A well stocked bar makes for one happy Ashevillian. While you may already have the usual drink making tools on hand, these local products + ingredients will help you raise the bar of all your homemade drinks, whether they’re cocktails or mocktails.
🥃 Mixers, bitters + beyond
Farm-to-can craft sodas from Devil’s Foot Beverage Company
Where to get it: Online — or use this product finder
How to use it: The Limeade is a perfect finisher for a strawberry mojito — or employ the Fuego-style Ginger Beer to bring your Moscow Mule game to a whole new level.
Kombucha + kefir sodas from Buchi
Where to get it: Use this store locator or online
How to use it: We love making a “Fire Lemonade” mocktail by mixing the Buchi fire with fresh lemonade (served on ice, of course). Find this mocktail recipe — plus six other probiotic-friendly coolers — here.
Tulsi Chai Bitters
Where to get it: The Herbiary (29 N. Market St.) or online
How to use it: Liven up your next Old Fashioned or Manhattan cocktail with this maple-based, spice-infused batch of bitters.
MerTail Elixirs
Where to get it: Online
How to use it: Editor Brook enjoys these herbal elixirs, especially the tart + sweet Relaxation Mergarita base, paired with club soda or a shot of Patron.
Blue Ridge Mountain Mint Herbal Tea
Where to get it: Asheville Tea Company or online (Use code DRINKUP for free shipping)
How to use it: Mix with simple syrup, sparkling water, a twist of lemon, and fresh mint for a truly refreshing sip of summer — and make it alcoholic with a splash of gin.
🥃 Spirits
Eda Rhyne’s Amaro collection
Where to get it: Eda Rhyne tasting room (101 Fairview Rd.) or online
How to use it: The floral, earthy Amaro Flora is excellent served neat as a digestif — but it also shines in a Negroni (think: one part Campari, one part Amaro, and one part white vermouth) — garnished with an orange peel.
Oak & Grist’s Malt Whiskey
Where to get it: Liquor stores throughout the state
How to use it: Create a Boulevardier or an Old Fashioned.
Want more local spirit inspiration? Check out our local distillery guide for the finest spirits around town.
🥃 Barware
Rocks Glass
Where to get it: Lexington Glassworks
How to use it: These hand blown rocks glasses will add a sparkle of elegance to a White Russian, Sazerac, or anything in between.
Now that your bar is stocked, let’s kick back for some easy sippin’ with this Strawberry Mojito made by Will Harris of The Social Lounge.
Strawberry Mojito Recipe
By Will Harris of The Social Lounge
Ingredients:
- .5 oz strawberry shrub
- .25 lime juice
- 1.5 oz white rum
- 3-4 mint leaves
- Top with Devil’s Foot Limeade
Build:
- Put the shrub, lime juice, and mint in a shaking tin
- Press mint into shrub and lime juice
- Add white rum and ice to shaking tin
- Shift shake and double strain over ice in a Collins glass
- Garnish with a mint sprig and half strawberry
Want more? Check out these three mocktail recipes created by Asheville mixologists that highlight the fresh produce of summer.
- Red Herring: An enticing celebration of tart cherries, brightened with fresh mint and topped with Cherry Limeade. Created by Jackie Willsey of Goldfinch.
- Blackbird Crush: A clever dash of cinnamon and muddled blackberries with Fuego Ginger Beer shoot this mocktail right to the top of the favorites list. Concocted by Chris Genua at The Blackbird.
- Piña Colada Mocktail: This tropical delight created by The Montford Rooftop’s talented mixologist Ellen Blackburn features fresh limes, coconut, and pineapple.
