Local Tastes
Dismal Harmony Distilling
Morristown cocktail bar Dismal Harmony Distilling knows the art and science of a good drink.
By My Mo-Town Staff
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As a kid, Bob Dillon could often be found taking things apart and putting them back together to figure out how they worked. As an adult, that same curiosity—and a love of cocktails— led him to start tinkering with whiskey, bourbon, and other spirits.
“I’ve always been interested in how things are made,” he says. “It’s fascinating to me that whiskeys and bourbons come from the same grains you can also use to make bread.”
In 2017, he started experimenting in his basement with flavorings and techniques to distill his own bourbon and whiskey. “It was supposed to be just a hobby, but once I started getting into gin, too, we knew we had to do something bigger,” he says.
Something bigger meant Dismal Harmony Distilling, the Morristown cocktail bar and distillery that he opened in 2024 with his wife, Karen. And yes, almost everyone asks them about the name. Turns out that in addition to being poetic, it has local and sentimental ties. “The dismal harmony preserve is in Mendham, where we live,” Karen explains. “We just loved the dichotomy of the name, and we thought it was something people would remember.”
Back to the Belle Epoque
With its wood-paneled walls, rich carved moldings, and distinctly Belle Epoque vibe, Dismal Harmony is not your typical watering hole. This is a place where you sit and savor a cocktail. Each drink is dreamed up by mixologist and general manager Robby Seibert using Dismal Harmony’s spirits and liqueurs, all distilled on site. “We couldn’t have done this without him,” Bob says. “You cannot have a good cocktail bar without a good mixologist.”
Dismal Harmony offers six “base spirits”—malt whiskey, rum, gin, bourbon, agave spirit, and vodka—and seven flavored liqueurs, including the coffee-flavored Barista and Joe D’s limoncello. Seibert uses all of these to create cocktails like Rendezvous (made using Monk, pineapple, coconut, lime) and The Back Nine (Joe D’s limoncello, Dismal Harmony bourbon, peach tea, lemon juice, peach bitters). There are also standards like espresso martinis and margaritas, also created using Dismal Harmony products.
Award-Winning Liqueurs
Recently, one of Dismal Harmony’s most popular, and most original, liqueurs, Vidisha’s Masala, won Best in Show at the 2025 American Craft Spirits Competition. “Vidisha’s Masala has cumin and curry, but when you get into the background, you can start to detect a little cinnamon, a little bit of cloves,” Bob explains as his eyes light up. “It’s completely unique.” As Karen says, “It’s Indian food in a glass.”
Monk, the distillery’s Chartreuse, which features lemon balm, peppermint, and other herbs, roots, and botanicals, also won big, taking home a gold medal at the competition. Both wins were huge achievements for this small distillery; Bob describes the Vidisha’s Masala win as “the craft spirits equivalent of winning an Oscar.”
Their newest liqueur, Recado, is inspired by the spices of Yucatan cuisine. Translating those complex flavors into a liqueur was a challenging process, Bob says. “I started by trying some of the hotter chilis, and it was just undrinkable. It was way too spicy.” Of course, he enjoyed every second of tinkering with it until he got it just right.
RECIPE: THE GREEN
This silky cocktail, the brainchild of Dismal Harmony Distilling mixologist and general manager Robby Seibert, is refreshing, sweet, tropical, floral—and just a little bit caffeinated.
INGREDIENTS
• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1/4 oz Dismal Harmony Monk
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 oz pistachio orgeat
• 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
• egg white
INSTRUCTIONS
In a shaker tin, add syrup, matcha powder, lime juice, Monk, vodka, and egg white. Dry shake for 8-10 seconds. Add ice, shake for 8-10 seconds. Fine strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with matcha powder on the froth.
Dismal Harmony Distilling, located at 77 Morris St., is for guests 21 and over only. Open Tuesday through Sunday. dismalharmony.com
Photograph by Robby Seibert and Lauren Novotny
As a kid, Bob Dillon could often be found taking things apart and putting them back together to figure out how they worked. As an adult, that same curiosity—and a love of cocktails— led him to start tinkering with whiskey, bourbon, and other spirits.
“I’ve always been interested in how things are made,” he says. “It’s fascinating to me that whiskeys and bourbons come from the same grains you can also use to make bread.”
In 2017, he started experimenting in his basement with flavorings and techniques to distill his own bourbon and whiskey. “It was supposed to be just a hobby, but once I started getting into gin, too, we knew we had to do something bigger,” he says.
Something bigger meant Dismal Harmony Distilling, the Morristown cocktail bar and distillery that he opened in 2024 with his wife, Karen. And yes, almost everyone asks them about the name. Turns out that in addition to being poetic, it has local and sentimental ties. “The dismal harmony preserve is in Mendham, where we live,” Karen explains. “We just loved the dichotomy of the name, and we thought it was something people would remember.”
Back to the Belle Epoque
With its wood-paneled walls, rich carved moldings, and distinctly Belle Epoque vibe, Dismal Harmony is not your typical watering hole. This is a place where you sit and savor a cocktail. Each drink is dreamed up by mixologist and general manager Robby Seibert using Dismal Harmony’s spirits and liqueurs, all distilled on site. “We couldn’t have done this without him,” Bob says. “You cannot have a good cocktail bar without a good mixologist.”
Dismal Harmony offers six “base spirits”—malt whiskey, rum, gin, bourbon, agave spirit, and vodka—and seven flavored liqueurs, including the coffee-flavored Barista and Joe D’s limoncello. Seibert uses all of these to create cocktails like Rendezvous (made using Monk, pineapple, coconut, lime) and The Back Nine (Joe D’s limoncello, Dismal Harmony bourbon, peach tea, lemon juice, peach bitters). There are also standards like espresso martinis and margaritas, also created using Dismal Harmony products.
Award-Winning Liqueurs
Recently, one of Dismal Harmony’s most popular, and most original, liqueurs, Vidisha’s Masala, won Best in Show at the 2025 American Craft Spirits Competition. “Vidisha’s Masala has cumin and curry, but when you get into the background, you can start to detect a little cinnamon, a little bit of cloves,” Bob explains as his eyes light up. “It’s completely unique.” As Karen says, “It’s Indian food in a glass.”
Monk, the distillery’s Chartreuse, which features lemon balm, peppermint, and other herbs, roots, and botanicals, also won big, taking home a gold medal at the competition. Both wins were huge achievements for this small distillery; Bob describes the Vidisha’s Masala win as “the craft spirits equivalent of winning an Oscar.”
Their newest liqueur, Recado, is inspired by the spices of Yucatan cuisine. Translating those complex flavors into a liqueur was a challenging process, Bob says. “I started by trying some of the hotter chilis, and it was just undrinkable. It was way too spicy.” Of course, he enjoyed every second of tinkering with it until he got it just right.
RECIPE: THE GREEN
This silky cocktail, the brainchild of Dismal Harmony Distilling mixologist and general manager Robby Seibert, is refreshing, sweet, tropical, floral—and just a little bit caffeinated.
INGREDIENTS
• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1/4 oz Dismal Harmony Monk
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 oz pistachio orgeat
• 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
• egg white
INSTRUCTIONS
In a shaker tin, add syrup, matcha powder, lime juice, Monk, vodka, and egg white. Dry shake for 8-10 seconds. Add ice, shake for 8-10 seconds. Fine strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with matcha powder on the froth.
Dismal Harmony Distilling, located at 77 Morris St., is for guests 21 and over only. Open Tuesday through Sunday. dismalharmony.com
Photograph by Robby Seibert and Lauren Novotny