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Essex’s Red Medicine

Delancey’s love of all things housemade extends to the pizzeria’s new sibling cocktail bar.

Allecia Vermillion
Author: Allecia Vermillion
Less than 1 min.read

Bar Manager: Gary Abts
Essex 1421 NW 7oth St, Ballard, 206-838-1960; essexbarseattle.com

1. Garnish
Brandied cherries—made in house. “Anything we can create ourselves, we will attempt to.”

2. Rye
Old Overholt, aged in oak barrels for four months, to impart a woody flavor. 

3. Housemade Fernet
Abts and owner Brandon Pettit made “dozens and dozens” of trial versions of this herbal liqueur. They settled on a recipe that’s less minty and more chamomile-forward than the ubiquitous Fernet Branca.

4. Rhubarb
“It’s not necessarily a syrup; it’s a little heartier, a little thicker than that.”

5. Rachel’s Ginger Beer
The rye, fernet, and rhubarb are mixed, strained over ice into a Collins glass, and finished with this bracing ginger beer, previously produced next door at Delancey before outgrowing that kitchen.

Published in the Northwest Travel Awards issue of Seattle Met.




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Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion has spent a decade at Seattle Met, arriving as food and drink editor, and expanding her role over the years. She served as the magazine’s editor in chief until moving into a newly created executive editor role in 2021. She spearheads Seattle Met’s food and drink coverage and oversees home design content. Allecia’s writing has earned her multiple journalism awards and two James Beard Award nominations over the years. A native of Portland, Oregon, Allecia began her writing life as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs before making a grateful return to the Pacific Northwest. She has an English degree from Washington University (no, the one in St. Louis) and a masters in journalism from Northwestern University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.