Buzzed: Cocktail Flights are Trending

The cocktail inclined have all been there. You grab a seat at the local speakeasy, peruse the drink list and realize if you sipped every concoction that struck your fancy, it would be a long night (and most likely a rough morning). Enter the solution: cocktail flights. These two bars are serving up classics in approachable sample sizes.

Denmark on High

Manager Garry White wanted to serve a cocktail flight from the beginning, but it took him a few months to work out the logistics. He chose cocktails that could be batched ahead of time and garnished to order. The initial flight ($16) is made up of 1.5-ounce pours of four cocktails (the equivalent of two drinks). "I wanted it to be something that was introductory, a way to try four quintessential cocktails you probably couldn't get through in full size," he says. denmarkonhigh.com

The Barn at Rocky Fork Creek

The bourbon-centric Barn in Gahanna shows what a difference the base spirit can make with a trio of 2-ounce, barrel-aged Manhattans. For $15, you get the light and citrusy Tennessee with Jack Daniels, sweet vermouth and orange bitters; the spiced, slightly medicinal Kentucky with Bulleit bourbon, sweet vermouth and cherry bitters; and the herbaceous, more traditional George Dickel Rye Whiskey with sweet vermouth and old-fashioned bitters. thebarncolumbus.com

Makings of a Cocktail Flight at Denmark on High

Negroni: A lot of customers want to try a Negroni, White says, but don't want to be stuck with it if they find the Campari cocktail too bitter.

Aviation: To get the two-tone gradation, White drops a little Crème de Violette in the bottom of the glass first.

Manhattan: The cocktail is mixed and chilled in small batches, then garnished to order with a house cherry.

Sazerac: Before the cocktail's poured into the glass, White uses an atomizer to spritz absinthe in the bottom.

Sazerac: Before the cocktail's poured into the glass, White uses an atomizer to spritz absinthe in the bottom.