By Dina Novarr–
Some cocktails are simply drinks; you snap a picture, cheers, and sip. At The Barrel Room in San Francisco, there is one that carries a story deeper than most: “The Lost King in the Woods.” It arrives at your table, not just as a crafted libation, but as a memory, an elegy, and a quiet crown raised to a woman who built a home, a groundbreaking beverage program, and is now no longer here.
Sarah Trubnick, the owner and heart of The Barrel Room, passed away earlier this year after a quiet fight with cancer. To call her the “leader” understates her role; she wasn’t steering the ship—she was the ship, the sails, the current, and the harbor. Manuel Hewitt, a candid leader, the one who always did the quiet steering of the ship, is now the lone captain. He in a way was always the secret captain with Sarah’s mast shining as bright as her personality, but Manny quietly guiding The Barrel Room out of storms and onto calm waters. Manny said, “She had such a big personality that bordered on intense perfection—you know, she would do everything to get the results that she needed. When she left, we weren’t sure whether the place could go on.” And yet it has, like a forest that grows back after fire.
The Lost King in the Woods is a cocktail that embodies that resilience. There’s bourbon at its base, sturdy and grounding, but it wanders off into unexpected flavors: pine liqueur, charred rosemary, a hint of blackberry smoke. It tastes like memory and persistence, like walking deeper into the trees and finding, against expectation, a lighted path. It doesn’t erase the grief. But it doesn’t let it drown you, either. Manny fondly remembers Sarah as “an unstoppable force of a human being, who had a vision and had a sight to get things done and would do whatever it took to make that happen. We are still here today, I am still here today, because maybe some of that resilience over time from working with her has strengthened me.”
When you sit at The Barrel Room today, the walls still whisper with her curiosity. A glance at the retail shelf tells you so much about her curious mind; there isn’t a land unrepresented. The staff will tell you her favorite winemakers, vintages, and grapes. Sarah had a knack for pairing unlikely ingredients and was also knighted by the Association of Port Wine Companies (AEVP). She was truly drawn into the wines that made it into the “bible” and the wines that were going to be the future of the world of wine.
But it was her most ambitious project that perhaps best captured both her vision and the challenges it created. She was the first in the world to drive a beverage program based on all domestic wines, winning her awards for innovative thinking and curation. Her “America Only” program was an echo of her beliefs: good wine was driven through multiple generations of trials in many other lands before good wine was made in America. Americans learned from the best, and that knowledge came from overseas.
“She had this incredibly ambitious program serving all of these obscure wines from all over the United States,” Manny reflects. The concept was groundbreaking, but it created an unexpected problem. Training staff was hard. Manny didn’t have the wine knowledge necessary to speak about these wines, and neither did their general management. “We really needed her there to lead this concept,” Manny explains.
He continues, “However we did carry great wines like Boundary Breaks from Michigan and Ravines Wines Cellars from the Finger Lakes in New York City. I understood how cool it was. I understood how ambitious it was. I understood how it’s something that’s worth talking about.” And then the awards and recognition started to come in again.
Sarah’s ambitious vision created a void that felt impossible to fill. Her coaching, training, and knowledge that was breathing into her program was the heart of The Barrel Room. “After she passed away, I found myself struggling to pull the wine program together under the weight of her absence,” Manny admits. The complexity of her all-American concept, while groundbreaking, had become unsustainable without her expertise to guide it. So, Manny made a decision that honors both Sarah’s pioneering spirit and his own capabilities: “I wanted to honor Sarah’s presence as a prominent female member of the local wine industry. I shifted our wine program to focus on female-led and produced wine to honor my dear friend and business partner. I feel that this is a concept that keeps her memory alive and I know she would be proud of.”
It’s a pivot that makes sense. “I know what wines Sarah loved and I have been able to apply the knowledge that she imparted onto me over the last 11 years of working closely alongside her.” Moving forward with this focus, Manny feels confident he can accomplish something meaningful, curating a great list while slowly trying new things and bringing in new wines. It’s Sarah’s curiosity and commitment to excellence, channeled through a lens, which allow The Barrel Room to continue thriving.
Maybe this is where the story of The Lost King in the Woods finds its path back home. Sarah blazed the trail, not just for American wine, but for Manny to find his own way of leading. And John Lloyd, who crafted cocktails from day one and created drinks that capture the essence of what The Barrel Room could become, maybe he’s the poet The Barrel Room always needed, the one who makes the cocktails jive with the new vision that’s emerging. The king was lost; but the throne is occupied by a new leader.
And when they set The Lost King in the Woods in front of you, they’ll also hand you an invitation: to be part of the future, to raise your glass, not only in sorrow, but also in gratitude.
In the end, the drink isn’t just about Sarah. It’s about all of us who have lost someone who mattered—a mentor, a parent, a friend—and found that the story doesn’t end. It shifts and takes on a new shape. The forest grows, changed perhaps, but still magnificent.
Order the cocktail. Say her name. And let the bittersweet alchemy remind you: even a lost king can leave a thriving kingdom behind. https://www.barrelroomsf.com/
The Lost King in the Woods
1 oz Redwood Empire Lost Monarch Bourbon
1 oz whatever Douglas fir liqueur you sold me
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz Cabernet Sauvignon Syrup (see recipe)
1 oz egg white
3 dashes black lemon bitters
Small rosemary sprig
Shake bourbon, liqueur, lemon juice, and syrup once with ice, and strain. Add egg white and shake again. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass, garnish with black lemon bitters, a drop of Cabernet Sauvignon Syrup, and a small rosemary sprig.
Cabernet Sauvignon Syrup
One 750 ml bottle of cabernet sauvignon
2 cups granulated sugar
Place cab bottle contents in a pan over medium-high heat and reduce by two-thirds to a half-liter, or to just over two cups. Then, whisk in 2 cups of sugar while still hot and slightly thicken before chilling.
San Francisco-based Dina Novarr enjoys sharing her passion for fine wines, spirits, non-alcoholic craft beverages, and more with others.
Cocktails with Dina
Published on September 25, 2025
Recent Comments