleone, which boasts a rich literary heritage of William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, all of whom knocked back a few at the bar.
Hey, Faulkner did say “civilization begins with distillation.”
The Vieux Carré is one of Lucas Frye’s favorite concoctions. Frye is the proprietor of Cork & Cask, a craft cocktail bar on the southern end of downtown Colorado Springs adorned with velvet chairs, warm, glowing chandeliers, and mysterious, macabre paintings by local artist Phil Lear. The eclectic mix is a touch otherworldly, much like the French Quarter.
With the historic trolley warehouse gutted, Joe Campana — a Colorado Springs restaurateur and Frye’s business partner — walked Lear through the space and described his vision as “Scooby Doo meets goth.”
“Picture stepping into the foyer of an abandoned, wealthy estate with centuries of surreal portraits and bizarre collections — creepier with every passing generation,” relays Lear. “I painted recollections of childhood nightmares and pictures you’d unearth in the attic of a Victorian mansion, portraits of the dead with eyes that follow you. I think my portion was to add to an almost suffocating amount of wall adornments, floor to rafters, which helps conjure the sensation of an era past.”
“I love chandeliers, so we went crazy on those,” adds Frye. “Joe (Campana) and I wanted something over-the-top. It’s like ‘The Addams Family’ meets ‘Penny Dreadful.’” Fittingly, Cork & Cask opened on Halloween 2018.
Out of college, Frye tended bar to make ends meet, working various venues including a six-year stint at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company — where he met Campana, Greg Howard, Matt Baumgartner and others successful in the Springs’ food and beverage scene. “The family tree from Phantom is impressive,” Frye says.
“Lucas Frye is a great manager — honest and dependable. He doesn’t sleep on the opportunity given him, and he’s extremely knowledgeable,” says Baumgartner, owner of the very popular cocktail lounge, Shame & Regret. “I admire Cork & Cask for their selection of rare whiskey. Cork has fine-tuned itself, carrying top shelf product.”
Frye admits that he’s a “whiskey guy,” and his posh lounge pours plenty from Centennial State distilleries: Stranahan’s, Old Elk, Laws, Woody Creek, Deerhammer and more.
“We serve 20-plus selections of Colorado whiskies, including Colorado Springs’ Axe and the Oak and 291,” says bar manager Leslie Bhattacharyya. “Our 291 selection includes all their limited releases and a special in-house pick of both a barrel-strength rye and bourbon. These picks were in partnership with podcaster and renowned whiskey critic Fred Minnick, and are available exclusively at Cork & Cask.”
Cork carries other Colorado spirits, such as Spring44 gin, Juniper Jones gin from The Family Jones and Peach Street’s pear brandy. Additionally, the bar serves varieties of beer from Colorado breweries: Dry Dock, Odell, Avery, Left Hand and Red Leg, to name a few.
“We have a large collection of wine and whiskey and stress the ability to make recommendations,” continues Bhattacharyya. “We pride ourselves on a high level of friendly and knowledgeable service. We want all our customers to feel comfortable, welcome and leave having really enjoyed their experience.”
The food menu consists of a shortlist of shareable selections, such as stuffed olives, a cheese board and a Bavarian pretzel served with Brie fondue and a house mustard.
“We wanted straightforward, easy finger food — simple, with an emphasis on quality,” says Frye. “The pretzels, hands down, get talked about more than anything, food-wise. It’s the biggest seller and from a local German bakery in Colorado Springs; it’s been here for years.”
When asked, Frye admits to the Bavarian pretzel and deviled egg flight being his personal favorites. Outside of deviled eggs and drinks, there’s another component of Cork & Cask that frequently gets praised.
“What I really like, and I’ve had this brought up several times: Cork is a place where people can have a conversation, even if the room is full,” says Frye. “The place can be 90 percent occupied and you can have a conversation without raising your voice. The acoustics turned out really well — and that’s underrated in terms of importance for establishments. Cork & Cask is very comfortable to have a drink — it’s nice, upscale, classy but not pretentious.”
When asked which Colorado whiskey he’d use to build a Vieux Carré, Frye answers: “Axe and the Oak’s rye, for sure, or Breckenridge’s bourbon. The recipe calls for rye whiskey, but Breck’s bourbon is a high rye-content bourbon — so Breck would work.”
Born and raised in rural Indiana, Kristian DePue works as a contributing writer. In addition to writing, he enjoys travel, watching films, and a good cocktail.
This article is in the May-June issue of our print magazine. Click here to read the full magazine online.