Drink Up: 9 Distinctive Drinks We’ve Been Having fun with | Cowl Tales

In final 12 months’s Consuming Subject, we dispatched our workers and freelancers to bars, dives, eating places and lounges across the metropolis to trace down a dozen quintessential variations of traditional cocktails — from Sperry’s martini to Chopper Tiki’s mai tai. This 12 months, we determined to spherical up some much less traditional, extra uncommon fare, however with no particular directive in thoughts. Inform us what you’re consuming currently, we instructed our workers and contributors. No matter you want.

What they got here again with is a big selection of drinkable (and slurpable) concoctions, from an elevated coffee-centric drink on the new Patterson Home location to puddin’ pictures at East Nashville’s new Gramp’s Storage Bar — and even a few top-shelf mocktails. Learn on for extra. 

Thirty years after its excessive level as a fern-bar traditional, the espresso martini is once more having a little bit of a second. Even longneck-slinging downtown honky-tonk bartenders have realized learn how to combine espresso, vodka and Kahlúa collectively to make a satisfactory model. Whereas The Patterson Home has served many coffee-based drinks up to now, the high-end cocktail emporium wouldn’t have been the primary place to go for a kind of candy treats, created as a response to a patron’s request for “one thing to wake me up, then fuck me up.” With this literal “Penthouse Espresso,” named after TPH’s new location on prime of the Voorhees Constructing within the Gulch, beverage supervisor Alex McCutchen determined to emphasise the fruity traits of the espresso bean utilizing a combined base of vodka and sherry-finished brandy, plus fruity Byrrh Grand Quinquina aromatized crimson wine and a tart cranberry liqueur. The concoction is mainly cold-brewed with coarse-ground Crema espresso for 18 hours earlier than being shaken to order with a wealthy Demerara sugar syrup. The result’s an espresso martini worthy of serving within the penthouse. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

Diskin Cider: The One With the Whiskey 

For these of us preferring ciders to beer, Diskin Cider has been a godsend because it opened in 2018. If I’m not getting a cider flight (as a result of it’s too arduous to decide on only one taste), I wish to go together with one in every of their whiskey-based cocktails. The One With the Whiskey is paired with Rosy Cheeks, Diskin’s seasonal cranberry-orange-maple cider. At first blush, it appears like a mixture that may not work, however the tartness of the cranberry cuts by means of the sweetness of the maple syrup and orange liqueur. Fellow cider- and whiskey-heads: Be certain to attempt Diskin’s year-round whiskey cocktail, Whiskey Enterprise, which is made with Son of a Peach, their peach-tea-flavored cider. LOGAN BUTTS

Sean “Huge Daddy” Porter — the person behind Daddy’s Canine and, extra just lately, East Nashville’s Gramp’s Storage Bar — is a advertising and marketing wiz. Generally which means sharing his sensual, boudoir-style pictures whereas selling Daddy’s Canine’ annual Valentine’s Day date evening collection, and generally it means hawking puddin’ pictures at Gramp’s. A form of subverted model of the timeless, ever-popular Jell-O shot, Porter’s liquor-loaded puddin’ pictures are available in a wide range of rotating flavors, Nanna’s Nutter Butter (made with peanut butter whiskey) and Lemon Blueberry (made with vanilla vodka) amongst them. I’ve discovered my puddin’ shot journey to be a Goldilocks situation. The Nutter Butter was a bit thick for my liking, whereas the Lemon Blueberry wasn’t thick sufficient. The Snickers taste, nevertheless — velvety and chocolatey and made with bourbon — was excellent. Your mileage might fluctuate. D. PATRICK RODGERS

Ghosts stick round. A standout from the Fox’s Halloween menu, Ghost Seashore is a cloudy creation that simply as simply works its magic as a frosty tonic in the summertime warmth. Wonderbird gin — a Mississippi-distilled cult favourite, distilled in a course of that “borrows from conventional sake making” — does the heavy lifting with assists from lemongrass shochu and Strega, an natural Italian digestif, making this a booze-forward sipper. Orgeat and yuzu add floral complexity. Every sip will get filtered by means of a candy foam blanket, constituted of berry liqueurs. Cease by quickly — we hear its days are numbered. ELI MOTYCKA

A-Roi: Ardour Fruit Heaven 

When my spouse and I made reservations for North Nashville’s Japanese-Thai fusion restaurant A-Roi, I wasn’t anticipating to come back away with a brand new favourite cocktail. However after ordering the Ardour Fruit Heaven, I needed to replace my working checklist. It’s basically a whiskey bitter made with Evan Williams, however that includes pineapple and fervour fruit juice as a substitute of easy syrup. Generally all you want is the fitting combo of bourbon and fruit mixers. Pair it with a yellowtail maki roll throughout joyful hour. LOGAN BUTTS

Shut Firm, the most recent mission from the mixology masters behind Demise & Co., is supposed to be a quantity cocktail bar. Meaning the bartenders do lots of the prep work upfront. The menu is split into simply decipherable descriptors with names like “Boozy,” “Juicy” or “Fizzy.” The bar doesn’t checklist each ingredient on the massive indicators over the ordering effectively, as a result of are you actually going to order the Daisy de Sandia since you found it’s made utilizing a 3-to-1 pressed watermelon-to-sugar ratio within the syrup? No. You’re going to order it as a result of it’s scrumptious and refreshing! The Arette Blanco Tequila contributes natural mineral notes and balances the sweetness of the watermelon and the Lillet Rosé aperitif. The key off-menu additions of a Tajín-salted cucumber slice, contemporary lime juice, a couple of dashes of absinthe and pebble ice are the surprises that make the Daisy de Sandia magnifico. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

Generally the one factor that may get me by means of a muggy Nashville summer season warmth wave is a drink that makes me really feel like I’m sitting by a (non-lake) physique of water. The blended cocktails at GoodTimes Full Service Bar in Wedgewood-Houston — one in every of my new go-to spots — do exactly the trick. As an alternative of selecting between frozen-cocktail staples like a piña colada and a strawberry daiquiri, I all the time go together with the Miami Vice — a mixture of the 2. It’s refreshing, not too candy and, most significantly for a drink like this, served with a enjoyable straw. LOGAN BUTTS

For a classic vibe, try East Nashville’s Coral Membership — the writers’ alternative for Finest New Cocktail Bar and readers’ alternative for Finest Comfortable Hour within the Scene’s 2024 Better of Nashville subject. Tucked away subsequent door to chef Edgar Victoria’s Alebrije (one other Better of Nashville winner), the cocktail lounge is a respite from the on a regular basis hustle and bustle of Nashville. Considered one of their standard year-round mocktails is the Neo-Tropical, a tart and spicy little quantity made with Giffard Nonalcoholic Aperitivo, pineapple, ginger and lime soda. First printed by our sister publication, Nfocus. JANET KURTZ

Even at a vibey spot like Blueprint, proprietor Billy Dec acknowledged the necessity for nonalcoholic choices on the menu — particularly for his youthful, extra health-conscious clientele. Alongside together with his good friend/enterprise associate and Higher Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin, Dec collaborated together with his bar workers to create an in depth checklist of N/A choices. Dec describes this explicit drink as “a method to have fun with out compromise, a daring, flavorful different for many who need to be a part of the occasion — with out the alcohol.” Dwelling someplace on the cocktail continuum between a margarita and a paloma, this mocktail makes use of Ritual Zero-Proof Tequila as a base that substitutes the warmth of peppers for the alcohol burn. Agave syrup and lime juice signify the margarita facet of its lineage, and white grapefruit juice brings the paloma to thoughts. A jalapeño slice acts as a garnish whereas contributing one final additional little bit of chew to this well-balanced mocktail. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN