Drink Up: Nine Unique Drinks We’ve Been Enjoying

In last year’s Drinking Issue, we dispatched our staff and freelancers to bars, dives, restaurants and lounges around the city to track down a dozen quintessential versions of classic cocktails — from Sperry’s martini to Chopper Tiki’s mai tai. This year, we decided to round up some less classic, more unusual fare, but with no specific directive in mind. Tell us what you’re drinking lately, we told our staff and contributors. Whatever you like.

What they came back with is a wide array of drinkable (and slurpable) concoctions, from an elevated coffee-centric drink at the new Patterson House location to puddin’ shots at East Nashville’s new Gramp’s Garage Bar — and even a couple of top-shelf mocktails. Read on for more. 

The Patterson House: Cafe de Ático

Thirty years after its high point as a fern-bar classic, the espresso martini is again having a bit of a moment. Even longneck-slinging downtown honky-tonk bartenders have learned how to mix espresso, vodka and Kahlúa together to make a passable version. While The Patterson House has served many coffee-based drinks in the past, the high-end cocktail emporium wouldn’t have been the first place to go for one of those sweet treats, created as a response to a patron’s request for “something to wake me up, then fuck me up.” With this literal “Penthouse Coffee,” named after TPH’s new location on top of the Voorhees Building in the Gulch, beverage manager Alex McCutchen decided to emphasize the fruity characteristics of the coffee bean using a mixed base of vodka and sherry-finished brandy, plus fruity Byrrh Grand Quinquina aromatized red wine and a tart cranberry liqueur. The concoction is basically cold-brewed with coarse-ground Crema coffee for 18 hours before being shaken to order with a rich Demerara sugar syrup. The result is an espresso martini worthy of serving in the penthouse. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

Diskin Cider: The One With the Whiskey 

For those of us who prefer ciders to beer, Diskin Cider has been a godsend since it opened in 2018. If I’m not getting a cider flight (because it’s too hard to choose just one flavor), I like to go with one 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 sounds like a combination that might not work, but the tartness of the cranberry cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup and orange liqueur. Fellow cider- and whiskey-heads: Make sure to try Diskin’s year-round whiskey cocktail, Whiskey Business, which is made with Son of a Peach, their peach-tea-flavored cider. LOGAN BUTTS

Gramp’s Garage Bar: Puddin’ Shots

Sean “Big Daddy” Porter — the man behind Daddy’s Dogs and, more recently, East Nashville’s Gramp’s Garage Bar — is a marketing wiz. Sometimes that means sharing his sensual, boudoir-style photos while promoting Daddy’s Dogs’ annual Valentine’s Day date night series, and sometimes it means hawking puddin’ shots at Gramp’s. A kind of subverted version of the timeless, ever-popular Jell-O shot, Porter’s liquor-loaded puddin’ shots come in a variety of rotating flavors, Nanna’s Nutter Butter (made with peanut butter whiskey) and Lemon Blueberry (made with vanilla vodka) among them. I’ve found my puddin’ shot journey to be a Goldilocks scenario. The Nutter Butter was a bit thick for my liking, while the Lemon Blueberry wasn’t thick enough. The Snickers flavor, however — velvety and chocolatey and made with bourbon — was just right. Your mileage may vary. D. PATRICK RODGERS

The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club: Ghost Beach

Ghosts stick around. A standout from the Fox’s Halloween menu, Ghost Beach is a cloudy creation that just as easily works its magic as a frosty tonic in the summer heat. Wonderbird gin — a Mississippi-distilled cult favorite, distilled in a process that “borrows from traditional sake making” — does the heavy lifting with assists from lemongrass shochu and Strega, an herbal Italian digestif, making this a booze-forward sipper. Orgeat and yuzu add floral complexity. Each sip gets filtered through a sweet foam blanket, made from berry liqueurs. Stop by soon — we hear its days are numbered. ELI MOTYCKA

A-Roi: Passion Fruit Heaven 

When my wife and I made reservations for North Nashville’s Japanese-Thai fusion restaurant A-Roi, I wasn’t expecting to come away with a new favorite cocktail. But after ordering the Passion Fruit Heaven, I had to update my running list. It’s essentially a whiskey sour made with Evan Williams, but featuring pineapple and passion fruit juice instead of simple syrup. Sometimes all you need is the right combo of bourbon and fruit mixers. Pair it with a yellowtail maki roll during happy hour. LOGAN BUTTS

Close Company: Daisy de Sandia

Close Company, the latest project from the mixology masters behind Death & Co., is meant to be a volume cocktail bar. That means the bartenders do a lot of the prep work in advance. The menu is divided into easily decipherable descriptors with names like “Boozy,” “Juicy” or “Fizzy.” The bar doesn’t list every ingredient on the large signs over the ordering well, because are you really going to order the Daisy de Sandia because you discovered it’s made using a 3-to-1 pressed watermelon-to-sugar ratio in the syrup? No. You’re going to order it because it’s delicious and refreshing! The Arette Blanco Tequila contributes herbal mineral notes and balances the sweetness of the watermelon and the Lillet Rosé aperitif. The secret off-menu additions of a Tajín-salted cucumber slice, fresh lime juice, a few dashes of absinthe and pebble ice are the surprises that make the Daisy de Sandia magnifico. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

GoodTimes: Miami Vice

Sometimes the only thing that can get me through a muggy Nashville summer heat wave is a drink that makes me feel like I’m sitting by a (non-lake) body of water. The blended cocktails at GoodTimes Full Service Bar in Wedgewood-Houston — one of my new go-to spots — do just the trick. Instead of choosing between frozen-cocktail staples like a piña colada and a strawberry daiquiri, I always go with the Miami Vice — a combination of the two. It’s refreshing, not too sweet and, most importantly for a drink like this, served with a fun straw. LOGAN BUTTS

Coral Club: Neo-Tropical

For a vintage vibe, check out East Nashville’s Coral Club — the writers’ choice for Best New Cocktail Bar and readers’ choice for Best Happy Hour in the Scene’s 2024 Best of Nashville issue. Tucked away next door to chef Edgar Victoria’s Alebrije (another Best of Nashville winner), the cocktail lounge is a respite from the everyday hustle and bustle of Nashville. One of their popular year-round mocktails is the Neo-Tropical, a tart and spicy little number made with Giffard Nonalcoholic Aperitivo, pineapple, ginger and lime soda. First published by our sister publication, Nfocus. JANET KURTZ

Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club: Let’s Not and Say We Did

Even at a vibey spot like Blueprint, owner Billy Dec recognized the need for nonalcoholic options on the menu — especially for his younger, more health-conscious clientele. Along with his friend/business partner and Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin, Dec collaborated with his bar staff to create an extensive list of N/A offerings. Dec describes this particular drink as “a way to celebrate without compromise, a bold, flavorful alternative for those who want to be part of the party — without the alcohol.” Living somewhere on the cocktail continuum between a margarita and a paloma, this mocktail uses Ritual Zero-Proof Tequila as a base that substitutes the heat of peppers for the alcohol burn. Agave syrup and lime juice represent the margarita side of its lineage, and white grapefruit juice brings the paloma to mind. A jalapeño slice acts as a garnish while contributing one last extra bit of bite to this well-balanced mocktail. CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN 

Drink Up: What and Where We’re Drinking Lately

Cheap, cold beer, puddin’ shots, mocktails and our thoughts on Nashville’s newest bars