Rhythm & Vine Debuts Locally Sourced Farm-to-Bar Cocktail Menu

Rhythm & Vine, located on a corner in Fort Lauderdale's developing Flagler Village, is one of Broward's leading outdoor bar spaces, drawing locals to hang and drink a few well-made cocktails without the fuss.

With colorful, street-style art covering the walls and picnic benches and lounge chairs scattered around the garden, the venue feels more like a friend's backyard than a traditional bar and entertainment space. But beyond the allure of a laid-back space stocked with brews and booze, Rhythm & Vine's rotating cocktail list is what keeps customers coming back.

For the summer, the bar is behind some of South Florida's healthiest cocktail mashups. The new menu, aptly described as "farm-to-bar," offers seven drinks ($12 each) made with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients such as hibiscus, passionfruit, grapefruit, rose water, and coconut ash.

"Rhythm & Vine has always promoted fresh-squeezed juices and ingredients in our menus," mixologist Avery Bradt says. "So, naturally, our cocktails are going to be better for you then using any premixed ingredient that has a shelf life longer that you wished it did. We are seeing that farm-to-bar is not only healthy and delicious but also a muse for creativity."

The bar's mixologists spent weeks taste-testing flavors from local markets, as well as crafting homemade syrups and juices. The result is a flavor-packed lineup with natural sugars and no artificial sweeteners or preservatives.

"We were inspired by the ingredients we found at the Yellow Green Farmers Market," Bradt says. "Florida has an incredible amount of exotic and delicious ingredients right in our backyard, so this menu embraces that."
Cocktails include the Garden Mule, made with cucumber, blackberry, mint, lime juice, ginger beer, and Kettle One vodka; Birds of Paradise, which uses vanilla, lime juice, kiwi, pineapple, rambutan, and Elyx Vodka; and the Mama Matcha, containing coconut, lemon, matcha, pineapple, pisco, aquafaba, and Rum Haven rum.

"The challenge is there are some ingredients that our guests may not recognize: for example, matcha or rambutan," Bradt says. "We encourage our guests to ask our bartenders questions. We work very hard to push the Fort Lauderdale cocktail scene a little bit every time we come out with a new menu."

Rhythm & Vine. 401 NE Fifth Ter., Fort Lauderdale; 954-533-3734; rhythm-vine.com. Wednesday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Thursday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., Sunday 2 to 10 p.m.