With a sun-drenched sitting area on one end and a dimly lit den of couches on the other, a long bar stretching between them like a center of gravity, Wild Culture’s taproom is an accommodating space for anyone interested in sipping a good drink in a cozy space.

Wild Culture opened its downtown location at 210 N Linn St. in 2019.  It has been serving customers at the Iowa City Farmers’ Market since 2016, though, when its original owners began brewing kombucha, a roughly three-week fermented type of tea high in probiotics.

Since current owner Kyle Crossett and his partner took over Wild Culture in 2020, Crossett has been expanding the drink menu beyond kombucha to other beverages, including coffee and cocktail classics with a twist.

“We try and use a lot of local produce, whether it be herbs or spices, things like that, in our cocktail menu,” Crossett said. “And that kind of changes semi-seasonally. We don’t necessarily have a whole seasonal flip, but we’ll rotate through four to five cocktails.”

In a demonstration for The Daily Iowan, Crossett made three cocktails, one of which is a fan-favorite called “Double Vision.” The delicious gin drink is inspired by a “Green Eyes” cocktail Crossett first encountered in Seattle.

Creating the “Double Vision” was a lesson in chemistry as Crossett filled a mixer with ice, pours of lime juice and Strega, a slightly sweet dry gin, egg whites, and orange bitters. After shaking the mixer with skillful style, he strained the concoction of its ice and shook it again to make the egg whites as fluffy as possible.

Crossett presented the light yellow drink in an Old Fashioned glass with two ice cubes, a layer of froth settled across its surface. He spritzed it with absinthe and topped it off with a slice of dried lime, a Luxardo cherry, and a silver skull skewer.

The texture of the egg whites in my first sip of “Double Vision” warmly introduced the drink’s citrusy taste, enhanced by the sweet notes of black licorice from the absinthe. The gin, perfectly balanced by its fellow ingredients, offered contrasting herbal flavors, mint and fennel being most apparent.

The second cocktail Crossett made was “All Choked Up.” For this daiquiri-inspired drink, he combined ounces of Italian liqueur Amaro Montenegro and artichoke liqueur Cynar with lemon juice and a dash of saline solution for a salty finish.

“A traditional daiquiri should be very well-balanced between sweetness and bitterness and citrus,” Crossett said. “We just kind of wanted to do a fun, little twist on it.”

Served in a coupe glass, “All Choked Up” is a harmony of fruity and herbal flavors. Hints of orange, vanilla, and even plum in every sip coupled with its maroon-colored appearance make this drink, in my eyes, a perfect autumn pairing.

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Wild Culture is also ambitious with its nonalcoholic drinks, presenting several mocktail reimaginings of menu items.  One such mocktail is the “Beast of Burden,” which is a cocktail typically made with bourbon and the taproom’s Ginger Hibiscus kombucha.

Instead of using a nonalcoholic spirit substitute, Crossett simply removed the bourbon from his ingredients. He filled a Moscow Mule mug with ice, homemade kombucha, lime juice and club soda, slipping a slice of dried lime on top.

Reminiscent of ginger beer, the “Beast of Burden” is elevated by its infusion of lime and sweet hibiscus undertones to produce a refreshing and botanical beverage.

With their drink menu expanding, Crossett added that Wild Culture will eventually look to expand its food menu items as well. The menu currently consists of light platters to complement customers’ kombucha and cocktail experiences.

Crossett explained how grateful he is for his staff and the supportive community Wild Culture is privileged to be a part of.

“We’ve got a really good, really strong staff that is dedicated to hospitality and giving people a great experience,” Crossett said. “Whether it’s donations or doing fundraisers or just working with different organizations, I love that we have this and that we’re able to positively impact this community. Iowa City is great for us.”