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Diana Rammel has fulfilled her dreams with the opening of Social Bourbon Bar at 112 N. Wayne St. in downtown Fort Recovery.
FORT RECOVERY - For years, Curt and Diana Rammel would take to the highway in search of the next bourbon bar.
"We are empty nesters," Diana Rammel told The Daily Standard, noting she and her husband have four adult children. "My husband and I were traveling a lot, and we always kind of migrated toward these kind of places, and even if we weren't traveling, we would sit at home and go, 'Well, where can we go this weekend?' And sometimes it was an hour and a half away to The Bourbon Affair in Findlay, which is one of my most favorite places."
Not only did she find the high-quality bourbons appealing but also the atmosphere of the bars themselves.
"I think I was the initial bourbon connoisseur. I had my first old fashioned, probably … five or six years ago, and I had no clue what it was and instantly was in love," Rammel recalled. "And I just like these atmospheres, the quiet jazz, the dark, serene atmospheres."
Their bourbon sojourns also tended to conjure positive memories of her bartending days at Meinerding's Restaurant, which her aunt owned.
"I just told my husband, 'Why can't we have this?'" Rammel said.
The decor, lighting, jazz and blues music playing from the sound system, and overall aesthetic together create a sophisticated, laid-back welcoming atmosphere for friends to get together to bond over drinks.
That was the genesis moment for what would become Social Bourbon Bar, which Rammel calls "a rustic bourbon-focused cocktail lounge where handcrafted drinks, rich local charm, and great company come together in a cozy, quiet setting."
The Rammels found an ideal location for Social Bourbon Bar at 112 N. Wayne St. in downtown Fort Recovery. It's a historic building constructed in 1880 and owned by Fort Recovery Mayor David Kaup.
The building over the years was used as a general store, dry goods store with lodge rooms, a hardware store, a stove company and a department store. It was last home to Mays TV, which operated for 43 years, specializing in televisions and commercial radios, according to a plaque on the outside of the building.
A historical marker outside 112 N. Wayne Street in Fort Recovery recounts the building's history.
"So it's just been sitting empty and every time I'd walk by, I was just like, 'I feel so much potential here, so much originality with the ceilings, the walls, the floors, that I really wanted to keep," she said.
In February 2024, Rammel reached out to Kaup about her vision of launching Fort Recovery's very own bourbon bar.
"I presented him with my idea and he loved it and said, 'Let's do it,'" she said. "I just wanted it to be unique to the area. Nobody else has anything like this, and I want it to be a place where people can come and enjoy a good cocktail."
Over two years later, after removing most of the plaster and all of the carpeting, the building has been fully revamped, boasting garage door-style windows, exposed brick walls, church pews, leather couches, chairs, tables, a custom-made bar and original wood flooring.
"Dave swears that he sees the holes from boot spurs from the 1800s," Rammel said.
The decor, lighting, jazz and blues music playing from the sound system, and overall aesthetic together create a sophisticated, laid-back welcoming atmosphere for friends to get together to bond over drinks.
The mezzanine has been transformed into a sitting room and the ceiling retains its original tiles. The decor, furniture, minimal lighting, jazz and blues music playing from the sound system and overall aesthetic together create a sophisticated, laid-back welcoming atmosphere for friends to get together and bond over drinks.
"It's almost perfect, almost perfect," she said. "Every time I walk in here, I'm just in awe. And I think to myself, 'I really made this happen.'"
The Rammels poured themselves into crafting a cocktail menu that places a premium on quality drinks with broad appeal.
"I've been practicing at my own house for several years. I had some girls nights and we'd come over and we'd all practice and test our drinks and it's been a fun couple of years," she said. "(I've been) taking pictures of menus everywhere I go - and I think that's where I got this list. The drink list was all the most common drinks that I see out there."
And there's quite a few options to choose from as the menu currently stands at nearly 20 cocktails, running the gamut from the classic Manhattan, cosmopolitan and margarita, to the colorful purple rain, blueberry lemon drop martini and Malibu sunset.
The menu stands at nearly 20 cocktails, from the classic Manhattan, cosmopolitan and margarita, to the colorful purple rain, blueberry lemon drop martini and Malibu sunset.
"I just wanted to bring the best of the best drinks that are out there and make sure they are consistent in how I make them and that they're good," she said. "It's very important to me."
For the inexperienced, Rammel said she's happy to help them navigate the menu of cocktails.
"I usually ask them, 'What kind of things do you like? What have you had before that you've liked?'" she said. "If they're looking for something sweet, I'm going to probably stick towards the Malibu rum, pineapple juice-type thing. If they want the bourbon, then it's going to be an old fashioned, a Manhattan or a boulevardier."
One of her favorite suggestions is the gimlet, consisting of gin, lime juice and simple syrup.
"It's a very refreshing, like sweet sour lemonade you would want to get in the summer, and who doesn't like lemonade, right? So that's always a good start."
Social Bourbon Bar, however, isn't just about cocktails. It serves wine and beer, including Tangerine Wheat, Samuel Adams Summer Ale, Shiner Bock, Kona Big Wave, Elysian Space Dust IPA and Mango Cart on tap and domestic beers in bottles. There's also seltzers and cider.
The bar has a small kitchen capable of churning out bread with dipping sauce, jalapeño cheddar sourdough pretzel bites with queso, brie and mozzarella bites with marinara, cream cheese filled crepe rolls, Italian sub tub salad and charcuterie.
"Just something to keep food in their bellies when they're drinking alcohol," Rammel said.
Social Bourbon Bar held its grand opening on July 16 to great fanfare, attracting people from throughout Mercer County and Portland, Indiana.
"They just loved the atmosphere, loved the drinks," she said.
It's open 3-11 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Rammel said she plans to later book musical acts.
"Eventually, I'm going to open on Sundays for football," Rammel noted. "I would like to do some trivia nights, too, and I'll definitely do some bourbon tasting nights. I'm thinking about doing those on Wednesday nights."
