Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Jaan. Love Life. Long-time restaurant veteran Chef Wally Joe is no stranger to the spotlight. He's been featured in all the big magazines and on Discovery Channel's Great Chefs of the South. At Memphis's latest sophisticated dining Chef Wally Joe. offering, Acre, Joe, a respected enophile, is matching cutting- edge cocktails and a marvelous wine with locally sourced fare. What's especially impressive about Joe is that he understands the role of his bar. "Ten years ago, when I fi rst came to Memphis, I was doing things that were cutting-edge Mixologist Bart Mallard holds an infusion he made with moonshine. for the time—nobody knew what pork belly was then," Joe says. "Now, I'm a wine lover and whiskey is very important to our region. We put a lot of focus on both in Acre." He lets Acre's mixologist do whatever he wants— and that's a good thing, because Bart Mallard, a former bartender at New York's Blue Hills Farm, is creative. Mallard likes mixing with little-known whiskeys, like Arkansas's Rock Hill and Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey. In one white dog infu- sion, he mixes fennel, fi gs and pecans. "The fact that people are open to something like a Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink J Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Ja Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Jaa Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Jaan. Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Jaan. L Wally Joe and Bart Mallard, Chef and Mixologist, Acre Drink Jaan. Love Life.D Drink Jaan. Love Life.D Drink Jaan. Love Life. Drink Jaan. Love Li Drink Jaan. Love L Drink Jaan. Love Drink Jaan. L Drink Jaan. Lov red pepper moonshine in this market is a testament to what Wally Joe has done," Mallard says. "People are really starting to come around here." ALSO WORTH NOTING Chef Kelly English, Iris Chef Jose Gutierrez, River Oaks Bartender Brad Pitts, Bari Bartender Chris Ferri, River Oaks Managing Partner Mohamad Hakimian, Madison Hotel Drink Jaan. Love Life. www.DrinkJaan.com PHOTOS: FRED MINNICK