Your complete guide to Asheville’s first Drink Up Week

We hope you’re thirsty — these 10 local businesses mixed up specials and recipes exclusively for Drink Up Week. Keep reading to plan your delicious week of drinking local (Mon., July 25-Sun., July 31). Remember to use #DrinkUpAsheville on your social posts to share the fun.

Drink specials

Posana, 1 Biltmore Ave.

• The Summer Savory involves coriander-infused Titos’ Vodka, Velvet Falernum, lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water.

Ukiah, 121 Biltmore Ave.

• The Cumberbatch is a delightful marriage of ripe melon and crisp cucumber flavors. It’s made with Bushido sake, AppleJack brandy, cucumber, melon, citrus, and licorice root.

Burial Beer Forestry Camp, 10 Shady Oak Dr.

• The Iceberg is a moody, decadent Forestry Camp classic made with Reposado, lemon, Orgeat, and of course, Underberg.
• The decidedly more-chipper Harry Styles Made Me Do It will also be available. This supper sipper includes gin, aperol, watermelon, basil-infused honey, lime, and basil oil.

Oak & Grist Distilling Co., 1556 Grovestone Rd., Black Mountain

• The 4 Hour Layover makes fine use of the distillery’s Genever-Inspired Gin, which is poured over a muddled mixture of lime, cucumber, and sugar. It will be available the rest of the summer.

Cultivated Cocktails, 25 Page Ave.

• The Asheville 75 elevates the distillery’s award-winning Highway 9 Gin with a French 75-inspired treatment. The cocktail includes lavender honey mix, blackberry syrup + lemon juice, and is topped with champagne. Pro tip: If you fall in love with this beverage, you can pick up a kit and/or instructions at the tasting room to make this drink at home.

Nine Mile, 751 Haywood Rd. + 33 Town Square Blvd.

• The Gemini Sun was created by Shannon Gallagher, a Nine Mile-West bartender + manager. It features fresh lemon, blood orange, Bulleit Rye whiskey, ginger simple syrup, and is garnished with a cinnamon dusted orange slice. Note: Montford location doesn’t serve cocktails.

Asheville Tea Co.

• Order the Blue Ridge Mountain Mint tea online — and use the promo code DRINKUP to receive free shipping. Pro tip: This tea is amazing in the Blue Ridge Sparkle recipe listed below.

Locally-crafted recipes

NoLo‘s North Carolina Cherry Bounce

• 4 cherries muddled
• 2 oz bourbon (or spiritless Kentucky 74)
• 1 oz cherry juice
• 1/4 oz blood orange bitters
• 1/4 oz lime juice
• 1/4 oz honey simple syrup

To serve: Shake with ice, pour into glass, and serve with a cherry garnish.

Cultivated Cocktail’s Asheville 75

• 1.5 oz Hwy 9 gin
• ½ oz Lavender Honey mix
• ½ oz blackberry syrup
• ½ oz lemon juice
• Top with champagne

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker except for the champagne. Fill halfway with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Stir slightly and enjoy.

Asheville Tea Co.'s Blue Ridge Sparkle

Note: You can substitute 1oz St. Germaine elderflower liquor and 1.5oz Gin in this recipe instead of making the homemade elderflower gin infusion.

1. Fill half of a glass with ice and pour in brewed + cooled Blue Ridge Mountain Mint Herbal tea.
2. Add 2 oz steeped Elderflower Gin (*see homemade recipe below)
3. Add 1 oz simple syrup
4. Top with sparkling water
5. Garnish with large twist of lemon and a sprig of fresh mint

For Homemade Elderflower Gin

1. Add zest from 1 lemon to 1/2 liter of Gin
2. Rinse and remove flowers from 3-5 sprigs of fresh elderflower
3. Add the flowers to the gin infusion
4. Steep for 3 days to 1 week, and then strain out the lemon zest and elderflowers.
5. Store in a glass bottle or mason jar with lid in the fridge.

Oak & Grist’s 4 Hour Layover

• 1.5oz Oak and Grist Genever-Inspired Gin
• Fresh Lime
• Fresh Cucumber
• 2 barspoons White Sugar
• Celery bitters

Muddle lime, cucumber, and sugar in a rocks glass. Top with 1.5oz O&G Genever-Inspired Gin. Add cracked ice to glass and stir a few times to combine. No garnish needed for this cocktail!

Strawberry Mojito

By Will Harris of The Social Lounge

• .5 oz strawberry shrub
• .25 lime juice
• 1.5 oz white rum
• 3-4 mint leaves
• Top with Devil’s Foot Limeade

Build:

1. Put the shrub, lime juice, and mint in a shaking tin
2. Press mint into shrub and lime juice
3. Add white rum and ice to shaking tin
4. Shift shake and double strain over ice in a Collins glass
5. Garnish with a mint sprig and half strawberry