Fort Defiance's Abigail Gullo On Vodka-Love and Being a 12-Year-Old Bartender

Lush Life Productions

Abigail Gullo

Vodka's comeback in serious bartending circles is something we've been hearing about for some time. Now, Fort Defiance jumps on the bandwagon with a new vodka drink that's nothing to sneeze at. Bartender Abigail Gullo reveals just how it came to be.

Tell us about this vodka drink on the menu.

St. John Frizell, our owner and head barkeep, was asked to participate in an Edible Manhattan event with Comb Vodka, which is a locally produced vodka up in Port Chester, New York, that is made from pure honey. It's only distilled twice so you still get a lot of great honey flavor out of it. We infused it with some Darjeeling tea and added a little Benedictine, a little lemon, and topped it with prosecco, and named it the King Bee. It was so good and so popular we decided to put it on the menu.

So, this Comb Vodka isn't one of those multi-distilled products branded as "pure"?

It's a new product. They make a gin and are working on a brandy. Calling it vodka is a misnomer because it's only distilled twice and still retains a lot of flavor. The new micro-spirits that are coming out vodkas -- like Heart of the Hudson Vodka, which is also only distilled twice so you still get a great deal of apple off that -- are quite beautiful, actually.

Do you think products like this are going to save vodka's reputation among serious bartenders?

I think anything that is brewed in small batches will always give bartenders like us a pause. They're so different, especially when you're creating new cocktails. Sometimes that little difference in flavor can make a big difference in the cocktail you're working on.

Are there any other trends in drinking that you're excited about these days?

I'm continually excited about tequila and mezcal. I had the honor of visiting Oaxaca last year and some small, tiny village where they make beautiful mezcal. I even got to be up to my armpits in fermented agave and tapping down the back of a batch of mezcal, so it was really exciting to me to be a part of the process.

How did you get into bartending?

My grandfather taught me how to make a Manhattan when I was 12. I was always obsessed with classic cocktails and wondered why nobody really drank them anymore. When I moved to New York it was the beginning of the cocktail craze. I used to go to the Rainbow Room and order $10 martinis, which seemed like a lot at the time.