By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Apr 20, 2015 at 11:02 AM

The past 15 years have seen a cocktail Renaissance, a modern movement that has turned cocktails into a culinary art form.

Today the cocktail is celebrated at week-long conferences and festivals that draw thousands. And professional bartenders are emulating the great chefs by sourcing locally grown, fresh ingredients to create cocktails that are handcrafted, original and "food-friendly."

But, if you’ve never thought of cocktails as being a mechanism for health, think again.

Sprig + Spirit: Cocktails for Well-Being, a web site which launched earlier this month, aims to change the way Americans feel about craft cocktails. Divided between a Drinks Lab (which features creative cocktails) and a "superfoods" area in which readers can find information on specific ingredients, the attractive site also showcases whimsical animation by Madison-based Tom Cranley as well as plenty of recipes and fascinating reading.

A_Foraged Sour Cocktail by Sprig+Spirit from Tom Cranley on Vimeo.

It’s the brainchild of Andre and Tenaya Darlington, a brother and sister duo who have been eating and writing – both together and apart – for over a decade.

Andre is a Madison-based food/wine/cocktails writer whose level-headed and insightful writing keeps locals and tourists alike eager to eat and drink in Wisconsin’s capitol city. He currently writes a regular cocktail column for Isthmus, in addition to other writing projects.

Tenaya is a writer and educator who lives in Philadelphia and pens the popular cheese blog Madame Fromage. She is the author of "The Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese" (Running Press 2014), which may be the first cheese guide to suggest pairing cheese with cocktails

The two originally teamed up to write a book for Running Press called "Craft Cocktails from the Kitchen," due out in 2016. The book, which required a plethora of drink testing, writing and research, took its toll on both siblings. But, it also opened up a whole new way for them to think about drinking.

"After three months of testing cocktails every day, all we wanted to do was cleanse!" recalls Tenaya. "I went out and bought loads of ingredients for smoothies – chia seeds, maca powder, ground flax, bags of lemons, turmeric, you name it."

Naturally, when she got the ingredients home, the thought crossed her mind "can these things be used for a cocktail?" And, of course, the answer was yes.

The Hot Tumeric Fix was one of many cocktails now on the site, which reflect a respect for health-giving ingredients in combination with good quality spirits.

Intrigued, I caught up with the Darlingtons by email and asked them to tell me a bit more about the project.

OnMilwaukee.com: How did each of you get interested in the craft cocktail movement?

Andre Darlington: The ritual and theater of the cocktail hooked me at an early age, back when bars did not have printed menus, and part of being a knowledgeable person was choosing one's drink sight unseen. The modern movement itself coincided with my own maturing as a drinker, a very happy accident.  As attention to cocktail quality increased, I became an eager acolyte.

Tenaya Darlington:  Gin. Gin brought me in through the back door. I love botanicals and herbaceous flavors. When I discovered the gin martini, I wanted to go everywhere it took me. I also write about cheese professionally, and – in my cheese life – I’m always looking for new pairings. The freshness and vibrancy of craft cocktails pair surprisingly well with cheese, particularly  triple cremes and rustic pecorino.

OMC: You’re not bartenders, so what qualifies you to tackle a project like this?

AD:  We're lushes with writing problems!  But really, as food and drink journalists we've spent a lot of time and research living and breathing the cocktail world.  And, I have been known to get behind the stick – although I don't pretend to be a professional (that takes years of practice).

TD: We’ve spent a lot of time on bar stools together! Does that qualify?

We are everyday cocktailers, especially in the summer, so we’ve made cocktails for years – and like so many DIY drinkers today, we got swept up in the creativity of the craft wave. Disappointed with store-bought grenadine, we started to experiment with making our own, for example. As food writers, we’ve also had the fortune of spending a lot of time behind the scenes with chefs and bartenders, so we’ve had a quite a bit of late-night classroom instruction, you might say.

OMC: Is "healthy" the new direction of the craft cocktail movement? Is this a thing?

AD:  Spots like Rouge Tomate in New York, or a number of healthy lifestyle restaurants in Los Angeles, are probably where the emerging trend can be seen best. It's been bubbling along for a while now in low-proof and no-proof cocktails, and fueled by the juicing trend. But certainly early morning yoga practice at Tales of the Cocktail last year is an example of health-consciousness finding its way even into hardcore craft bartending culture. 

TD: Healthy drinks and superfood elixirs do seem to be shaking up the cocktail  scene, thanks to a host of factors – from Dr. Oz’s promotion of anti-aging cocktail regimes in mainstream culture, to Belvedere Vodka’s "mindful drinking" campaign in 2014, which included a health retreat for bartenders. There’s even a new "superfood cocktail bar" in London’s MyHotel (Chlesea) – it features organic spirits, cold-pressed juices, and superfoods.

OMC: Most people don’t necessarily think of imbibing in cocktails as "healthy." What do you say to them?

AD: ‘Tis true, there's definitely more of a mentality of detox to retox – or party, rinse, repeat.  But as the age of the early craft bartenders continues to creep up, there's a reckoning with what the implications of years of empty calorie drinks with lots of sugars has meant.  There is another way – we can use high quality spirits, rid our drinks of dyes and additives, lower the sugars or eliminate them completely, and even add nutrients and protein. 

TD: We say, come over later! Here’s the thing: if you’re going to imbibe, you might as well put as much thought into it as you put into your workout or your green smoothie or you Paleo bowl, right? Our approach is really to provide health-conscious options for cocktail enthusiasts – from suggesting quality brands to offering low-sugar and low-proof alternatives.

OMC: What’s been the most interesting thing you’ve discovered on your journey to creating Sprig & Spirit?

AD:  I'm finding myself falling in love with all sorts of herbs and ingredients that just weren't in my kitchen cabinets before with any regularity – like Tulsi (holy basil), or aloe. I had never fileted an aloe spike before, or had the slippery, snotty innards flying across the counter. There's nearly daily discovery outside my normal cooking and experimentation repertoire.

TD: An appreciation for the layered flavors in a well-made tiki drink. The original recipes often call for quality rums, spices, and fresh fruit. Some of them, like the Missionary’s Downfall, are basically a smoothie with spirited layers that are complex and refreshing.

OMC: There’s some pretty bizarre stuff on the site. Like bourbon infused with mushrooms.  Where did you get that idea?

AD: We wanted to infuse mushrooms into liquor, and I'd seen Matthew Biancaniello's Umami Manhattan- although mushroom infusions were a thing all around the country for a bit, and still pop up fairly often.  Earthy bourbon is a natural fit.  It's glorious – better even than infusing it with bacon, if that's believable. 

T: We are obsessed with breaking the third wall. We’re always texting each other curious ingredient challenges. The other day, I heard a podcast where Chef Dan Barber waxed on and on the beauty of garbanzo water (yes, the water that garbanzos have soaked in overnight) – I called Andre from my car and said, "garbanzo water!" and right away we started envisioning an earthy garbanzo water drink involving gin and sea salt.

OMC: What’s it like working with your brother/sister on a project like this?

AD:  What an unbelievably lucky twist of fate that both Tenaya and I ended up writing in the food and drink world!  It’s been a total blast!  We each have our different strengths that we can play to since the other is always there to keep pushing or pick up slack. 

TD: It’s been fun as hell! We’ve spent hours in google hangouts writing, shaking and stirring. We’re always in one another’s kitchen, virtually. Since we live 900 miles apart, we only see each other in person a couple of times a year, so this project has brought us closer than ever. And since we understand how the other person thinks, the projects move forward very quickly.

OMC: Moving forward, what part of this project are you most excited to tackle?

AD: I'm really thrilled at the idea of interacting with readers regarding our drinks – and bartenders.  The creative brainstorming is so thrilling. And we have upcoming events, like working with Eataly in Chicago for Negroni Week in June, which give us the opportunity to work with amazing people. 

TD: I’m excited to do another cocktail book! And I really want to get down and dirty with whey cocktails and nut milks.

OMC: What is your favorite cocktail so far?

AD:  I do love the Foraged Sour, the mushroom infused cocktail that our friend Tom Cranley animated so wonderfully. 

TD: I like texture, so I love the Chia-Politan. I’ve never been a fan of the original Cosmopolitan, but I love ours because it’s tart, effervescent, and full of these tiny chia balloons – it’s like a boozy bubble tea.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.