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DRINKING LOCALLY Mixing It Up in Music City COCKTAILS ARE THE STARS AT NASHVILLE���S 1808 GRILLE 1808 Grille���s Cocktail Trifecta TENNESSEE JULEP�� ��� 1�� oz. Prichard���s Sweet Lucy Liqueur ��� 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar ��� 5 mint springs ��� Soda water ��� Muddle 4 mint springs and sugar in the bottom of a highball glass.��Add Sweet Lucy and ���ll the glass with ice.��Finish the drink with soda water, and garnish with a sprig of mint. story and photos by Kelly Merritt N ashville is known for award-winning country music stars, but in the heart of Music City, 1808 Grille in the tony Hutton Hotel has found a way to elevate mixed drinks to the same exalted ground. Their Tennessee Julep, Bee���s Knees and Belle Meade Old Fashioned have caused quite a, well, stir. ���We were honored to feature our Tennessee Julep cocktail during a trip to James Beard House in New York City, while Nashville was in the middle of horse racing season,��� says 1808 Manager Matt Buttel. ���The Kentucky Derby has the Mint Julep, so for The Belle Meade Old Steeplechase���a huge racing festival that beneits Fashioned is based on a Vanderbilt Children���s Hospital here in Nashville��� bourbon from local Nelson���s we created the Tennessee Julep.����� Greenbrier Distillery. Buttel credits Prichard���s Sweet Lucy Liqueur, made in Kelso, Tennessee with anchoring the drink. Patronizing local suppliers is nothing new for contemporary chefs, but within the cocktail realm, 1808 Grille is especially committed. The whiskey for the restaurant���s Belle Meade Old Fashioned, for example, comes from the local Nelson���s Greenbrier Distillery. ���There is nothing too complex about this one, just a great classic cocktail featuring our friends Andy and Charlie Nelson���s family whiskey,��� says Buttel. ���Nelson���s Greenbrier Distillery was the largest producer of Tennessee whiskey until statewide Prohibition shut it down in 1909, but they resurrected the family business 100 years later and produce a fantastic product that we���re proud to serve.��� Many of 1808 Grille Executive Chef Charles Phillips���s menu items marry well with the cocktail 1808 Manager Matt Buttel offerings. One of his favorites features local honey (left) with Executive Chef from Nashville honey farmers. ���I love our Bees Charles Phillips. Knees cocktail because it sneaks up on so many of our guests. Many people tend think of gin as a very harsh liquor, when it fact it���s almost a neutral spirit when mixed with the right ingredients,��� he says. ���The lemon juice allows the botanicals to shine and makes the honey the hero of the cocktail, plus we have lots of great independent honey farmers in town, and this is a great way to showcase them.��� 66 / the tasting panel / december 2012 BEE���S KNEES ��� 2 oz. premium gin (1808 Grille uses Corsair, distilled a few blocks away) ��� 1 o.z fresh lemon juice ��� 1 oz. local honey syrup* ��� Lemon peel, quarter-sized ��� Mix ���rst three ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with thin peel of lemon zest.��Can also be served on the rocks in a double Old Fashioned glass. *Local honey syrup (batch for 18 drinks) ��� 12 oz. hot water ��� 6 oz. local honey ��� 3 oz. lemon juice ��� Blend ingredients and store in a squeeze bottle. BELLE MEADE OLD FASHIONED ��� 2 oz. Belle Meade Bourbon ��� �� oz. Thatcher���s Apple Spice Liqueur ��� 2 orange slices ��� Muddle orange slices and Thatcher���s in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add ice and bourbon.��