KEVIN CASTRO-VILLALBA REACHES NEW HEIGHTS WITH FOUR ROSES
SMALL-BATCH BOURBON
Words by Colleen McNally Arnett
Photos by Vlad Levine
Kevin Castro-Villalba’s bartender career is on a sky-high trajectory. A member of VinePair’s Best New Bartenders class of 2026, he has made a lasting mark on Philadelphia’s bar scene, especially its LGBTQ+ community. Now, after 12 years in the City of Brotherly Love, including his most recent stint leading the bar program at a French-Moroccan brasserie, he is ready to spread his wings. Next up is a move to Washington, D.C., where he’ll be taking on the role of general manager for one of North America's 50 Best Bars — a laid-back neighborhood favorite known for offering easy-drinking alternatives to some of the fussier options that abound in the country’s capitol. “I always feel like I’ve never lost my childish sense of whimsy,” Castro-Villalba says of the internal drive that keeps propelling him forward. “When I was younger, I could never stay still. I was always trying to learn the next thing — a new skill — and I feel like that’s always stayed with me.”
That sense of optimism, imagination, and confidence also shines through in his approach to hospitality and in the recipes he creates. So, when it comes to building a new whiskey cocktail, it’s no surprise he gravitated toward Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon. “I really have enjoyed the brand — their ethos and the product that they produce,” shares Castro-Villalba. Rooted in romance, Four Roses gets its name from a love story. As the lore goes, a Southern belle showed up to a grand ball wearing a corsage of roses as her way of accepting a marriage proposal from the distillery’s founder, Paul Jones, Jr.
With the ethereal name, Rosy Clouds, Castro-Villalba’s original concoction channels that hopeful, floating feeling of falling in love — whether with a new person or a new place.
Here’s how he makes it:
Rosy Clouds
Ingredients:
2 ounces Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
½ ounce Nonino Amaro
Spice Cloud
5 drops aromatic bitters
¼ ounce demerara syrup
Garnish: orange peel
Directions:
In a stirring tin, add Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, amaro, Demerara syrup, and aromatic bitters.
Add ice and stir until diluted for about 15 seconds.
Pour into a smoking vessel and add the SmokeTop above it.
Place the Spice Cloud mixture in the SmokeTop cocktail smoker and light it, watching as the smoke settles over the liquid in the vessel below.
Gently pour into a double Old Fashioned glass over a large rock ice cube.
Spice Cloud
Ingredients:
Pinch of whole cloves
Pinch of green cardamom
Pinch of dried rose petals
Pinch of dried rosemary
Directions:
In a mortar and pestle, place whole cloves, green cardamom, dried rose petals, and dried rosemary and grind until coarse.
Add the mix to a SmokeTop for smoking the Rosy Clouds cocktail.
5 drops aromatic bitters
¼ ounce demerara syrup
Garnish: orange peel
Castro-Villalba’s goal for this cocktail is to highlight the delicate flavors in the Four Roses Small Batch, including ripened red berries and dried spices. “The way I like to make my cocktails is in keeping respect for the product itself,” he says. It’s about enhancing the existing flavors instead of taking away from them. To accomplish this, he paired the spirit with the zesty orange and herbal taste of Nonino Amaro. The addition of demerara syrup complements the caramel on the bourbon’s nose.
“Rosy Clouds is a cocktail I’ve been thinking of for a couple of years,” Castro-Villalba shares. In his most recent role in Philly, he often played around with incorporating warm spices that are common in Moroccan cooking — such as cardamom and clove — into the drinks.
In this case, the mix of dehydrated botanicals, along with rosemary, is coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle, then added to a SmokeTop cocktail smoker and infused over the top of the drink. “I found the combination to be very flavorful and aromatic. When I incorporated the dried rose petals, it just gave it some roundness as well.”
The florality of the rose petals also prevents the bourbon notes from getting too lost in the smoky haze from the hickory wood chips. Instead of smoke that feels too dark and reminiscent of a meaty barbecue or campfire, the spiced cloud is vibrant and bright, enlivening the senses as it cascades over the amber-gold liquid. It’s kinda like seeing the world through rose-colored glasses!
The result is a finish that is smooth and pleasantly long, like the happiest of marriages.
x
Note: The recipe requires the use of a SmokeTop cocktail smoker to achieve the full effect
Pinch of dried rose petals
Pinch of dried rosemary
This article is sponsored by Four Roses Bourbon.