'Farm-To-Bar' Cocktail Festival Returns To Long Island City

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Farm-to-table cooking has already grown to become a staple of New York's culinary scene. Could "farm-to-bar" cocktails be next?

The organizers behind Long Island City's Secret Summer cocktail festival are betting on it. The swanky summer party returns to Queens on Aug. 4 for its fifth year serving up drinks that showcase local, seasonal ingredients.

"We call it vine-to-bottle," Andrew Merinoff, co-founder of Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur, told Patch at a festival preview on July 30.

The spirit, which hit the market last year, uses sustainably grown passion fruit from the Dominican Republic.

Merinoff mixed the liqueur with tequila blanco, turmeric honey, lemon juice and pineapple juice for a cocktail that drew Instagram influencers and food bloggers to his vibrant festival stand.

"I grew up drinking maracuya," Yadira Garcia, a chef who goes by Happy Healthy Latina, said. "This makes me want to tell their story, find out where the farm is."

Spirits brands combined everything from whiskey to grappa with produce from Brooklyn Grange Farm, Windfall Farm, Gotham Greens, Bowery Farming, Lucky Dog Farm and Lani's Farm — all in the tri-state area.

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"Secret Summer’s farm-to-bar program is our way of sharing and celebrating a lifestyle of wholeness, happiness and a passion for quality ingredients and experiences," event organizers said in a statement.

Secret Summer takes place at The Foundry in Long Island City on Sunday, Aug. 4. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.