A dinner party spotlighting regional flavors was on the menu Aug. 7 for a Spruce Point Inn dinner party. The inn partnered with Blue Barren Distillery of Camden to host nearly 50 people at the Boothbay Harbor inn. Spruce Point Inn executive chef Rick Koplau and Blue Barren Distillery co-owner Andrew Stewart created a four course menu paired with appropriately matched gin products. 

“A lot of farmers, growers and ranchers have been negatively impacted by the virus so we reached out to Barren’s for promoting some regional flavors and the people who produce them,” Koplau said. 

The dinner party began with a 45-minute reception serving the first course of Damariscotta oysters with fennel pollen, smoked wild boar and a martini with Coastal Mountain gin. The first course included lobster from Atlantic Edge in Boothbay Harbor served with lemon grass and gaufrette along with a gin mojito. 

The second course was a summer truffle served with honey and buriata along with glendarragh and lavender collins. The third course was a short rib with a burgoo and sea biscuit and a gin and tonic. The fourth course was a mango sponge with a yogurt panna cotta, blueberry caviar and cashew crumble served with a rhubarb gimlet. 

This is Blue Barren’s second year as a distillery. In the first year, Blue Barren’s didn’t do much promotion outside the greater Camden area. But in year two, the distillery is looking to promote itself to a larger audience. “We have a strong local following, but we are looking to expand our reach, and tonight provides us a chance to break the bubble and introduce ourselves to a new audience,” Stewart said. 

This is the first of a series of Spruce Point Inn dinner parties. The inn is partnering with Three of Strong, a Portland rum distillery, on Aug. 29. Koplau said the next party will be larger and served on the inn’s outside deck with a maximum of 100 guests.