INTEL: LONE WOLF GOES BACK TO ITS RUM ROOTS IN A RETURN TO FUSCHIA TIKI
In a series of Instagram posts, Anton Kinloch paved the way for some changes at his cocktail bar, Lone Wolf, in Kingston. The rum educator and his wife, Lisa, previously owned Fuschia Tiki in New Paltz, a tiki bar concept the pair have kept alive in Fuschia Tiki at Lone Wolf every Sunday.
In recent months, Lone Wolf has leaned further into its rum drinks + Lisa’s Cambodian heritage with a tight menu and monthly yahon (hot pot) Sunday. In a leading post, Anton alluded to big changes starting August 12. He told The Dishing what people can expect. — SDP
Bar owner Anton Kinloch is returning to his rum and Fuschia Tiki roots with a resurrection of his former New Paltz bar within the Lone Wolf space.
Lone Wolf 240 Foxhall Ave, Kingston, NY | Visit
SDP: You're making some big changes at Lone Wolf. You’ve teased the change, but can you tell us what’s happening on Aug 12?
AK: I decided it was best to fold Fuchsia Tiki into Lone Wolf full-time. No more "tiki only on Sundays and something else the rest of the week." As of this week, it's a cocktail bar with one identity and one menu. Fifteen drinks, built around an in-depth theme: You're moving from the surface down to the wreck, structurally, not just thematically. I think I also hit a breaking point, emotionally and mentally, where I was just tired of apologizing for existing by trying to appeal to everyone in the neighborhood.
SDP: You have had Fuchsia Tiki at Lone Wolf every Sunday to keep your original bar concept alive. Why make the change permanent?
AK: For three years I tried to prove I was more than “tiki, rum education and tropical cocktails." I delivered an award-winning craft cocktail bar with a program that was technique-driven & education-forward, but it strayed too far from its original vision.
I made the mistake of listening to well-meaning people who told me what my space "should" have or didn’t have: Not enough food choices, so I added entrées instead of bar snacks; a bigger whiskey selection, a larger wine selection, more and more things that just did not fit the identity of the brand my wife and I had built. I was capitulating to advice from people who thought they were helping, and in that moment where I lost my nerve, I folded. Soon most of the Google reviews strongly suggested that we were a “restaurant” and not a “cocktail bar” no matter what we did to downplay the miscategorization.
Tiki Sundays were there to keep the memory of Fuchsia alive. But even then, every weekend I'd get people annoyed that we didn't offer the regular menu, upset we wouldn't modify a cocktail or swap the rum for something else. Some would just get up and leave entirely because we weren’t what they were expecting.
Ultimately, this comes down to wanting to cater to the people who loved Fuchsia, who love tiki and rum as a legitimate category. I'm the best version of myself when I'm sharing what I actually love, not making myself smaller to appease everyone else.
SDP: I know you're a seasoned rum educator. Is rum finally getting its due respect?
AK: It's moving in the right direction, but not enough to make the average whiskey drinker put down the Old Forester and grab a Foursquare.
Rum's still stuck with the "summer spirit" or "cheap mixer" stigma. Most people who say they don't like rum have just never had good rum; same as whiskey, tequila, brandy, or any other spirit. Every category has exceptional bottles and producers and terrible representations too. Writing off an entire category over one bad experience or one brand is narrow-minded.
The only thing that actually shifts that attitude is one-on-one, bartender to guest, figuring out not just what someone likes, but what brands, what style, spirit-forward or light and refreshing. Rum doesn't have far to go to be a premium spirit. It just needs enough people who care enough to treat it like one.
SDP: You're the only bar or restaurant offering Cambodian food in the Hudson Valley. Will that change?
AK: The menu stays put for now. Showcasing my wife's heritage matters to me because there's never been real representation of Cambodian food or culture in the Hudson Valley, and for three years the authenticity of what we serve got compromised to be more broadly appealing to everyone who wasn’t familiar with fish sauce, fermented fish paste or kroeung. If anything, it's becoming more central, not less. I'd rather we not be the only ones doing this. Some competition would be a compliment.
Ok, Anton. Thanks for for clueing us in and honestly we’re super happy that you’re leaning into the rum world you love. We’ll be there for the famous Anton Kinloch’s Zombie that received national press.
Read our full tastemaker interview with Anton here.
