Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/46939
our fi ngers in the bottom of the pot and lick our fi ngers." Barriere uses a lot of brown sugar and rosemary, two ingredients that somewhat defi ne the South: sweet, herbal, fresh and savory. She says Southern cocktails tend toward being more meal-like and are packed with herbs because "the South has good, rich soil to grow a lot of the fresh ingredients I use in cocktails." For example, South Carolina currently has an abundance of cucumber, mint and ginger because they are in season. It's not that the North doesn't use herbs, says Jared Schubert, mixologist at the Boiler Point in Louisville, KY. It's simply that the South uses them a lot more. "With the South having a longer growing season, herbs are used more often in the cocktails," Schubert says. "Mint fl uctuates in price throughout the year, but if you have a longer growing season, that fl uctuation is not going to be as much. And there is better availability, so you're going to use it more often." Hannah says both North and South look for locally grown produce, but the selection is drastically different. "In the South, we'll use strawberries and peaches, while Northerners will use cranberries and blueberries," Hannah says. "When it comes to tea, I've noticed Southern bartenders using our typical iced tea blend, while Yankees will go after the exotics like chai, chamomile and oolong." Southerners have access to locally made molasses, sorghum and cane syrups, while Yankees can get fresh maple syrup. In addition to the sweetness, Southern drinks tend to be lighter. Brooks Reitz, restaurant manager and mixologist at Charleston, SC restaurant Fig, says cocktails in the North are boozier because it's colder. "These colder, grittier cities are booze-forward," Reitz says. "In Charleston, where it's really warm, we're using a lot of Aperol and Campari, making cocktails a little more feminine, lighter, brighter and crisper." The Spirits In general, Southern cocktails feature a lot more whiskey. In fact, Southern mixolo- gists go out of their way to avoid vodka, Schubert says. "Vodka is like tofu. It's supposed to not have any fl avor or odor; it is completely neutral," he says. "[Southern] mixologists stray away from vodka because they believe thoroughly that the fl avors of the spirit should come through." Schubert admits that many Northern bartenders feel the same way about vodka, but says bourbon is king in the South. "Bourbon's kind of king everywhere right now, but the South tends to stay away from very heavy bourbons and go for the lighter ones," Schubert says. "I see more wheated bourbons used in cocktails in the South, and not quite such thick and heavy rums." Southern mixologists, as one would expect, tend to use a lot more local liquor. One local spirit they've been using for a long time is moonshine. "One thing the Yankees are up to now is something the South has been on about for over a century," Hannah says. "They can call it unaged whiskey up there, but it's moonshine . . . and we own it down here." But ask any good Southern mixologist and he or she will tell you that there are differences within the South. A spin on a Negroni might be different in Atlanta than in Tupelo, Mississippi. With that said, Reitz believes there's less pressure on mixolo- gists in the South than the North. "Southern bartenders are freer to do what they want," he says. "In New York and Chicago, there is this weird pressure to be number one, whereas in the South, we are doing our own thing and can afford to be more creative and cutting-edge. I'm not competing with the 30 other cocktail bars like the guys in New York. We are doing what we want." Above left: Locally grown produce gives Southern cock- tails an edge, as at Malone's in Lexington, KY, shown here. Above right: Moonshine has a long tradition in the South and is being revived by brands such as Ole Smoky, made in Tennessee. Tea cocktails are strong in the South, where bourbon is king. november 201 1 / the tasting panel / 111 PHOTO: PATRICK MURPHY-RACEY FOR OLE SMOKY PHOTO: FRED MINNICK PHOTO: FRED MINNICK