New book christens Nashville's signature cocktail
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Photo: courtesy of Delia Jo Ramsey
A new book celebrates Nashville's thriving cocktail scene by shining a spotlight on the city's mixologists and neighborhood bars.
Why it matters: "Nashville Cocktails," by food writer Delia Jo Ramsey, functions as both an examination of the city's bar scene and a valuable reference — chock-full of cocktail recipes straight from local bartenders.
The big picture: Ramsey was aware of the city's tourist-fueled reputation when it comes to drinking. The book disproves the outsider's stereotype that the authentic Nashville drink is a White Claw or a shot of Fireball.
What she's saying: "In talking to the bartenders and owners and hearing the stories behind their cocktails, you see there are hundreds of professionals who take their craft very seriously," Ramsey tells Axios.
- "The goal is to take some of these drinks that might be $18, and make it easier and cheaper to make at home."
The vibe: Ramsey said she worked for about a year to gather the recipes that make up the book.
- She says she is especially proud to include the old-fashioned recipe from The 404 Kitchen, a bourbon bar in the Gulch. 404's spin calls for brown-butter bourbon.
- Ramsey also set out to answer the question of whether Nashville has a defining cocktail.
- "Like New Orleans has the hurricane, and New York City has the Manhattan, I wondered, is there a defining Nashville drink? Is it something with Tennessee whiskey or moonshine?" she says.
State of play: She came to the conclusion that the bushwhacker, a boozy chocolate slushy, is at least one of the uniquely Nashville cocktails, if not its sole defining drink.
- The book dedicates five pages to the bushwhacker, including a recipe from M.L. Rose.
Zoom in: "Nashville Cocktails" serves as a handy recipe book for your home bar, with pictures and detailed ingredients for pretty much any drink you can think of.
- It also offers miniature profiles of Nashville neighborhoods and their bars. One of her key takeaways was how supportive and inclusive the city's hospitality workers are.
The intrigue: Over the course of writing, Ramsey gave up alcohol.
- However, she digs into the city's "thriving nonalcoholic movement," including an interview with Stephanie Styll, owner of Killjoy, an alcohol-free bottle shop that opened last year.
Between the lines: "Nashville Cocktails" is the local edition in a series of cocktail guides from Cider Mill Press.
- It's available at Parnassus, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Go deeper: Read the Tennessean's 2014 article on the bushwhacker, which happens to feature reviews from both Axios Nashville authors.
Follow Ramsey on Instagram and through her food blog Dining with Delia Jo.