Devil Takes A Holiday

The name is a joke about a night off, and the room follows through — black walls, playful demonic artwork, low light and a music mix that keeps a small space lively. Devil Takes a Holiday opened on St Paul Street in downtown Burlington and quickly became the city's reference point for a certain kind of drink: made from scratch, a bit theatrical, and not remotely apologetic about it.

What earns it a place here is the atonements. That is the heading the bar prints over its alcohol-free drinks, and they are treated as a standing part of a rotating menu rather than as a request the bartender improvises against. Head Devil Taylor Watts and his staff build their own bases and flavours for them — the same house shrubs, syrups and infusions the alcoholic list draws on. His argument, made to Vermont Public, is that everything spirits can do you can do without them, which is a stronger claim than most bartenders will make out loud.

He has also shown the work. Demonstrating for the same broadcast, he built a cranberry shrub from equal parts cranberries, sugar and water with allspice and cinnamon, cut with an equal measure of apple cider vinegar, then finished it over ice with club soda or non-alcoholic sparkling wine, white cranberries, ginger and lime. The second was a hot buttered drink: dark brown sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder worked to the consistency of a sugar scrub, then hot water and marshmallows. Neither is a menu item — the list rotates, which is why no signature drinks are recorded in this entry — but both show the technique the atonements come out of.

The food is a short list of bar snacks with deviled eggs as the house specialty. Doors at 5pm most nights, 4pm on Friday and Saturday, and an unusual 2pm start on Sunday.