In just eight years, the dining options in Henderson have reached a depth and breadth probably unmatched in its history.
The downtown dining scene alone has expanded with the addition of cuisine ranging from Mexican to Mediterranean, Southern comfort to barbecue and specialty coffee, tea and shakes.
Within days will come the much-anticipated opening of Cap & Cork at 104 N. Water St. There, a little red brick structure that has been home to a series of small restaurants has been expanded — reconstructed, really — to a two-story cream-colored edifice that’s among the most striking downtown.
Its gastropub menu will include some familiar entries as well as some offerings unlike anything else available here.
But what will have whiskey lovers salivating is the unparalleled offering here of high-end and hard-to-find bourbon.
Cap & Cork is a venture of three couples: Brian and Justina McDaniel, owners of the Beverage Barn chain of liquor stores; Michael and Danielle Ervin; and Aaron and Heather Nelson. (Disclosure: the writer of this article is a co-host with Brian McDaniel and Aaron Nelson, along with Brent Bridges, of Distilled, the Bourbon Podcast.)
“In 2021 we were at the Handy Fest,” Brian McDaniel recalled. “This building was vacant, and I told Justina, half-joking, if it’s ever available for sale, I’d buy it and put a good bourbon bar here.”
When it did come on the market, “To convince her (Justina), I said we could bring in some partners to help us and have skin in the game,” Brian said. The Nelsons and Ervins had already done work with the McDaniels and bring with them some key skills.
“They needed someone to do food,” said Michael Ervin, who gained cooking experience in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at a farm-to-table restaurant and a steakhouse. He will serve as managing partner and executive chef.
What followed was a years-long process to build out the expansion designed by architect Tim Skinner. The Cap & Cork name is an homage to a former U.S. 41-North restaurant owned by Bill Hagan, whose sale of his North Green Street liquor store to the McDaniels helped them jump-start the Beverage Barn brand.
The restaurant’s menu pairs the conventional (steaks, chops, burgers and salads) with the unexpected (a bone marrow butter candle served on grilled bread as well as Kentucky poutine). The adventurous can request the three-course Chef’s Choice, with the option of a wine pairing.
“The average person in Henderson is more excited about another eating option than about the bourbon,” Ervin said.
“We think we will have phenomenal food available,” he said, though he describes the menu as “boujee bar food,” nothing “high-falutin.”
McDaniel’s original vision was of a bourbon bar, and that remains evident. The bar will feature the full Van Winkle line of long-aged whiskies; the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, one of the most elusive lineups in the business; and many expressions of Weller and Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. bourbons and ryes — in all some 194 whiskies, including bourbon, rye and Scotch.
Then, for the truly deep-pocketed, there is 20-year-old Double Eagle Very Rare and 25-year-old O.F.C. — bottles so rare as to be virtual unicorns. A pour from either bottle will cost $669.
“Some of these bottles, once drunk, are irreplaceable,” Ervin said. “It’s kind of an honor to be one of the only bars around to have them,” which explains the stratospheric price tag.
By comparison, he said, “The Wellers and Van Winkles will be priced to drink.”
Eight featured cocktails are on the menu, and the bar will also feature 14 draft beers on tap as well as about 50 different wines ranging from $20 to $140 a bottle, plus several alcohol-free wines, beers and mocktails.
Overall, “We want to give people an experience,” Ervin said, a sort of “dinner and a show.”
There will be a cigar room with a humidor from which enthusiasts can make purchases to either be smoked in the negative-pressure room (designed to keep smoke inside) or taken home.
Brian McDaniel said he expects Aaron Nelson will spend time behind the bar, especially in the summer and at night and on weekends, while Justina McDaniel and Danielle Ervin will serve as hostesses and Heather Nelson will work with Michael Ervin in the kitchen. In all, Cap & Cork is expected to employ 15 to 20 people.
Cap & Cork will seat about 100 in the two dining rooms downstairs and the bar upstairs, plus patio dining.
The opening date will be announced on social media. Occasional live music as well as special events are planned.
Hours will be 4-10 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (dark Tuesdays), 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. The website is capncorkhendo.com, and an OpenTable reservation system is being set up.
