When Partners Ali Randall, Blake Posey and Alden Williams started brainstorming about an innovative cocktail bar to bring to the Magic City, it took finding the ideal business space for creativity to pique and “plant” the idea. Now, tucked into the beautiful historic neighborhood of Forest Park, we have Juniper, a gin-focused establishment that will, in the words of Ali, “offer both new cocktails as well as something you already love.”
“Everyone knows gin & tonics, but we’re introducing new iterations,” noted Ali and Blake, who met during the pandemic in 2020. Ali, originally from Las Vegas, said she wanted to bring elements of the city’s “immersive experiences” to Birmingham and create a bar with “funky and whimsical aspects.” Visitors to Juniper enjoy leisurely sipping inside the English-inspired courtyard, lush with various botanicals. As a nod to the ambience, many of the cocktails on the customized menu explore teas, florals and “layers building on a gin base.”
Food at Juniper is similarly creative, led by locally beloved Chef Thyme Randle, known as “Chef T.” Chef T crafts tantalizing options — including vegan dishes — and patrons can look forward to delicious dinner, snacks and desserts to pair with their libations, plus brunch on the weekends.
“Chef T has been at Bottle and Bone and other local places, and his approach to food is creative and interesting,” Ali commented. “He makes these amazing chicken wings, for example, and he doesn’t rely on fat for flavor.”
Yet another twist on a classic – and we’re here for it.
_________________________
Three Gin Cocktails, Courtesy of Juniper
Bengal Merchant
2 dash Xocaltil Mole Bitters
0.5 ounces matcha orgeat
0.75 ounces lemon
2 ounces Ford’s Gin
Ingredients are shaken, then single-strained into chilled coupe.
Stafford Dry
2 dash Reagan’s Orange Bitters
0.25 ounces Lillet Blanc
0.5 ounces Dolin Dry
2 ounces Oolong-Infused Plymouth gin
Ingredients are stirred, then strained into chilled Nick & Nora glass and given lemon twist garnish.
Hibiscus Pegu Club (Zagawar)
1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
0.5 ounces lime
0.75 ounces Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
2 oz Hibiscus-Infused Bombay Sapphire
Ingredients are shaken, then double-strained into chilled coupe and given a dehydrated lime or mint garnish.
For the Collins version in the photo, ingredients are shaken, then strained into a chilled Collins glass, then filled with ice, topped with soda and given a dehydrated lime garnish.