Summer Cocktails Jack Dusty

Kelly Crawford took his fascination with Ernest Hemingway and Key West culture behind the bar at Jack Dusty this season. Along with his team and the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota locale, Crawford whipped up a rum-focused cocktail menu with rich, creative twists.

“I’m a huge Hemingway fan and my whole inspiration behind this new menu is how he viewed the rum culture and the spirits industry. The menu design almost has a Hemingway’s-notebook type of feel,” says Crawford, who has been the lead bartender at Jack Dusty for six months. “We wanted to make a very rum-forward cocktail list, and to get back to being creative with barrel-aged cocktails.”

Jack Dusty boasts its own signature blends of spirits, and Crawford brought in new methods of preparation when he joined the team. Whenever he makes batches and infusions (whether jalapeño tequilas or fig vodkas), he uses the sous vide method, which results in a more consistent product in a shorter amount of time. The resulting cocktails are as packed with flavor as they are with universal appeal.

“Anyone from a 21-year-old kid to a 75-year-old seasoned drinker can find something on this menu,” Crawford says. “You’re not going to see anything like this at any other restaurant in Sarasota.”