Aviation Cocktail Recipe
Aviation Cocktail
Ingredients:
3oz Gin
1oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1oz Lemon Juice
Maraschino Cherries
Makes 2 Servings
The Aviation is a classic cocktail dating back to the prohibition era. In simple terms, it is a gin daiquiri, but when you look a little deeper you will see there is more to be uncovered. Luxardo is a major player in the flavor department. The full bodied cherry sweetness that the cordial offers is essential in making this cocktail approachable. Without it, you could expect flavors of pine and juniper from the gin accompanied by a floral astringency. The aroma and floral flavors come from the elusive creme de violette. Not easily found, this deep purple liqueur is made from the violet flower presenting both in color, aroma and flavor.
Building this cocktail is easy!:
Add the gin, Luxardo, and lemon juice to a shaker tin and add ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds or until ice forms on the outside of the shaker tin.
Using a hawthorne and tea strainer, double strain into a martini or coupe glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel or maraschino cherry.
Arrange + Sip: A Floral Arranging and Cocktail Making Workshop Series
We are so excited to be presenting to the community our workshop series, Arrange + Sip! Arrange + Sip is a series of traveling workshops where you will be taught our crafts: floral design and mixology. The floral classes present an array of workshops which include fresh and dried flowers, terrariums, and more. All the while you will learn hard skills, make some friends, and get to take home the design you had worked on! When it comes to cocktails, you will learn how to make three unique drinks at your very own bar station. That’s right! We will provide all the tools and recipes necessary for you to try your hand at making a proper beverage.
You can learn more about our upcoming workshops on our website under the events tab. We look forward to meeting you and teaching our craft!
Where It All Began: Frank's Story
My name is Frank Riley and I am one of the co-owners of Stone Garden. Stone Garden is a waterfront event space located in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. My wife, Kristen and I have been living and loving this historic family property since 2013. Our intention never was to reinvent the old family farm into an event space, but to reside and garden as we finished our graduate studies and professional training. Even after we got married on the farm in 2015 we continued forth in our careers, not considering going off on our own in the hospitality industry.
After a few years of managing a high volume restaurant, I decided it was not for me. Not because I did not like the job. I always did like the rush of running around and problem solving, but having all of the responsibility and making less than our servers can wear down on any man. I gave my notice and moved on, frankly, without a plan. I scrambled and got myself a job bartending at another popular restaurant in a neighboring town. This was the first time I took on the job title of bartender.
I instantly got hooked on mixing up new concoctions, but I wanted more. I soon found myself searching for the best cocktail bar that I could find and submitted an application. It happened to be a 3 hour round trip commute, but it would be worth it. I emailed them on the off chance they had a position and three months later I got a response and an interview. I again transitioned to another well regarded establishment, but this time I would be challenged. I was challenged to learn more about bartending, spirits, wine, and food. Despite the commute I stayed behind that bar for several years. I learned a lot and it also afforded me the time and resources to start thinking about mine and Kristen’s future. I loved my job but I could not stay behind the bar forever. What were we going to do? What would we become?
I cannot remember exactly when we decided we should step into the wedding business, but I know it has to do with our friends and family. We had a pretty large wedding on the family farm and for many years our guests would tell us what a great experience they had and that we should consider hosting events. At some point we pulled the trigger, but it most certainly did not happen overnight. In fact it took years, but perseverance goes a long way. It helps that we had each other through all of the “No’s” and backbreaking labor that went into booking our first couple of events.
We have now grown into something special and quite rewarding offering new services and having a great team behind us. I am looking forward to nurturing our baby into a larger and more expansive brand as we continue to develop our flower farm and mobile bar service. For me, the best thing about this whole process has been becoming my own boss. In doing so I am constantly challenging myself, learning new skills, and feeding my creative side. I like creating new opportunities for our business to grow and going through every step along the way. My goal here is to capture that experience, as it is my passion and to share it with you all. So please enjoy the process as we document here at To Have & To Grow.
Yours Truly,
Frank Riley
Where It All Began: Kristen's Story
As a wedding planner, floral designer, venue owner and flower farmer, I find my days busy and fulfilled. I am very grateful that I am somehow lucky enough to spend my time doing the things that I genuinely enjoy. There were lots of arduous, long days and nights before I got to this point. While I don’t miss those days, they were eminent in making me the person I am today. They developed my character and gave me the experiences I needed to run my business successfully.
I grew up working in my father’s restaurant in central Massachusetts where my priorities were a little different. At the time I enjoyed arranging deep fried frog legs on a plate in shapes that resembled synchronized swimmers. When I was in high school, I had differing interests. I became a vegetarian and wanted to explore a field where I was surrounded by nature. For this reason, I took on an additional job.
My second job was at a place that I had always loved going to as a kid. It was packed to the gills with flowers. My favorite part was their woodsy display of shade grown plants, trees and shrubs. With decor sprinkled throughout, I felt like I was in a perfectly curated, mystical forest. Working at this garden center assured me that I do love working with flowers and plants. I love every aspect: tending, shaping, designing, seeding… I used to take home little stems that had fallen off of the plants. I would make mini bouquets to put in my bedroom. The vibrant colors of chrysanthemums and dahlias were the first to catch my attention.
I certainly enveloped the “work hard play hard” aspect at a young age, which I have since grown out of. I was very social. With my father’s restaurant in a different town, I had a wide range of friends. My parents were just as social, which left me with an empty house on the weekends. This is when I developed my affinity for party planning. It wasn’t until many years later that it proved to be a useful skill.
In the spring of 2008, I graduated and went off to Green Mountain College, where I received a degree in environmental studies with a focus on policy. In my time there, I found myself gravitating toward sustainable agriculture, more parties, and Frank Riley. At the age of 19, who would have known I would have my whole future in front of me? All of my interests had been unveiled and I just had to figure out how to make them all fit together.
I spent a summer interning at a community garden in Atlanta and catering weddings. For the rest of my time in college, I would continue to help build and maintain community gardens in my surrounding area. I also continued to build a beautiful relationship with my future husband, who was also interested in hospitality.
Frank and I settled in my family’s farmhouse in Westmoreland, NH in 2013. It was the perfect place for us as we love nature, and there is plenty of land. It allowed me to explore what I like to grow, and how to grow it. We started various landscaping projects on the property over the years, the first being our perennial garden, then our rose trellis, then our outdoor cocktail garden where an old barn used to be. While tending to the land during the day, we spent our evenings serving and behind the bar.
By 2021 I had worked at various restaurants interacting with a myriad of personalities. I found and accepted early on that because I was a young woman, there would be different rules for me. I will have to work a thousand times harder in order to “deserve” that lead role. If I get it, I will be questioned by all staff, sadly men and women. I have always just kept doing my job, because I was held to a different standard than my male colleagues, or my manager’s next side piece. I knew this industry wasn’t always (or ever, really) fair. I knew if I let it get to me, it would swallow me whole.
These jobs shaped me. It feels so good now, knowing that my husband and I have a business that we built together. It also feels good that we can employ young women who can feel valued for their hard work. In an industry that has such a way of making their talented employees feel dispensable, my husband and I aim to make our employees feel valued and appreciated. We work toward creating a safe working environment where we encourage our employees to put out their best efforts.
If I can give any advice, it would be to get your partying phase over when you are younger so you can stay laser focused on your goals. Never get distracted by the naysayers that will always be lurking in the shadows. In the words of the great Kandi Burress, “I rise above all the haters. It is beneath me.” Your true friends and supporters will be there, and that is all you need. When you do inevitably have that moment of self doubt, just go do that thing that makes you happy. For me, I go to my garden because the only thing that can happen in there is the growth of a beautiful flower.
A Proper Welcome
Hello, and welcome to To Have and To Grow, Stone Garden’s new blog! Being such a multifaceted company, we wanted to give you a resource that allows you to look a little closer into the details of Stone Garden and all of the services we offer.
I, Kristen Riley, plan weddings from start to finish. I am also a flower farmer and floral designer. My work is based out of our wedding venue, Stone Garden. My husband and business partner, Frank Riley, built the infrastructure of our venue from the ground up. He has patiently plugged away at building us multiple growing structures. He manages the mechanics of a wedding day. And just as impressively, he is the creator of our mixology bar program.
From this blog, you can expect to learn about a myriad of topics from the perspectives of Frank and I. To name a few:
Wedding planning
Floral design
Sustainable farming
Building projects
Mixology techniques
Cocktail recipes
Preferred Vendor Showcase
Upcoming public events (on and off site)
Frank and I are so excited to share our experiences with you. We hope that you will enjoy a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of Stone Garden.
Spoiler alert: not one day is the same.
Stone Garden Wedding Bouquet
Stone Garden Mixology Cocktail- “Aviation”
The beginning stages of our forested farm!
Stone Garden wedding venue