Cocktail ‘revolution’ is happening on Hilton Head, and Vice.com is all over it

Local fans of Vice might have noticed a familiar face on there this past Sunday.

Clayton Rollison, chef/owner at Lucky Rooster Kitchen & Bar on Hilton Head Island, was featured on Munchies, the food section for the alternative arts and news site.

“A lot of people have reached out and have read it,” he said when I talked to him Monday morning.

Travel writer Ashlie Stevens was in town recently and talked to Rollison and bar manager Marea Reyes about the restaurant’s craft cocktails, which buck the trend of the island’s standard lineups.

“In a place better known for fried seafood and sugary slushie drinks, (Rollison has) forged ahead doing upscale American cuisine and, with the help of bar manager Marea Reyes, a really smart craft cocktail menu,” Stevens writes in “This Restaurant Is Bringing the Craft Cocktail Revolution to Hilton Head.”

Lucky Rooster opened in 2013, and for the past three years Rollison and his staff have worked hard to gain the trust of their regular local diners, with the hopes that the tourists would follow.

The restaurant, while visible from William Hilton Parkway, is in a strip mall between Long Cove and Palmetto Dunes. It is apart from the clusters of restaurants, often with a water view, that are familiar to visitors. As such, Rollison knew his restaurant had to represent a departure from what everyone else was doing, and it’s paying off.

Rollison attributes their success to a combination of “honest food and drink” and a staff of people who want to do more than make crab-stuffed flounder every night.

“When you do really cool stuff and treat people well ... and with a little bit of luck, you end up with some really great people,” he said. “Marea Reyes is a great example of that. She would not be working at our bar if we were slinging sour mix and canned OJ.”

For first-time craft cocktail drinkers, Rollison recommends starting with their Moscow Mule. The drink is simple but uses fresh ingredients: Pearl Vodka, lime juice and ginger beer that’s made in-house. Then maybe follow it up with the Juliet and Romeo, a concoction of vodka, Lillet Blanc, St. Germain and lemon juice.

“It’s really aromatic and nice,” he said.

As for the exposure on Vice, Rollison said he’s happy to reach new customers and to clear up any local misconceptions about what they’re doing at Lucky Rooster.

“We’re not cooking with some political agenda, and we’re not trying to educate people and show them how smart we are,” he said. “(The menu) is a collection from our experiences. Because it is a little different, I’m sure it will help validate what we’re doing and that we are who we are.”

The menu changes often at Lucky Rooster — it’s been tweaked 200 times since they opened — so go to the restaurant’s website for the latest version.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Cocktail ‘revolution’ is happening on Hilton Head, and Vice.com is all over it."