Little Gem | 630 Weaver Dairy Road, Chapel Hill
“I‘m making a Porchlight, which is a remix of the Manhattan,” says Paul Finn. We’re at Little Gem, the new craft cocktail bar in Chapel Hill that Finn co-owns with Beau Catering’s Lauren Erickson Bennett. Tucked behind barbecue bastion The Pig, in the suburbs along Weaver Dairy Road, it opened in August. The barroom is long, narrow, and alluringly indigo, the decor favoring soft purples and blue neon accents.
Crushed ice sparkles in a coupe glass as Finn pours elixirs into a shaker. “We’re starting with some Old Grand-Dad bourbon, and then some Byrrh, a quinquina similar to sweet vermouth,” he explains while a vintage rhythm-and-blues LP revolves on a turntable behind him. “Then a little bit of Meletti Amaro, which adds a bitter caramel note that blends nicely.”
Instead of a bottle of Angostura, he picks up a long pipette. “This is where we really depart from the Manhattan, with the Hellfire habanero shrub bitters, which gives a tasty heat to it on the back palate.” He ices the shaker, stirs, strains, and then fills the chilled coupe, oiling the rim with an orange twist.
I sip. The scene goes dark as my eyes involuntarily close. The complex sweetness and spicy bitters tell a story, and the aromatic Byrrh opens through it like a flower. All the elements of the Manhattan are there, transformed and reharmonized. It’s almost like having my favorite tipple for the first time.
As Little Gem’s lead bartender, Finn has created an alchemical menu that’s grounded in American cocktails and European aperitifs but takes flight in flavors from around the world—agave and yuzu and tropical rum. The generous use of vermouth, amaro, and fortified wine lends smoky, savory, herby layers to 18 drinks, divided equally among “Originals,” “Covers,” and “Remixes.” The flip side of the menu has a nice selection of beer and wine, but that’s not why we’re here.
One drink called the Nassau Moon—a mellow rum concoction with spiced pear liqueur, cinnamon syrup, and allspice bitters—is created by bartender Brie Lotz, a nod to The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B.” At the other extreme, the Corpse Paint Reviver is a black-metal twist on the Corpse Reviver No. 2, that classic pre-Prohibition hangover cure. “The aquavit is similar to gin but more caraway than juniper,” says Finn. He chose all Scandinavian-style spirits, garnished with an upside-down cross cut from an orange peel and a single drop of his “Death Tincture,” a blazing blend of peppers and coriander.
Musical thinking comes naturally to Finn, who plays in indie bands like The Kingsbury Manx and Evening Pines. His cocktail career pre–Little Gem began and ended at Lantern, where he was a burgeoning bartender in the 2000s before returning as an experienced bar manager in the 2020s. In between was a stint in New York and nine years in Austin, where he helped to open the popular bar Garage.
Finn came home with a vision for his own place, but he couldn’t find anything affordable in Triangle downtowns. But after working at Lantern, he had a side gig at Beau Catering, next to The Pig. When Bennett decided to take over the space recently vacated by The Pig’s back bar, the Little Gem dream was reborn. Through this neighborly arrangement, Beau Catering also provides the bar with “Sound Bites,” which include house-made chips with caramelized shallot dip, jalapeño pimento cheese, and banana cream pie.
“In Austin, I had the realization that whatever creativity I was putting into music, it was the same with cocktails,” Finn says. “You’re working, you’re slammed, and people are watching you. It’s a performance when it’s busy, like playing a rock show.”
His philosophy of cocktails is identical to his philosophy of music. He builds his drinks like chords, stacking harmonies and dissonances into meaningful equilibria. Annie Vedder, the other bartender working tonight, testifies that Finn trains his staff to shake cocktails in time with “Sympathy for the Devil,” the trick that first unlocked the rhythm for him.
“You don’t want a mush of ingredients where you can’t pick anything out,” Finn says, meaning both spirits and songs. “You want there to be multiple layers to it, with bass, treble, and midrange, a beginning and an end.”
This design is evident in the two other drinks I try. The Five-Day Weekend, which balances tequila and mezcal with citrus, ginger, and a chili liqueur, is like a sunny autumn day glinting in a glass. And the unforgettable Ohm’s Law is a milky cloud of Japanese whisky, almond syrup, and umami bitters floating around a block of ice; it tastes like mild Scotch and crème fraîche and clean snow, and I might order it again even before that transcendent Porchlight. But there is so much more to try (the martini has four vermouths for only 13 bucks), and such soulful, exacting offerings make Little Gem a libation destination worth the drive.
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