Mix me, Stir me, Shake me.

The Elixir Event presented by The Asheville Food and Wine Festival; August 21st 2014

Well, I was lucky enough to be invited to this event hosted on a Thursday in Montford. And yes, again: how is this West Asheville? Well, many local Asheville and West Asheville bars/eateries were present at this event; not only to compete in a cocktail challenge, but to also highlight their craft cocktails. And cocktails it was!

 Here, it’s the norm to discuss and breakdown a cocktail to, “I like how initially it’s sweet, but has a dry finish,” or “ the sage bitters really complete the flavor,” or “the complexity of the jalapeño Agave simple syrup, along with the watermelon mash truly rounds out handcrafted vodka.” You get my drift. This was the “foodie” event for all spirit/ cocktail lovers. And, let me tell you. As you are walking around with numerous tables offering you samplings of their particular creation, whether you are deciding that “this one is not for me” and you dump it or, “this one is my favorite,” it’s not long into a 2 hour event before you feel the Spirit Love- or rather the booze!

And these vendors were Working it. From toasted marshmallow and cotton candy garnishes to simple syrups and handcrafted bitters with more ingredients than I could name, or spritzing smoke flavor into a glass prior to pouring the cocktail: these local mixologists were Serious. And serious about their cocktails.

One of the coolest highlights of this event was the opportunity to chat and ask questions of local bartenders or the owners of distilleries. So much information and tips were shared; I was surprised to come away with far more knowledge of the craft of mixology that I could have imagined and, even, find a few new favorite regionally produced spirits. To ABC I go!! 

 Some personal standouts are as follows:

 Top of The Hill distillery out of Chapel Hill: creators of TOPO Organic spirits. Loved their vodka and gin, and for my taste, they made the best cocktails, frothy, a bit fruity, not too sweet, with wonderfully delicate layers of flavors like cucumber, lime, blackberry and safe to name a few. 

 Brothers Vilgalys Spirits of out Durham, NC: Makers of a traditional Lithuanian style of Spice Honey Liqueur. The owner explained that he created this sweet and spicy 80 proof liqueur based on an old family recipe. With notes of cardamom and star anise and made with NC Wildflower honey, this is a delicious sipping liqueur that reminds you of fall and is a must for your collection. 

 Cardinal Gin, produced by the family owned Southern Artisan Spirits out of Kings Mtn, NC, is a traditional and flavorful gin made in small batches using fresh organic botanicals. It’s delicate and complex flavor is referred to as a “Western Style” gin, tasting less of the juniper berries while highlighting their special blend of botanicals: think a gin similar to Hendricks. And, the best part is you can find this delicious spirit at our own Louisiana Ave ABC store! If you enjoy a good gin, you have to try Cardinal Gin! 

 So, the next time The Food and Wine Festival rolls around: check out their events and go! Enjoy and make sure you have a DD or awesome friends that are willing to drop you off and pick you up, as I did: you’ll need it!