Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

Tucked away on one of the many islands dotting Casco Bay is an intimate wedding venue known for raising the bar behind the bar. The Inn on Peaks Island, just a 15-minute ferry ride from Portland’s waterfront, mixes up signature cocktails your guests won’t soon forget.

Tapping into a trend toward more personalized reception refreshments, the inn’s distinct edge comes from its connection to an iconic Maine beverage company. Shipyard Brewing Co. owns the six-room inn, which is why you’ll see its popular Export Ale and many other microbrews on the menu.

But it’s the brewery’s line of sweet sodas that puts the pop in the inn’s two signature drinks. General manager and cocktail connoisseur Fred Hayman incorporates Shipyard’s selection of Capt’n Eli’s sodas into the Blueberry Hill, a fruity favorite among brides, and the more masculine Dark & Stormy, says events sales manager Amanda Conley.

To create the Blueberry Hill, Hayward pours 1.5 oz. of vanilla-flavored vodka into a 10 oz. flute, then adds Capt’n Eli’s blueberry soda. He tops it with fresh blueberries for a final Maine touch. The Dark & Stormy is a deceptively simple blend of Gosling’s dark rum and Capt’n Eli’s sweet and spicy ginger beer.

In addition to its two signature drinks, the inn works with couples to design a range of personalized cocktails. A recent bride served up mojitos, made with mint grown right on the property, to match her bridesmaids’ green gowns, Conley says. And for the under 21 crowd, the inn sets up soda stations featuring all of the Capt’n Eli’s flavors, from a refreshing orange to a tropical Parrot Punch.

We’ll raise a glass to that kind of cocktail creativity. Cheers!