From the Bar at Decade to Your Winter Table
Words by Ashley Locke
Recipes by Ethan Coonce
Winter has a way of slowing Louisville down just enough to savor it. The brick buildings glow a little warmer, the evenings stretch a little longer, and the city’s cocktail bars fill with people looking for something that feels festive. At Decade—recently named one of USA Today’s Best Restaurants of the Year—that feeling starts behind the bar.
Bar Manager Ethan Coonce has been with Decade since day one, shaping the kind of cocktail program that invites you in rather than showing off. Before this, he honed his craft at Proof on Main, learning the rhythm of hospitality and the thoughtful balance of a well-made drink. Now, in a space that feels equal parts neighborhood hangout and destination restaurant, he’s created two winter cocktails that check every box: crowd-pleasing, simple to batch, and built with ingredients you can actually find.
For the holidays, Ethan’s given each drink a seasonal twist—The Red Door (a festive riff on his Corpse Supplier) and Open Fire (a nod to the smoky warmth of Fuel and Fire). They don’t just taste like winter; somehow they feel like it, too: cozy, bright, and a little celebratory.
Whether you’re hosting a house full of people or just raising a glass with a few close friends, these recipes bring the spirit of Decade straight to your kitchen, no bartending pedigree required.
Recipes below.
The Red Door
¾ oz fresh lime juice
¾ oz shrub (a drinking vinegar, often fruit + vinegar + sugar)
¾ oz Cocchi Americano (aromatized wine/aperitif)
1 oz gin
Glass & Finish:
Absinthe-rinsed coupe (rinse the glass with a small splash of absinthe, dump the excess)
Lemon–cherry flag garnish (a lemon twist skewered with a cherry)
Open Fire
¾ oz fresh lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz Cynar (an Italian bitter artichoke liqueur)
¾ oz Ancho Reyes Verde (spicy green chile liqueur)
¾ oz mezcal
Glass & Garnish:
Half Tajín rim (only rim half the glass with Tajín seasoning)
Coupe glass (served “up” without ice)
