From left: Will Abner and the bourbon root beer float. (Photographs by Jonathon Kohn; Brennan Wesley)

Last fall, Abner stepped behind the bar at SpringHouse and began to assemble a cocktail menu that reflects McDaniel’s rustic, highly seasonal cooking. "In Alabama, our liquor laws are really strict, so it’s hard to get these craft liqueurs, spirits, and bitters that people are using everywhere else," Abner says. "Since I started working with Rob, I’ve realized that we really don’t need those things. A drink can be about ingredients, just like a plate of food."

Following McDaniel into the woods and in the kitchen, Abner has learned to work sumac, sassafras, and pickled watermelon rinds into his cocktails. Behind the bar at SpringHouse, he builds drinks with a sense of economy that has become rare since the craft cocktail revolution began to spur bartenders to pursue ever more exotic flavors and elaborate techniques.

The bourbon root beer float at SpringHouse is a typically unpretentious drink that, until recently, consisted of two scoops of the pastry chef’s bourbon ice cream in a glass of store-bought root beer. Not so long ago, Abner decided that he wanted to make the soda from scratch, using sassafras root and a few familiar seasonings. "I knew the essence of root beer was in that sassafras," he says. "Rob helped me profile the rest of the flavors—and the color, too. The little bit of molasses in the recipe goes a long way." If you don’t want to make root beer from scratch, you can still use store-bought soda. Abita, from Louisiana, works nicely.

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Bourbon root beer float

2 ½ oz. root beer syrup
2 oz. bourbon, preferably Buffalo Trace
8 oz. sparkling water
2 scoops bourbon vanilla ice cream

Combine syrup, bourbon, and sparkling water. Mix thoroughly and pour over ice cream. 

Bourbon vanilla ice cream

2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups half-and-half
2 ½ oz. brown sugar
2 oz. white sugar
6 egg yolks
2 ½ oz. bourbon, preferably Buffalo Trace

Heat cream with half-and-half over medium-high heat until scalding. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, white sugar, and egg yolks. Slowly add the hot cream to the mixture, combine thoroughly, and then return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a spatula, until it coats the back of a spoon. Cool over an ice bath until thick, then add bourbon and freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Root beer syrup

3 oz. sassafras root
1 clove
1 star anise
1 tsp. coriander seeds
¼ cup molasses
2 drops wintergreen extract
6 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split but not scraped

Chop sassafras root into ½-inch pieces after removing the bark and rinsing thoroughly. Place sassafras, clove, star anise, and coriander into a heavy pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, and then add molasses and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, add wintergreen extract, and let rest for one hour. Then return to a simmer and add sugar and vanilla bean. Stir. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. For best results, strain a second time through a coffee filter. Store in the refrigerator.