WNC Magazine: An Old Fashioned Quest

7/27/2019 WNC Magazine: An Old Fashioned Quest

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An Old Fashioned Quest

A crew o f f riends spends an evening in search of the best class ic cocktail

Written By:

Graham Averill

Photographs by:

Christopher Shane

Photo gallery:

An Old Fashioned Quest

Theres a shrine to Hank Williams in the back of the Double Crown, a dive bar on t he
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f orgo tt en end of Haywood Road in West Asheville. Pictures, record covers,

mementos, candlesall tucked behind some wire mesh taking up valuable real estate

in the skinny hallway leading to the bathroom. Its a little unexpected, but t hen again

Im drinking bourbon with apple butter in it, so maybe I shouldnt be s urprised.

The drink is called an Appalachian Old Fashioned. Its one of Double Crowns

signature cocktails, blending Wild Turkey with the condiment usually reserved for

biscuits at your grandmothers house. Its odd, but that s OK. My buddies and I are

searching for the best Old Fashioned in Asheville. Were open to odd.

Seven bars. Seven drinks. Consider it a tour of Ashevilles emerging cocktail culture. In the last two years, a

handful of bartenders have infused craft smanship into t he citys bar scene. Think class ic drinks like a

Manhattan and bartenders dressed like its the Roaring 20s. This new breed of booze-mongers makes its ow

tonics and bitt ers, and hand carves the ice that rests in your glass. If mixed properly, the Old Fashioned

embodies this new lust f or classic beverages.

Its the o riginal cocktail, says Cynthia Turner, a New Orleans transplant and bartender at The Imperial Life

whos helping shape the drink scene here. Bourbon, sugar, ice, and bitters. If a bartender can make a good O

Fashioned, he knows what hes doing.

Stop 1: Double Crown

The Double Crown is the kind of dive bar youll only f ind in Asheville and the f irst des tination on our crawl. The

barkeeps wear trucker caps, and theres a DJ spinning classic hip-hop. Were the only people in the place

wearing ties and jackets . Typically, Im not a t ie guy, but were seeking serious liquor. It f elt right to dress

seriously too.

My cohort s f or t he evening: Dusty, who is prone to pos ting bow-tie port raits on Instagram, Kevin, a painter wi

a st rong appreciation f or Kentucky bourbon, and Jeremiah, we call him The Vegetarian for his refusal to drin

liquor o f any sort . Plus, he is a vegetarian.

The rules of the quest are simple: Only one drink per stop. If a bar has a signature take on the Old Fashioned

were obligated to order it. Which is why were drinking Wild Turkey with apple butter. The drink gets

progressively milky as you work toward the bottom of the glass, but it lays a so lid f oundation f or s top No. 2,

where the Old Fashioned contains bacon.

Stop 2: The Market Place

The Market Place is better known for its locally sourced entres than its bar, but the high-end restaurant on

Wall Street has an alluring cocktail on its menuthe Bentons Old Fashioned, made with Benton bacon- infuse

bourbon and maple syrup. I have a so f t spot f or anything that combines alcohol and meat into one consumab

product. We order three, plus a beer f or The Vegetarian.

The drink is delicious , but in the way an clair is delicious. Have to o many, and you run the risk of diabetes .Precisely because the drink contains both liquor and pork, I insist The Vegetarian have a sip of mine. The

thought o f it immediately sends him into convulsions. I think we should try to f ind an Old Fashioned without a

breakfast f ood in it, Dusty suggests, a request that leads us next door to Cucina24.

Stop 3: Cucina24

Whenever poss ible, you should order a serious drink f rom a man with a serious beard. When we find Donnie

Pratt behind the bar at Cucina24, hes sport ing a long, Civil War-era beard and tie-vest combo, like a man

straight out of the 1800s, which is appropriate, since the Old Fashioned is a libation straight out of the same

century.

Pratt gives us t he annotated history o f the Old Fashioned as he makes us a round, meticulous ly muddling the


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sugar and bitters into a dark paste at the bott om of each glass. Originally, there were just a f ew ingredients t

enhance the bourbon. But everything went wrong during Prohibition when good spirits were hard to f ind, he

says. They started adding things like fruit and soda water to cover up the taste.

Pratts Old Fashioned is classic. Just t he key ingredients and a dark cherry garnish for a bit of f lourish. This is

a masculine drink, which is pro bably why the writers behind Mad Men put it in Don Drapers hands so of ten

thick lowball glass, mahogany-hued liquor, and a single bulbous rock of ice. In Pratts version, theres nothing

between me and the bourbon.

While sipping perf ection, we watch Pratt make a daiquiri fo r a woman at t he end of the bar. He puts a thick cub

of ice in a canvas sack and beats the hell out of it with a wooden mallet. Forget the blender.

I want a job where I get to beat things in a sack with a hammer, Kevin muses. The Vegetarian says, I still tast

bacon.

Stop 4 & 5: The Unment ionables

Fast forward through two bad versions of the Old Fashioned at bars that shall remain nameless. One of the

bartenders lines the rim of my glass with various wedges of exot ic fruit. I think theres a kiwi slice on t here.

At t his po int, it s getting hard to f orm complete sentences. My tie is wadded up in my pocket. Dusty can only

keep one eye open. And we either decide to head to Sazerac f or a bowl of popcorn, or we meet someone

named Popcorn. Im not sure. All I know is t here is a tweet f rom the evening that says POPCORN!

Stop 6: The Imperial Life

The last s to p is The Imperial Life, a speakeasy-style joint that always makes me feel underdressed, even if Im

wearing a jacket with a tie stuffed in the pocket. They do everything right here, from the house-made sodas o

tap to t he hand-carved ice that goes into every glass. The bartenders at I-Lif e all wear vests and ties and

of ten stand with their hands behind their backs like butlers.

As I watch Turner chip away at a hunk of ice with a knif e unt il its the perf ect sphere of f rozen water she want

f or my drink, I regret putt ing I-Life at t he end of our quest. Its 1 a.m. and the only thing I can taste is

tomorrows hangover.

Thats history in a glass, Turner tells me. You dont get to play with history in too many ways, but making

these cocktails is a litt le like reenactment. If I can make that drink the way they did 100 years ago, then I can be

proud.

I tell Turner how were hopping f rom bar to bar looking f or t he perfect Old Fashioned, and she gives me the

scoop on other spots we should try, her go-to bars for a proper drink. Apparently, weve only scratched the

surf ace of the citys burgeoning cocktail scene. And its only gett ing better, she says. Its a good t ime to be

drinking in Asheville.

Oh, the Places Youll GoHere are f our standouts f rom the quest f or the perf ect Old Fashioned.

Double Crown

If f or no other reason, go t o see the Hank Williams shrine. Tip: Stir the Appalachian Old Fashioned o f ten. 375

Haywoo d Rd,; (828) 575-9060

The Market Place

The novelty could wear of f af ter a f ew, but everyone should have at least one Bentons Bacon-infused Old

Fashioned. 20 Wall St.; www.marketplace-restaurant.com
http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com/


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Cucina24

My winner for t he perfect Old Fashioned. The bar in this place is tiny, but if you want to see a true master of

his craf t, go see Pratt . 24 Wall St.;

www.cucina24restaurant.com

The Imperial Life

A serious bar with serious bart enders, and a $5 cup o f olives. 48 College St.; www.imperialbarasheville.com

Classic Old FashionedIngredients:

1 Demerara sugar cube

1/2 oz. water

2 dashes Peychauds bitters

3 dashes Angostura bitters

2 oz. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon

Ice

Lemon peel

Cherry

Directions:

In a glass, muddle sugar cube in water with Peychauds and

Angostura bitt ers . Add bourbo n and ice. Garnish with lemon

peel and cherry.
http://wncmagazine.com/recipe/classic_old_fashionedhttp://www.imperialbarasheville.com/http://www.cucina24restaurant.com/

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WNC Magazine: An Old Fashioned Quest